to be carded and spun by the elaborate machinery of 

 Europe, and, lastly, by the adoption of my improvements 

 and developments in dyeing and printing them, the results 

 of a long and continuous course of study and experiment. 



The value and importance of these silks have largely 

 increased since it has been found that they now can, by 

 suitable processes, be bleached, dyed, and printed into almost 

 all shades of colour. 



For several years I have been occupied in investigating 

 the tinctorial adaptability of these silks, for the Government 

 of India, under the direction of Sir Louis Mallet, C.B., 

 Under Secretary of State for India, who has, with the 

 Council, taken a warm interest in their gradual develop- 

 ments, the results of which are displayed in the present 

 collection. 



The silk-producing Lepidopterous insects are of many 

 species, possessing very marked structural differences, whilst 

 the variet}' - and quiet beauty of their colours, and, with the 

 exception of the mulberry feeders, their large size, con- 

 tribute greatly to the charm of studying this branch of 

 natural history, and they make a collection, apart from 

 their great usefulness, worthy of being placed in the first 

 rank. 



They belong to the order Lepidoptera, and are all mem- 

 bers of but two families, Bombycidw and Saturniidw. 



All the Saturniidw are silk spinners, but not all the 

 Bombycidw. 



The British Museum Catalogue contains the names of 

 294 species of Saturniidw. Mr. Butler, of the British 

 Museum, informs me there have been 100 more species 

 added since the publication of the catalogue. 



The following table shows the position of these two 

 families in the great system of classification of the animal 

 kingdom : — 



Division III. — Articulata. 

 Sub-Division II. — Anthropoda (or true articulata). 



Class VIII.— Insecta. 



Sub-Class III. — Metabola. 



Order X. — Lepidoptera. 



Sub-Order I. — Heterocera (Moths — 8 groups or tribes). 



Group.— Bombycina. 



