118 NATURE’S CRAFTSMEN 
and strawberry, and upon the hickory, maple, 
willow, hazelnut and honey locust. The cocoon 
is a peculiar one, being built with double walls— 
a thick, wrinkled, brown paper-like outer wrap¬ 
per, and inside a dainty case of silk. 
“ The large luna moth is another distinguished 
member of the silkworm clan. You know her, I 
believe. She is of a handsome delicate green color, 
with swallow-tail wings. Her cocoon is spun in 
several of our forest trees. She is a close kin to 
the yamamai, or 4 oak 9 silkworm which is much 
raised in Japan. The silk of the yamamai ranks 
next to that of the domestic silkworm. 
44 The species called the American silkworm 
often fastens her cocoons to the leaves of our fruit 
and shade trees. They are formed of strong silk, 
which unwinds in a glossy fiber. Frequently 
these cocoons are to be found clinging to fallen 
leaves. You may know them by the chalky color 
of their hard gum which takes considerable heat 
to soften. The moth herself is a handsome buff- 
colored creature. 
44 India cultivates six of her native silkworms. 
China, Japan and France use every available one 
of theirs. England, too, has tried her hand at 
taming the wild ones. No doubt many of our own 
American spinners could be domesticated, and 
the quantity and quality of their silk improved 
by careful selection. If you want to experiment 
