THE MOTHS. 
461 
Several very laudable attempts have been made, but 
hitherto without any confiderable degree of fuccefs, to 
rear the filk worm in Britain. The public have lately 
been informed by a manufacturer in Paijley, of his hav- 
ing prepared a web entirely of the lilk. produced by 
■worms of his own rearing *: And in the tranfaflions of 
the fociety for the encouragement of arts, manufactures, 
and commerce, a number of very ufeful experiments are 
recorded with regard to the food and management of 
thefe infeCts f . 
Probably the want of a fufficient number of mulberry 
trees has hitherto rendered ineffectual the efforts of our 
countrymen to introduce and rear any confiderable quan- 
tity of filk worms. From the attempts that have already 
been made, it appears that the white mulberry is prefer- 
able to the black in feeding, and that the latter is to be 
preferred to the lettuce. Twelve cocoons, the produce 
of worms fed upon the white mulberry, weighed feven 
penny weights two grains ; while an equal number of 
thofe that had been fed upon the black mulberry weigh- 
ed only fix penny weight three grains: Six penny 
weights were obtained from the fame number of worms 
fed upon common lettuce J . 
Endeavours to produce raw filk in Britain feems the 
more worthy of encouragement, as that country appears 
to poffefs fotne advantages of which Italy and many of 
the filk countries are deprived. In Italy, the chryfalids 
foou come to life ; and it is there necc-ffary to deftroy 
them, left, by eating their way out, they fhould injure the 
filk. In order to effect this, they are collected and 
placed 
* Vide Glafgow Newspapers, November 1791. 
t The Rev. M. Swayne’s Letters to Mr. More, Vol. VII. 
j Tran Lift, chi fupra. 
