8 



specific properties ? It would seem to prove only a waste of power and 

 resources, and be consequently inconsistent with nature's laws and usual 

 course of procedure, which is never to act redundantly. 



Granting then that the variety of trees corresponded with the variety of 

 the insects, it would appear that we, with our conceited notions of improving 

 upon nature, have at last so intermixed and deteriorated the quality of 

 the natural food of each, that our boasted improvements, as Mr. Bashford 

 called them, have nearly ended in the destruction of the worms. 



It may probably be said that there is now no remedy for this state of 

 things, as so much time has elapsed since the introduction of the insects that 

 no one now remembers upon what trees they were originally fed, and even 

 in some instances from whence the worms themselves were procured. The 

 objection I think is scarcely valid, and if we are really seriously inclined 

 to repair as much as possible the evils and mismanagement of the past, it 

 behoves us manfully to push all difficulties aside and commence de novo upon 

 a sounder system. The French appear to find no difficulty in procuring eggs 

 from foreign lands, then why should we ? Practised hands could surely be 

 despatched to China and its isles, in search of stock, and the indigenous (not 

 imported) trees of the district. These once obtained would fairly replace the 

 cultivator upon his legs, and instead of making the supplies over to the 

 natives, each cultivator of silk should have his own plantations, and all other 

 necessary requirements in his own hands and under competent European 

 Superintendents. The present native system should be rooted out, for it is 

 nothing but a patent method of reducing the yield of silk and gradually 

 starving the worms. It is of no use crying to Jupiter to give you better 

 crops, you might just as well invoke the Saints with a farthing rushlight ;- 



destruction of the insects. 



I have treated the subject as a naturalist, because he, from his know- 

 ledge of the habits and requirements of the insects, ought to be the proper 

 person, in the first instance, to lend a helping and a guiding hand to the 

 cultivator. More than this I cannot do as I am not sufficiently versed in 

 commercial politics to enable me to step forward as a practical sericulturist. 



Some have imagined that as the annual worms of Cashmere cannot be 

 successfully cultivated in Bengal, it would be wise to cross them upon the 

 monthly worms in the hope of thus obtaining more than one crop of cocoons 

 of a superior size, a method which has always appeared to me to be a patent 

 way of destroying the good qualities of both. For the blood (so to speak) 

 of the annual Cashmere worm being as it were prepotent over that of the 

 multivoltines will speedily reduce the cross to annuals, and so destroy 

 their good qualities, while at the same time the inferior size of the monthly 

 worms, as compared with the cocoons of 2?. mori, acts injuriously in reducing 

 the size of the cocoons of the latter. Mr. Bashford, on whom well merited 

 praise is bestowed by the Conference, was for a time perfectly unreasonable 

 on the subject of crossing, and became highly indignant at my declaring, 

 what eventually proved to be true, that all would sooner or later revert to 

 their own natural characteristics, or be swallowed up in the stronger annuals. 

 " Look," said Mr. Bashford, " at our breeding establishments in England, 

 horses, fowls, sheep, &c., &c. ; everything is most successfully crossed, and 

 the improvements are permanent."* 



Yet this is after all but idle talk, displaying a decided want of knowledge 

 of the subject, since no " improvements" either are, or can be, permanent, 

 unless the crossing is from time to tune renewed, and the animal kept up to 

 some required standard. If this be not attended to, the animal, be it what 



* Note on Button's remarks on the improvement of silkworms. 



