9 
that in Australia there are various larva of 
very large size, some five or six inches in 
length ; these form a portion of the food of the 
aboriginal population of the country. They 
belong to a genus of moths ( Zeuzera ), nearly 
allied to the cossus before-mentioned, and 
which seems to me an argument in favor of 
that being the one eaten by the Homans. I 
believe the habit of the blacks is to dig them 
out of the trees in which they feed and roast 
them. They are said to have a nutty flavor. 
But that for which we are most indebted 
to the insect tribe in the way of food 
is the article of honey. This is a produc- 
tion known from very early times, and long 
before the sugar cane was pressed into the 
service of mankind, honey was used for all the 
purposes that sugar now fulfils* That two such 
valuable articles as honey and wax should he 
the product of one particular kind of insect is 
not a little remarkable, and is an instance of 
the great bounty of the Creator, who gives us 
liberally all things we enjoy. I may remark 
here that the hive bee is, as it were, a domestic- 
ated insect, and like other domesticated animals, 
can accompany man almost wherever he goes. 
Thus, since the introduction of the common 
hive bee into this country, it has thriven to such 
an extent as to have become quite common, 
stray swarms taking up their abode in hollow 
trees, and sending off swarms further and fur- 
ther west, until at last it has penetrated inland 
some hundreds of miles, and will doubtless in 
time meet its fellows from Swan River, thus 
spanning the continent. Many other bees pro- 
duce honey, and in larger quantities, as was well 
known to the natives of this country before it 
was visited by Europeans. But the insect is 
small which is here called the native bee, and 
even said to be without a sting (rather anoma- 
lous in a member of the liymenoptera) ; this, 
however, I thinii questionable. In consequence 
of Ihe minute size of the native bee, their honey 
"gathering powers must be very limited indeed, 
compared with the domestic bee, although old- 
established colonies of these insects produce 
very fine honey, and in great abundance. The 
bee has also doubtless conferred much benefit 
upon mankind as being the medium through 
which the fertilizing pollen is conveyed from 
flower to flower of the various flowers and 
fruits. Thus, in most instances, have the 
different varieties of apples, pears, and other 
valuable fruits been produced. 
The next want of man is clothing. What 
cm insects do to supply it? Certainly we 
ought not to expect them to compete with the 
larger members of the animal kingdom, the pro- 
ducers of fur and wool so extensively used. No, 
these materials are suited for the commoner 
articles of clothing, but those delicate and 
brilliant threads spun by caterpillars are 
too costly to he implied for common purposes. 
The vegetable and animal world, that is to say, 
among the quadrupeds, minister to man’s ne- 
cessities, the silkworm to his luxuries, the 
former appeal to his notions of utility, the 
latter to Iris sense of beauty. For what is 
more splendid than a velvet robe or some of 
the more costly silken tissues only to be sur- 
passed by the lustre of the Bird of Paradise or 
the humming bird ? The great demand for 
this beautiful material has stimulated the in- 
dustry of large communities. I shall not 
dwell upon the methods employed in manufac- 
turing this article, as information on this point 
can be obtained from a great variety of sources, 
suffice it to say the caterpillars receive the ut- 
most attention, their requirements in the shape 
of food, ventilation, and cleanliness, being care- 
fully looked after to ensure a plentiful return. 
The animal, when arrived at its full growth, 
prepares to change into the cliysalis state, 
which it does inside the beautiful cocoon it 
first forms. It is not generally known that the 
cocoon of a silkworm is a far more elaborate 
affair than it seems. The silk is not woimd 
round and round as we should do it (only from 
the outside), but it is arranged in a series of 
zig zags, having a tendency to a circular direc- 
tion, the silk is exuded from a small organ 
called the spinneret, situated beneath the head, 
this is applied to any^point to which the insect 
intends to attach the silk, which though liquid 
within the body of the caterpillar instantly 
hardens on exposure to the air. Having first 
as it were laid the foundation by attaching 
threads from one point to another, it in a won- 
derful manner forms the first thin pellicle of 
the egg-shaped cocoon, and continues adding 
layer after layer in the zig zag method before 
mentioned until a small hollow space remains 
which tlie insect fills partly with a case of 
different material from the other part of the 
cocoon, it Bomewhat resembling thin parch- 
ment, in this it undergoes the change from the 
larva to the chysalis state. A few of the co- 
coons are reserved for breeding — all those from 
which the perfect insect is allowed to come 
forth being destroyed by a certain secretion 
emitted which dissolves the silk at one end of 
the cocoon, thus allowing the insect to emerge. 
The rest are killed by heat. The coocoons being 
placed in boiling water are unwound, and thus 
is produced the raw material, as it is called. 
The climate of Australia is well fitted for the 
silkworms, and also for the mulberry tree, on 
which it feeds, and it is quite within the range 
of probability, that where population increases, 
and labour is cheap, it will be the means of 
employment to large numbers of colonists. In 
India, there are several other moths of the 
G-enus Bombyx, which being of large size, pro- 
duce silk in considerable quantity. But, 
unlike the cocoons of the silkworm moth, those 
formed by these issects cannot be readily un- 
wound. It is, therefore subjected to a process 
of carding, and being coarse and strong, is 
woven into garments of such durability as to 
last for many years. In this country we have 
several — Bombyces, whose cocoons, if necessary, 
could be treated in a similar manner, and 
doubtless with the same result. The silk pro- 
duced by spiders has also been woven, hut more 
as a curiosity than anything else, as the quar- 
relsome and bloodthirsty nature of those crea- 
