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began by planting various sorts of mulberry trees for the 
food of the worms, a most important step, as the deficiency 
of the mulberry tree in this country has been long con- 
sidered fatal to the success of cultivating silk in England. 
From Mrs. Whitby's experience, she found the Dwarf or 
Phillipine species by far the best, as producing more 
leaves, and from being more easily propagated than any 
other, and which, although closely plucked to feed the worms, 
continued strong and vigorous. Of the various races of 
Silkworms she found that by procuring the eggs of the 
large Italian sort she obtained as great a proportion and 
as good a quality of silk, as is produced in Italy and 
France. This was attested by several eminent manu- 
facturers in London, Manchester, and Coventry, and 
Mrs. Whitby had the honour of presenting 20 yards of 
rich and brilliant damask, manufactured from silk grown at 
Newlands, to Her Majesty, who was graciously pleased to 
accept of this indication of a new source of riches in Her 
dominions. 
In other countries a very large amount of revenue is 
derived from this source. According to Count Dandolo, 
the amount of raw silk and silk articles exported from Italy 
alone in 1808-9-10, amounted in all to 334,580,628 lire 
Milanese, being an average of 83,646,157 lire Milanese, 
annually, or £2,790,671 18s. sterling. And in this country, 
although we do not rear the Silkworm, we have a large 
trade in silk. In 1820 our exports were valued at £371,000 ; 
in 1856 they had reached £3,000,000. The average imports 
of silk in 1856-7-8, were worth £7,000,000. We have now 
above 300 Silk manufacturers, with 200 millions of spindles 
going, and steam machinery of 4,000 horse-power, indepen- 
dently of the hand-weaving of Spitalfields, Dublin, and 
Coventry. We have 15,000 men, and 35,000 women employed 
in the manufacture ; and it is supposed that all those engaged 
