THE SILK WORM. 67 



any other kinds of food ; all were rejected ; and an- 

 other proof was afforded that the Mulberry tree* 

 which no other insect will attack, is alone adapted to 

 the natural desires of the Silk Worm. Mrs. Will- 

 iams records one peculiarity which discovered itself 

 throughout her investigation ; by no means could the 

 Worms be brought to touch any flower of roseate 

 hue. Pinks, roses, sweet-williams, polyanthuses, 

 vvero each in turn offered by this persevering lady, 

 and were all rejected without hesitation. It is prop- 

 er to remark, that these experiments of Mrs. Williams 

 are not confirmed by those of any other person, but, 

 on the contrary, that Miss Hhodes was unsuccessful 

 in every endeavor to repeat them, and succeeded on- 

 ly in reconciling her Silk Worms to the use of lettuce 

 and spinach. 



"Attempts to discover a substitute for the Mulber- 

 ry are not entirely abandoned even at the present 

 time. It is recorded in the Bulletin Universal, for 

 1829, that Mademoiselle Coge of Epinal has used with 

 success the leaves of the scorzonera (viper-grass) for 

 the nourishment of Silk Worms. The silk produced 

 by Worms fed on this leaf, is represented to be in no 

 respect inferior to that from Worms kept on the nat- 

 ural food. 



"Notwithstanding, however, this last announce- 

 ment, and the partial success so frequently recorded 

 as attending the substitution of the lettuce, all practi- 

 cal culiivators of silk continue to be convinced that 

 it would be unprofitable to feed their Worms on any 

 save their natural nourishment ; and the most intelli- 

 gent writers* on the subject approve the practice of 

 destroying, as useless, any Worms, which through ill 

 management may be hatched before the Mulbengp 



