THE 
ART OF REARING 
SILK-WORMS. 
CHAPTER I. 
OF CATERPILLARS GENERALLY, AMONGST WHICH 
IS COMPRISED THE SILK-WORM. 
He who contemplates nature finds an inexhaust- 
ible source of wonder and pleasure in considering, 
among the class of insects, their forms, their co- 
lours, the different offensive and defensive wea- 
pons with which they are provided, their curious 
habitudes, the bond of union which is shewn in 
some kinds, and the prudence and industry which 
they employ, less indeed for their individual pre- 
servation than with a view to secure the perpe- 
tuity of the'species, while yielding to the soft and 
powerful impulse of nature. But if this innu- 
merable family of little animals furnishes ample 
matter for the curious researches of the naturalist, 
it affords also a subject of meditation for public 
B 
