CHAPTER VIII.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHINESE MODE OF REARING SILK-WORMS, &c.
Great antiquity of the silk-manufacture in China—Time and mode of pruning the
Mulberry-tree—Not allowed to exceed a certain height—Mode of planting—Situation
of rearing-rooms, and their construction—Effect of noise on the silk-worm—Precautions
observed in preserving cleanliness—Isan-mon, mother of
the worms—Manner of feeding—Space allotted to the worms—Destruction of
the Chrysalides—Great skill of the Chinese in weaving—American writers on the
Mulberry-tree—Silk-worms sometimes reared on trees—(M. Marteloy's experiments
in 1764, in rearing silk-worms on trees in France)—Produce inferior
to that of worms reared in houses—Mode of delaying the hatching of the eggs—Method
of hatching—Necessity for preventing damp—Number of meals—Mode
of stimulating the appetite of the worms—Effect of this upon the quantity
of silk produced—Darkness injurious to the silk-worm—Its effect on the
Mulberry-leaves—Mode of preparing the cocoons for the reeling process—Wild
silk-worms of India—Mode of hatching, &c.—(Observations on the cultivation
of silk by Dr. Stebbins—Dr. Bowring's admirable illustration of the mutual dependence
of the arts upon each other.)
In China, the tradition of the silk culture is, as already shown, carried back into the mythological periods, and dates with the origin of agriculture itself. These two pursuits or avocations, namely, husbandry and the silk-manufacture, form the subject of one of the sixteen discourses to the people. It is there observed, that "from ancient times the Son of Heaven directed the plough: the Empress planted the mulberry-tree. Thus have these exalted personages, not above the practice of labor and exertion, set an example to all men, with a view to leading the millions of their subjects to attend to their essential interests."
In the work published by Imperial authority, entitled "Illustrations of Husbandry and Weaving[1]," there are numerous*
- ↑ The drawing, plate I. (Frontispiece) is a faithful copy of a loom represented in this curious work. For this representation of a Chinese weaving engine, as well as several translations, explanatory of the silk-manufacture, &c., we are in-*
