TEE STLKWOBM. 



tion of the soft and delicate fabric ; but as regards our notions 

 of hiamry, how our things have changed ! Yesterday, as it 

 .were, King James sends to borrow a pair of silk stockings that 

 he may cut a decent figure before company ; and to-day, Betsy 

 Jane, out for a holiday, from the top of her parasol to the hem 

 of her flounces, carries as much of the coveted material as 

 would make half a dozen pairs of hose ; and the costermonger, 

 driving along with his cabbage-laden vehicle, carries wisped 

 about his great throat a silken square, richer than the doublet 

 of the great King Henry the Eighth. 



Still, although silk has become so common a material, we 

 have not grown wise enough to cultivate it among ourselves. 

 It is neither so cheap an article as to bo beneath our considera-l 

 tion, nor an article so difficult of cultivation as to deter us 

 from embarking in it. It is computed that not less than two 

 mUKons sterVmg finds its way out of the country annually that 

 the demand for silk may be met, and it bas been pretty clearly 

 proved that by proper management the greater part of this 

 sum might be kept at home and expended on other articles of 

 English growth, while hundreds of the agricultural population, 

 especially women and children, might be provided with easy 

 and profitable employment. 



This, however, is not an essay on political economy, neither 

 do I wish to be regarded as a firebrand by the worthy traders, 

 in silk. It would reqaire much more than the half-ounces of 

 silkworms' eggs I deal in to work a revolution. Nevertheless,! 

 it can in no way detract from the interest that attaches to 

 the keeping of silkworms as home pets to know that 

 while they afford you much amusement and no little instruc- 

 tion, you are bringing your weight, how little soever it be,] 

 against the wedge, the thin end of which is already planted, 

 and which may in course of time open the way to a great trade. 



The following directions, culled from such eminent silkworm 

 authorities as Dandolo, Williams, and better perhaps than all, 

 Mrs. Whitley, will, if carefully observed, insure, if not perfect 

 success, at least an amount of satisfaction not always yielded 

 by pets of larger growth. 



An ounce of silkworms' eggs represents 40,000 of these 

 interesting creatures ;" so that the merest fraction of an ounce 

 win be enough for the experimentalist, unless he be very am- 

 bitious. There are several dealers in these eggs, but the one 

 recommended by Mrs. Whitley is a Mr. Tagliabue, of Brook 

 Street, Holborn. You will require a spare room, which must 



