THE MODERN HISTORY OF SILK. 211 



easier. Here many worms came to perfection, spun, 

 crept from their cocoons, and, in twenty-four dif- 

 ferent places, eggs were deposited ; the moths laid 

 their eggs thickly together in irregular forms, never 

 upon the leaves, but upon the bark of the trunks or 

 the branches. 



" Prom these trials, it appears that the climate 

 does not of itself prevent the eggs from hatching, 

 and that an ordinary rain, even of some duration, and 

 the coolness of the nights, are not injurious to the 

 worms; but it is certain, that the longer they are, 

 and the more heavy they become, the more helpless 

 they appear ; and that, on account of the little power 

 they possess of attaching themselves fii-mly to the 

 trees, when compared with other animals of a similar 

 kind, they are badly protected, and fall very fre- 

 quently to the ground. It will be seen, whether 

 the insects, procured from eggs laid in the open air, 

 possess gi-eatcr power of holding themselves on the 

 trees, provided the eggs are not destroyed by the 

 weather, or by ants, before the spring arrives." 



Such is the disastrous history of this tender 

 colony; and those which were established in the 

 Walacho-Illyrian frontier shared nearly the same 

 fate. The trials were repeated in 1812, and proved 

 equally unsuccessful. 



Austria has long been celebrated for its manu- 

 facture of silks. Of the richest silks, the museum of 

 Vienna boasts a large variety ; but this manufacture. 



