THE MODEHN HISTORY 01' SILK. IQS 



feeding Silkworms ; such as those of cowslips, 

 blackberries, and the young leaves of the elm. Miss 

 Rhodes, however, found, upon trying the latter, 

 that nine out of a dozen worms died, and the other 

 three were rescued from the same fate by giving 

 them the mulberry leaf; but they never recovered 

 their strength sufficiently to form a cone. So that 

 none of these leaves can be used to any practical 

 pui-pose. Their employment can only gratify the 

 curiosity of the speculative philosopher. 



The Hon. Daines Barrington suggested the idea, 

 that all those leaves wliich were similar to the 

 mulberiy in taste and appearance, — such as the 

 filbert, currant, lime, kidney beans, strawberry, 

 chestnut, raspberry, ash, pine, &c. might be success- 

 fully employed in breeding Silkworm caterpillars ; 

 but none of them have been found to answer. They 

 will eat the cabbage leaf in preference to any of 

 these, and that even sparingly. But the offensive 

 smell of these leaves renders them unfit for use in a 

 large manufactory. 



It is a singular fact, that no other species of lepi- 

 dopterous insect is found to feed on the leaf of the 

 mulberry-tree but the P/ialcena mori, or Silkworm 

 caterpillar. This tree, indeed, seems to be secure 

 against the ravages of all other insects ; which cir- 

 cumstance must excite our admiration of the divine 

 Creator, who, in his beneficent goodness, has boun- 

 tifully secured food to the insect whose labours were 



