246 HfSTOKV OF FRUITS. 



spin, even the coverings of the chrysalis are turned to 

 profit, as from these the most valuable and beautiful arti- 

 ficial flowers are made, which greatly excel those made in 

 Paris from cambric. 



Let us now notice what remarks have been made by 

 ingenious travellers and men of science and observation 

 on these valuable trees. Hanway tells us that " Ghilan 

 is a part of Persia where the silk flourishes, and particu- 

 larly the mulberry-tree, although the moisture of the earth 

 is so great as to be unwholesome; and in the year 1741, 

 the snow fell in such quantities, that in some places it 

 was said to be seven feet in depth. 



M. de Goyne observes, that those mulberry-trees that 

 grow on light sandy barren grounds, that have little mois- 

 ture, will produce the finest and strongest silk, while those 

 which are produced in fertile fat land, abounding in juice, 

 yield a coarser and weaker silk ; that young trees from 

 six to twelve years old will not produce so fine or good 

 silk as trees of eighteen to twenty years old. He tells 

 us, that a closet twelve feet square and ten feet high, 

 will contain eighteen thousand worms, and that one 

 hundred and fifty balls ought to produce one ounce of 

 silk, and a shed of the size described, seven pounds and 



a half. 



* 



Swinburn says, " The fertile plains of Reggio contain 

 avenues of mulberry-trees. On each side of the road are 

 houses erected for the accommodation of silkworms, upon 

 a particular plan of construction. The windows are long, 

 and not above six inches wide. This narrowness prevents 

 too great a quantity of air being admitted at a time, 

 whiqh would overpower the tender insects. When the 

 eggs are on the point of being hatched, these holes are 

 shut, and a moderate fire is kept up in the rooms. The 

 worms, as soon as they come out, are placed upon beds 

 of reeds, and there fed with leaves of the mulberry-tree, 





