&% NATURAL HISTORY. . 
in Sicily and Calabria. From thefe the other kingdoms of Europé 
learned this manufa@ure ; and it is now one of the moft lucrative car- 
ried on among the fouthern provinces of Europe. ; 
The filkworm is now very well known to be a large caterpillar, of a 
whitith colour, with twelve feet, and producing a butterfly of the moth 
kind. The cone on which it fpins, is formed for covering it while it 
continues in the aurelia flate; and feveral of thefe, properly wound off, 
and united together, form thole ftrong and beautiful threads, which 
- are woven into filk, The feeding thefe worms, the gathering, the 
winding, the twilting, and the weaving their filk, is one of the princi- 
pal manufactures of Europe; and, as our luxuries increafe, feems every 
day more and more neceflary to human happinefs. 
There are two methods of breeding filk-worms; for they may be’ 
left to grow, and remain at liberty upon the trees where they are hatch- 
ed; or they may be kept in a place built for that purpofe, and fed 
every day with frefh leaves. The firft method is ufed in China, Ton- 
quin, and other hot countries; the other is ufed in thofe places where 
the animal has been artifictally propagated, and fill continues @ ftran- 
ger. In the warm climates, the filk worm proceeds from an egg,’ 
which has been glued by the parent moth upon proper parts of the. 
mulberry-tree, and which remains in that fituation’ during the winter. 
The manner in which they are fituated and fixed to the tree, keeps 
them unaffe@ed by the influence of the weather; fo that thofe frofts: 
which are fevere enough to kill the tree, have no power to injure the’ 
filkworm. 
The infe& never proceeds from the egg till Nature has provided it a 
fufficient fupply ; and till the budding leaves are furnifhed,.in fufficient 
abundance, for its f{upport. When the leaves are put forth, the worms. 
feem to feel the genial fummons, and burfting from their little eg ESy 
erawl upon the leaves, where they feed with a moft voracious appetite. 
‘Thus they become larger by degrees ; and after fome months feeding, 
they lay, upon every leaf, {mall bundles, or cones of filk, which ap- 
pear like fo many golden apples, painted’ on a fine green ground. Such’ 
is the method of breeding them in the Eaft; and without doubt it is 
beft for the worms, and leaft troublefome for the feeder of them. But. 
it is otherwife in our colder European climates ; the frequent changes 
of the weather, and the heavy dews of our evenings, render the keep- 
ing them all night expofed, fubjett to fo many inconveniences, as tO 
admit of no remedy. It is true, that by the affiftance of nets, they 
may be preferved: from the infults of birds; but the fevere cold wea~ 
ther, which often fucceeds the firft heats of fummer,.as well as the rain 
and high winds, will deftroy them all: and,.therefore, to breed them it 
Europe, they mutt be fheltered and protected from every external injury- 
For this. purpofe, a room is chofen, with a fouth afpect; and the 
windows are fo well. glazed, as'not to admit the leaft air: the walls 
are well built, and the planks of the floor exceeding clofe, fo as to ad- 
mit neither birds nor mice, nor even fo much as an infet. In the 
middle there fhould be four pillars erected, or four wooden potts, {0 
placed as to form a pretty large fquare. Between thefe are different 
{tories made with ofier hurdles ;. and under each hurdle there fhould be 
-a floor, with an upright border all round: ‘Thefe hurdles and floor® 
mutt hang upon pulli¢s, fo as to be placed, or taken down at pital 
