l66 THE histohy ok silk 



increase this manufacture, is not known, but an 

 edict was passed, obliging every person possessed of 

 an enclosure to plant at least three mulberry-trees, 

 and compelling the cocoons produced from all Silk- 

 worms to be sold in the public market, and a tax 

 exacted both from the seller and purchaser. 



Notwithstanding the higli perfection of the Modo- 

 nese in weaving silk, yet they were not possessed of 

 any throwing mills, and were, in consequence, 

 obliged to send all their raw silk to Bologna to be 

 thrown, being the only place in Italy where there 

 were mills for that purpose. 



From Italy Silkworms were introduced into 

 Spain, where they made but little progress, owing 

 to the unsettled and idle habits of the people, who 

 appear to have prefeiTed purchasing silk goods in a 

 foreign market, rather than entering with zeal into 

 the manufacture themselves. 



It is quite uncertain when the use of silk was 

 introduced into England, but it appears to have been 

 of a date considerably subsequent to its being com- 

 mon in France. But circumstances lead us to infer 

 that it must have been shortly after the Nonnan 

 Conquest. The Chronicles, however, inform us, 

 that silk was pretty generally adopted amongst the 

 nobility both of England and Scotland, in the year 

 1251. At this time, Alexander the Third of Scot- 

 land man-ied Margaret, daughter of Henry the 



