[Frontis]

Plate I.

From Original Drawings

CHINESE LOOMS.

See Page 119.

[Pg ii]

[Pg iii]

[Pg v]

History, until a recent period, was mainly a record of gigantic crimes and their consequent miseries. The dazzling glow of its narrations lighted never the path of the peaceful Husbandman, as his noiseless, incessant exertions transformed the howling wilderness into a blooming and fruitful garden, but gleamed and danced on the armor of the Warrior as he rode forth to devastate and destroy. One year of his labors sufficed to undo what the former had patiently achieved through centuries; and the campaign was duly chronicled while the labors it blighted were left to oblivion. The written annals of a nation trace vividly the course of its corruption and downfall, but are silent or meagre with regard to the ultimate causes of its growth and eminence. The long periods of peace and prosperity in which the Useful Arts were elaborated or perfected are passed over with the bare remark that they afford little of interest to the reader, when in fact their true history, could it now be written, would prove of the deepest and most substantial value. The world might well afford to lose all record of a hundred ancient battles or sieges if it could thereby regain the knowledge of one lost art, and even the Pyramids bequeathed to us by Egypt in her glory would be well exchanged for a few of her humble workshops and manufactories, as they stood in the days of the Pharaohs. Of the true history of mankind only a few chapters have yet been written, and now, when the deficiencies of that we have are beginning to be realized, we find that the materials for supplying them have in good part perished in the lapse of time, or been trampled recklessly beneath the hoof of the war-horse.

In the following pages, an effort has been made to restore a portion of this history, so far as the meagre and careless traces [Pg vi] scattered through the Literature of Antiquity will allow.—Of the many beneficent achievements of inventive genius, those which more immediately minister to the personal convenience and comfort of mankind seem to assert a natural pre-eminence. Among the first under this head may be classed the invention of Weaving, with its collateral branches of Spinning, Netting, Sewing, Felting, and Dyeing. An account of the origin and progress of this family of domestic arts can hardly fail to interest the intelligent reader, while it would seem to have a special claim on the attention of those engaged in the prosecution or improvement of these arts. This work is intended to subserve the ends here indicated. In the present age, when the resources of Science and of Intellect have so largely pressed into the service of Mechanical Invention, especially with reference to the production of fabrics from fibrous substances, it is somewhat remarkable that no methodical treatise on this topic has been offered to the public, and that the topic itself seems to have almost eluded the investigations of the learned. With the exception of Mr. Yates’s erudite production, “Textrinum Antiquorum,” we possess no competent work on the subject; and valuable as is this production for its authority and profound research, it is yet, for various reasons, of comparative inutility to the general reader.

That a topic of such interest deserved elucidation will not be denied when it is remembered that, apart from the question of the direct influence these important arts have ever exerted upon the civilization and social condition of communities, in various ages of the world, there are other and scarcely inferior considerations to the student, involved in their bearing upon the true understanding of history, sacred and profane. To supply, therefore, an important desideratum in classical archæology, by thus seeking the better to illustrate the true social state of the ancients, thereby affording a commentary on their commerce and progress in domestic arts, is one of the leading objects contemplated by the present work. In addition to this, our better acquaintance with the actual condition of these arts in early times will tend, in many instances, to confirm the historic accuracy and elucidate the idiom of many portions of Holy Writ.

[Pg vii]

How many of the grandest discoveries in the scientific world owe their existence to accident! and how many more of the boasted creations of human skill have proved to be but restorations of lost or forgotten arts! How much also is still being revealed to us by the monumental records of the old world, whose occult glyphs, till recently, defied the most persevering efforts of the learned for their solution!

To be told that the Egyptians, four thousand years ago, were cunning artificers in many of the pursuits which constitute lucrative branches of our modern industry, might surprise some readers: yet we learn from undoubted authorities that such they were. They also were acquainted with the fabrication of crapes, transparent tissues, cotton, silk, and paper, as well as the art of preparing colors which still continue to defy the corrosions of defacing time.

If the spider may be regarded as the earliest practical weaver upon record—the generic name Textoriæ, supplying the root from which is clearly derived the English terms, texture and textile, as applied to woven fabrics, of whatever materials they may be composed—the wasp may claim the honor of having been the first paper-manufacturer, for he presents us with a most undoubted specimen of clear white pasteboard, of so smooth a surface as to admit of being written upon with ease and legibility. Would the superlative wisdom of man but deign, with microscopic gaze, to study the ingenious movements of the insect tribe more minutely, it would not be easy to estimate how much might thereby be achieved for human science, philosophy, and even morals!

For those who love to add to their fund of general knowledge, especially in the department of natural history, the author trusts that much valuable and interesting information will be found comprised in those pages of this work which delineate the habits of the Silk-Worm, the Sheep, the Goat, the Camel, the Beaver, &c.; while another department, being devoted to the history of the Pastoral Life of the Ancients, will naturally enlist the sympathies of such as take a deeper interest in the records of ages and nations long since passed away. From a mass of heterogeneous, though highly valuable materials, it has [Pg viii] been the design of the author to select, arrange, and conserve all that was apposite to his subject and of intrinsic value. Thus has he endeavored to render the piles of antiquity, to adopt the words of a recent writer, well compacted—a process which has been begun in our times, and with such eminent success that even the men of the present age may live to see many of the thousand and one folios of the ancients handed over without a sigh to the trunk-maker.

The ample domains of Learning are fast being submitted to fresh irrigation and renewed culture,—the exclusiveness of the cloister has given place to an unrestricted distribution of the intellectual wealth of all times. What civilization has accomplished in the physical is also being achieved in the mental world. The sterile and inaccessible wilderness is transformed into the well-tilled garden, abounding in luxurious fruits and fragrant flowers. It is the golden age of knowledge—its Paradise Regained. The ponderous works of the olden time have been displaced by the condensing process of modern literature; yielding us their spirit and essence, without the heavy, obscuring folds of their former verbal drapery. We want real and substantial knowledge; but we are a labor-saving and a time-economizing people,—it must therefore be obtained by the most compendious processes. Except those with whom learning is the business of life, we are too generally ignorant of the mighty mysteries which Nature has heaped around our path; ignorant, too, of many of the discoveries of science and philosophy, in ancient as well as modern times. To meet the exigencies of our day, a judgment in the selection and condensation of works designed for popular use is demanded—a facility like that of the alchymist, extracting from the crude ores of antiquity the fine gold of true knowledge.

The plan of this work naturally divides itself into four departments. The first division is devoted to the consideration of Silk, its early history and cultivation in China and various other parts of the world; illustrated by copious citations from ancient writers: From among whom to instance Homer, we learn that embroidery and tapestry were prominent arts with the Thebans, that poet deriving many of his pictures of domestic [Pg ix] life from the paintings which have been found to ornament their palaces. Thus it is evident that some of the proudest attainments of art in our own day date their origin from a period coeval at least with the Iliad. Again we find that the use of the distaff and spindle, referred to in the Sacred Scriptures, was almost as well understood in Egypt as it now is in India; while the factory system, so far from being a modern invention, was in full operation, and conducted under patrician influence, some three thousand years ago. The Arabians also, even so far back as five centuries subsequent to the deluge, were, it is stated on credible authority, skilled in fabricating silken textures; while, at a period scarcely less remote, we possess irrefragable testimony in favor of their knowledge of paper made from cotton rags. The inhabitants of Phœnicia and Tyre were, it appears, the first acquainted with the process of dyeing: the Tyrian purple, so often noticed by writers, being of so gorgeous a hue as to baffle description. The Persians were also prodigal in their indulgence in vestments of gold, embroidery and silk: the memorable army of Darius affording an instance of sumptuous magnificence in this respect. An example might also be given of the extravagance of the Romans in the third century, in the fact of a pound of silk being estimated literally by its weight in gold. The nuptial robes of Maria, wife of Honorius, which were discovered in her coffin at Rome in 1544, on being burnt, yielded 36 pounds of pure gold! In the work here presented, much interesting as well as valuable information is given under this section, respecting the cultivation and manufacture of Silk in China, Greece and other countries.

The second division of the work, comprising the history of the Sheep, Goat, Camel, and Beaver, it is hoped will also be found curious and valuable. The ancient history of the Cotton manufacture follows—a topic that has enlisted the pens of many writers, though their essays, with two or three exceptions, merit little notice. The subsequent pages embody many new and important facts, connected with its early history and progress, derived from sources inaccessible to the general reader. The fourth and last division, embracing the history of the Linen manufacture, includes notices of Hemp, Flax, Asbestos, &c. [Pg x] This department again affords a fruitful theme for the curious, and one that will be deemed, perhaps, not the least attractive of the volume. Completing the design of the work, will be found the Appendices, comprising rare and valuable extracts, derived from unquestionable authorities.

Of the Ten Illustrations herewith presented, five are entirely original. It is hoped that these, at least, will be deemed worthy the attention of the scholar as well as of the general reader, and that their value will not be limited by their utility as elucidations of the text. Among these, especial notice is requested to the engraving of the Chinese Loom, a reduced fac-simile, copied by permission from a magnificent Chinese production, recently obtained from the Celestial Empire, and now in the possession of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions in this city. Another, equally worthy of notice, represents an Egyptian weaving factory, with the processes of Spinning and Winding; also a reduced fac-simile, copied from Champollion’s great work on Egypt. The Spider, magnified with his web, and the Indian Loom, it is presumed, will not fail to attract attention.

Throughout the entire work, the most diligent care has been used in the collation of the numerous authorities cited, as well as a rigid regard paid to their veracity. As a work so elaborate in its character would necessarily have to depend, to a considerable extent, for its facts and illustrations, upon the labors of previous writers, the author deems no apology necessary in thus publicly and gratefully avowing his indebtedness to the several authors cited in order at the foot of his pages; but he would especially mention the eminent name of Mr. Yates, to the fruits of whose labors the present production owes much of its novelty, attractiveness, and intrinsic value.

    New York, Oct. 1st, 1845.

[Pg xi]

PART FIRST.
ANCIENT HISTORY OF SILK.

PART SECOND.
ORIGIN AND ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE SHEEP.

[Pg xix]

PART THIRD.
ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE COTTON MANUFACTURE.

PART FOURTH.
ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE LINEN MANUFACTURE.

[Pg xxi]

[Pg xxiii]

[Pg 1]

Whether silk is ever mentioned in the Old Testament cannot perhaps be determined.

In Ezek. xvi. 10 and 13, “silk” is used in the common English bible for משי, which occurs no where except here, but which, as appears from the context, certainly meant some [Pg 2] valuable article of female dress. Le Clerc and Rosenmüller translate it “serico;” Cocceius, Schindler, Buxtorf, in their Lexicons, and Dr. John Taylor in his Concordance, give the same interpretation. Augusti and De Wette in their German translation make it signify “a silken veil.” Others give different interpretations. The only ground, on which silk of any kind is supposed to be meant, is that in the Alexandrine or Septuagint version משי is translated τρίχαπτον, and τρίχαπτον is explained by Hesychius to mean “the silken web fitted to be placed over the hair of the head” (τὸ βομβύκινον ὕφασμα ὑπὲρ τῶν τριχῶν τῆς κεφαλῆς ἁπτόμενον), and that other ancient Greek lexicographers also suppose a silken garment to be meant.[1] But the meaning of τρίχαπτον is in reality as obscure as that of משי. Jerome could not discover it, and concluded that the word was invented by the Greek translator. It is now extant no where else except in a passage of the comic Pherecrates preserved in Athenæus. Schneider, followed by Passow, supposes it to mean some garment made of hair, and quotes to this effect the explanation of Pollux (2. 24.), πλέγμα ἐκ τριχῶν. Although, therefore, the term in question may possibly have denoted some elegant and costly ornament for the head, made at least partly of silk, yet this opinion appears to rest altogether upon the assumption, first, that the ancient lexicographers are accurate in their use of the epithet βομβύκινον, and secondly, that the Alexandrine version is accurate in adopting the word τρίχαπτον.

In Isaiah xix. 9, according to King James’s Translators and Bishop Lowth, mention is made of those “that work in fine flax,” in the original עבדי פשתים שריקות. Rosenmüller adopts nearly the same interpretation, which is founded upon the use of the verb שרק or סרק in the Chaldee and Syriac dialects to denote the operation of combing flax, wool, hair, and other substances. In this sense the word has been taken by the author of the Alexandrine Version, τοὺς ἐργαζομένους τὸ λίνον τὸ σχιστὸν; by Symmachus, who instead of σχιστὸν uses κτενιστὸν; and by Jerome, “qui operabantur linum pectentes.”

[Pg 3]

In the Targum of Jonathan and in the Syriac Version the same root is taken to denote silk; רסריקין פלחי כתנא Targ. ܥܒܕܝ ܟܬܢܐ ܕܣܪܩܝܢ Syr. Both of these seem to admit of the following literal translation, “those who make silken tunics,” or in Latin, “Factores tunicarum e sericis.”

Kimchi supposes שריקות to mean silk webs, observing that silk is called אל שרק by the Arabs. The same opinion has been adopted by Nicholas Fuller[2], Buxtorf, and other modern critics. Kennicott, however, arranges the words in two lines as follows,

According to this arrangement, which seems most suitable to the rules of grammatical construction, we have three co-ordinate phrases in the plural number, denoting three different classes of artificers. The second, שריקות, would by its termination denote female artificers, viz. women employed in combing wool, flax, or other substances. On the whole we are inclined to adopt this explanation of the word, as it appears to be attended with the least difficulty, either grammatical or etymological.

Silk is mentioned Prov. xxxi. 22. in King James’s Translation, i. e. the common English version, and in the margin of Gen. xli. 42. But the use of the word is quite unauthorized.

After a full examination of the whole question Braunius[3] decides that there is no mention of silk in the whole of the Old Testament, and that it was unknown to the Hebrews in ancient times.

“There can be no doubt,” says Professor Hurwitz, “that manufactures and the arts must have attained a high degree of perfection at the time when Moses wrote; and that many of them were known long before that period, we have the evidence of Scripture. It is true that inventions were at first [Pg 4] few, and their progress very slow, but they were suited to the then condition and circumstances of man, as is evident even in the art of clothing. Placed in the salubrious and mild air of paradise, our first parents could hardly want any other covering than what decency required. Accordingly we find that the first and only article of dress was the חגורה chagora, the belt, (not aprons, as in the established version). The materials of which it was made were fig leaves; (Gen. iii. 7.) the same tree that afforded them food and shelter, furnished them likewise with materials for covering their bodies. But when in consequence of their transgressions they were to be ejected from their blissful abode, and forced to dwell in less favourable regions, a more substantial covering became necessary, their merciful Creator made them (i. e. inspired them with the thoughts of making for themselves) כתנות עור coats of skins. (Gen. iii. 21.) The original word is כתנת c’thoneth, whence the Greek χιτὼν the tunic, a close garment that was usually worn next the skin, it reached to the knees, and had sleeves (in after times it was made either of wool or linen.) After man had subdued the sheep (Hebrew כבשׂ caves from כגש to subdue[4]) and learned how to make use of its wool, we find a new article of dress, namely the שמלה simla, an upper garment: it consisted of a piece of cloth about six yards long and two or three wide, in shape not unlike our blankets. This will explain Gen. ix. 23, ‘And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father.’ It served as a dress by day, as a bed by night, (Exod. xxii. 26,) [Pg 5] ‘If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down; for that is his covering only; it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep?’ And sometimes burdens were carried in it, (Exod. xii. 34,) ‘And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading-troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.’

“In the course of time various other garments came into use, as mentioned in several other parts of Scripture. The materials of which these garments were usually made are specified in Leviticus xiii. 47-59, ‘The garment also that the plague of the leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment or a linen garment, whether it be in the warp or woof, of linen or of woollen; whether in a skin, or in anything made of skin, &c.’”

In our search for the distant origin of any art or science, or in looking through the long vista of ages remote even to nations extinct before our own, we are favored with satisfactory evidence so long as we are accompanied with authentic records: beyond, all is dark, obscure, tradition, fable. On such ground it would be credulous or rash in the extreme to repeat as our own, an affirmation, when that rests on the single testimony of one party or interest, especially when that is of a very questionable character. It is even safer, when history or well authenticated records fail us, to appeal to philosophy, or to the well known laws of mind, from which all arts and science spring. The former favors us with the commanding evidence of certainty and decision; and though the latter may only afford the testimony of analogy, yet, is its probability more safe, at least, than what rests on misguided calculations or on the legendary tales of artifice and fiction.

We have, however, authentic testimony that the inventive faculty existed at a very early period. The peculiar condition of man at that time must have afforded many imperative occasions for its exertion. Hence we read that “Jabal was the father of such as dwell in tents” (i. e. inventor of tent-making); that “Jubal, his brother, was the father” (inventor) of musical instruments: such as the kinnor, harp, or stringed instruments, [Pg 6] and the ugab, organ, or wind instruments; that “Tubal-cain was the instructor of every artificer in brass and iron, the first smith on record, or one to teach how to make instruments and utensils out of brass and iron; and that the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah, whom the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel affirms to have been the inventrix of plaintive or elegiac poetry[5]. Here is then an account of the inventive faculty being in exercise 3504 years before the Christian era; or 1156 years prior to the deluge; or 804 years before the earliest period assigned to the Chinese for the discovery of silk. And of whatever arts or sciences existing amongst men prior to the deluge, there is no difficulty in conceiving the possibility of the transmission of the leading and most essential parts, at least, to the post-diluvians, by the family of Noah.

But instead of giving our unqualified assent to what has been servilely copied from book to book from the most accessible account, we shall advert to the great discrepancy relative to Chinese chronology, amongst those who have had equal access to their records. Thus the time of Fohi, the first emperor, has been said to be 2951 B. C., by some 2198 B. C., and by others 2057, or about 300 years after the deluge: of Hoang-ti, 2700 B. C., by Mailla it is quoted at 2602 B. C., by Le Sage at 2597 B. C., and by Robinson and others at 1703 B. C. Similar disagreements might, would our limits allow, be observed concerning the rest, and particularly of the emperors, Hiao-wenti, Chim-ti, Ming-ti, Youen-ti, Wenti, Wou-ti, and Hiao-wou-ti. Even in more modern times, and relative to a character so notorious as Confucius, no less than three dates are [Pg 7] equally affirmed to be true. As to Hoang-ti, who is said to have begun the culture of silk, we are inclined to prefer the latter account, 1703 B. C., which makes him contemporary with Joseph, when prime minister over the land of Egypt.

As a confirmation of this, it may be stated, that by referring to the account given of nine[6] of the patriarchs at this period, we shall find that the average age of human life, before much greater, soon after rapidly declined. Now the average duration of the reigns of the first three[7] Chinese emperors, including Hoang-ti, was 118 years; of the five that immediately succeeded, only 68 years. After this, until the Christian era, the average duration of a single reign did not exceed 23 years, and thence until the present time not 13 years. Since, therefore, the average duration of the reign of the first three emperors bears an evident and fit proportion to that of the age of man at the period specified, though not at any other before or after, being in the former case as much too small as it would in the latter be too great, the opinion now offered is the only one that can be consistent with these striking facts; and, if duly considered, presents an argument strongly corroborating this view of the subject.

To attempt to establish any greater certainty, in a case of this nature, the Chinese during the dynasty of Tschin, having, to conceal the truth, destroyed everything authentic, would be in vain. It would be even more rational to have recourse to the Vedas, or sacred books of the Brahmins, or to records in the Sanscrit, were it not a well known fact, that nearly all ancient nations, except the Jews, actuated by the same ambition, have betrayed a wish to have their origin traced as far back as the creation. And in the gratification of this passion none are so notoriously pre-eminent as the Egyptians, Hindoos, and Chinese.[8] For them the limits of the creation itself have been too narrow, and days, weeks, and even months too short, unless multiplied into years.[9]

[Pg 8] The chronology relative to the early culture of silk, as found in Chinese documents, for several irrefragable objections already assigned, is exceedingly questionable, and therefore we are by no means pledged to affirm that either in the authenticity of the books, or in the correctness of the dates have we any faith. M. Lavoisnè dates the commencement of the Chinese dynasties at A. M.[10] 1816, or 159 years after the deluge. The Rev. J. Robinson of Christ Col., Cam., at A. M. 1947. We have already given as strong reasons, as under the extreme incertitude of the case, can, perhaps, be offered, for preferring the latter; the important points may be briefly stated, thus:

Hoang-ti was therefore contemporary with Joseph when administering the affairs of Egypt.[12] But would we know what account the Chinese themselves give relative to the earliest introduction of the silk culture, we shall find it in the French version of the Chinese Treatises, by M. Stanislas Julien, or in the following words of pages 77 and 78, as translated and published in 1838, at Washington, under the title of “Summary of the principal Chinese Treatises upon the Culture of the Mulberry, and the rearing of Silk-worms.”

[Pg 9] In the book on silk-worms, we read: “The lawful wife of the emperor Hoang-ti, named Si-ling-chi, began the culture of silk. It was at that time that the emperor Hoang-ti invented the art of making garments(!).” The same fact is mentioned more in detail in the general history of China, by P. Maillà, in the year 2602, before our era (4447 years ago).

“This great prince (Hoang-ti) was desirous that Si-ling-chi, his legitimate wife, should contribute to the happiness of his people. He charged her to examine the silk-worms, and to test the practicability of using the thread. Si-ling-chi had a large quantity of these insects collected, which she fed herself, in a place prepared for that purpose, and discovered not only the means of raising them, but also the manner of reeling the silk, and of employing it to make garments.”

“It is through gratitude for so great a benefit,” says the history, entitled Wai-ki, “that posterity has deified Si-ling-chi, and rendered her particular honors under the name of the goddess of silk-worms.” (Memoirs on the Chinese, vol. 13, p. 240.)

We have seen that the most probable account relative to the time of Fohi, said to have been the first Chinese emperor, is that he reigned 2057 years before the Christian era, or in the year of the world 1947. “According to the most current opinion,” says M. Lavoisnè, “China was founded by one of the colonies formed at the dispersion of Noah’s posterity under the conduct of Yao, who took for his colleague Chun, afterwards his successor. But most writers consider Fohi to have been Noah himself(!).”

Now the deluge terminated A. M. 1657, and Noah lived after the deluge 350 years[13], and therefore died A. M. 2007; and as Fohi is said to have reigned 114 years, before Eohi Chun or Chinun succeeded him, he was contemporary, at least, with Noah. The ark rested on Mount Ararat, which is generally allowed to be one of the mountains of Armenia, to the east of the head of the Tigris. And here the same author remarks, that “in rather less than a century and a half, after [Pg 10] the birth of Peleg, it is supposed that Noah, being then about his 840th year, wearied with the growing depravity of his descendants, retired with a select company to a remote corner of Asia, and there began what in after ages has been termed the Chinese monarchy.”[14] This view of the subject, we believe, coincides perfectly with the reputable testimonies presented by Mairan, Bailly, Guignes, and Sir William Jones, and demonstrates that the transit of more central aborigines, since the deluge, to the extremes of China, was perfectly feasible,[15] and a matter of even high probability.

The first ancient author, who affords any evidence respecting the use of silk, is Aristotle. He does not, however, appear to have been accurately acquainted with the changes of the silk-worm; nor does he say, that the animal was bred or the raw material produced in Cos. He only says, “Pamphile, daughter of Plates, is reported to have first woven it in Cos.” (See Chapters ii. iii. and iv. of this Part.)

Long before the time of Aristotle a regular trade had been established in the interior of Asia, which brought its most valuable productions, and especially those which were most easily transported, to the shores opposite this flourishing island. Nothing therefore is more likely than that the raw silk from the interior of Asia was brought to Cos and there manufactured. We shall see hereafter from the testimony of Procopius, that it was in like manner brought some centuries later to be woven in the Phœnician cities, Tyre and Berytus.

The arts of spinning and weaving, which rank next in importance to agriculture, having been found among almost all the nations of the old and new continents, even among those little removed from barbarism, are reasonably supposed to[Pg 11] have been invented at a very remote period of the world’s history[16]. They evidently existed in Egypt in the time of Joseph (1700 years before the Christian era), as it is recorded that Pharaoh “arrayed him in vestures of fine linen.” (Genesis xli. 42.) Two centuries later, the Hebrews carried with them on their departure from that ancient seat of civilization, the arts of spinning, dyeing, weaving, and embroidery; for when Moses constructed the tabernacle in the wilderness, “the women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.” (Exod. xxxv. 25.) They also “spun goats’ hair;” and Bezaleel and Aholiab “worked all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and of purple, and in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver.” These passages contain the earliest mention of woven clothing, which was linen, the national manufacture of Egypt. The prolific borders of the Nile furnished from the remotest periods, as at the present time, abundance of the finest flax[17]; and it appears, from the testimony both of sacred and profane history, that linen continued to be almost the only kind of clothing used in Egypt till after the Christian era[18]. The Egyptians exported their “linen yarn,” and “fine linen,” to the kingdom of Israel, in the days of Solomon, (2 Chron. i. 16; Prov. vii. 16;) their “fine linen with broidered work,” to Tyre, (Ezek. xxvii. 7.)

The women of Sidon before the Trojan war, were especially celebrated for the skill in embroidery: and Homer, who lived 900 years B. C., mentions Helen as being engaged in embroidering the combats of the Greeks and Trojans.

[Pg 12] The transition from vegetable fibre to the use of animal staples, such as wool and hair, could not have been very difficult; indeed, as already stated, it took place at a period of which we possess no very authentic written record.

The instrument used for spinning in all countries, from the earliest times, was the distaff and spindle. This simple apparatus was put by the Greek mythologists into the hands of Minerva and the Parcæ; Solomon employs upon it the industry of the virtuous woman; to the present day the distaff is used in India, Egypt, and other eastern countries.

The ancient spindle or distaff was a very simple instrument. The late Lady Calcott informs us, that it continued even to our own days to be used by the Hindoos in all its primitive simplicity. “I have seen,” she says, “the rock or distaff formed simply of the leading shoot of some young tree, carefully peeled, it might be birch or elder, and, further north, of fir or pine; and the spindle formed of the beautiful shrub Euonymus, or spindle-tree.”[19]

Spinning among the Egyptians, as among our ancestors of no very distant age, was a domestic occupation in which ladies of rank did not hesitate to engage. The term “spinster” is yet applied to unmarried ladies of every rank, and there are persons yet alive who remember to have seen the spinning wheel an ordinary piece of furniture in domestic economy.

[Pg 13]

We are told that “Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt and linen yarn; the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price.” (1 Kings, x. 28.) And the linen of Egypt was highly valued in Palestine, for the seducer, in Proverbs, says, “I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.” (Prov. vii. 16.) The prophet Ezekiel also declares that the export of the textile fabrics was an important branch of Phœnician commerce; for in his enumeration of the articles of traffic in Tyre, he says: “Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elisha was that which covered thee.” (Ezek. xxvii. 7.)

It deserves to be remarked that the prophet here joins Egypt with the isles of Elisha or Elis, that is, the districts of western Greece, and thus confirms the ancient tradition recorded by Herodotus of some Egyptian colonists having settled in that country, which the sceptics of the German school of history have thought proper to deny.[20] Spinning was wholly a female employment; it is rather singular that we find this work frequently performed by a large number collected together, as if the factory system had been established 3000 years ago.

We have, however, many specimens of spinning as a domestic employment. Indeed, attention to the spindle and distaff forms a leading feature in king Lemuel’s description of a virtuous woman. “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband[Pg 14] doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchant’s ships; she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She considereth a field, and buyeth it; with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.” (Prov. xxxi. 10-24.)

Hamilton and Wilkinson have already shown that many of the descriptions of combats we meet in the Iliad appear to have been derived from the battle pieces on the walls of the Theban palaces, which the poet himself pretty plainly intimates that he had visited. The same observation may be applied to most of Homer’s pictures of domestic life. We find the lady of the mansion superintending the labors of her servants, and using the distaff herself. Her spindle made of some precious material, richly ornamented, her beautiful work-basket, or rather vase, and the wool dyed of some bright hue to render it worthy of being touched by aristocratic fingers, remind us of the appropriate present which the Egyptian queen, Alcandra, made to the Spartan Helen; for the beauty of that frail fair one scarcely is less celebrated than her skill in embroidery and every species of ornamental work. After Polybus had given his presents to Menelaus, who stopped at Egypt on his return from Troy,

In the hieroglyphics over persons employed with the spindle on the Egyptian monuments, it is remarkable that the word saht, which in Coptic signifies to twist, constantly occurs. The spindles were generally of wood, and in order to increase their impetus in turning, the circular head was occasionally of gypsum, or composition: some, however, were of a light plaited work, made of rushes, or palm leaves, stained of various colors, and furnished with a loop of the same materials, for securing the twine after it was wound[21]. Sir Gardner Wilkinson found one of these spindles at Thebes, with some of the linen thread upon it, and is now in the Berlin Museum.

Theocritus has given us a very striking proof of the pleasure which the women of Miletus took in these employments; for, when he went to visit his friend Nicias, the Milesian physician, to whom he had previously addressed his eleventh and thirteenth Idylls, he carried with him an ivory distaff as a present for Theugenis, his friend’s wife. He accompanied his gift with the following verses, which modestly commend the matron’s industry and virtue, and, at the same time, throw an interesting light on the domestic economy of the ladies of Miletus:

[Pg 16] The Roman and Grecian ladies displayed not less taste in the decoration of their various spinning implements, than those of modern times in the ornaments of their work-table. The calathus or qualus was the basket in which the wool was kept for the fair spinsters. It was usually made of wicker-work. Thus Catullus in his description of the nuptials of Peleus and Thetis, says:

[Pg 17] Homer asserts that the Egyptian queen Alcandra presented Helen with a silver work-basket as well as a golden distaff (Odyss. iv.); and from the paintings on ancient vases, we see that the calathi of ladies of rank were tastefully wrought and richly ornamented. From the term qualus or quasillus, equivalent to calathus, the Romans called the female slaves employed in spinning quasillariæ.

The material prepared for spinning was wrapped loosely round the distaff, the wool being previously combed, or the flax hackled by processes not very dissimilar to those used at the present day amongst the peasantry in the west of Ireland. The ball thus formed on the distaff required to be arranged with some neatness and skill, in order that the fibres should be sufficiently loose to be drawn out by the hand of the spinner. Ovid declares, that Arachne’s skill in this simple process excited the wonder of the nymphs who came to see her triumphs in the textile art, not less than the finished labors of the loom.

The distaff was generally about three feet in length, commonly a stick or reed, with an expansion near the top for holding the ball. It was sometimes, as we have shown, composed of richer materials. The distaff was usually held under the left arm, and the fibres were drawn out from the projecting ball, being, at the same time, spirally twisted by the forefinger and thumb of the right hand. The thread so produced was wound upon the spindle until the quantity was as great as it would carry.

The spindle was made of some light wood, or reed, and was [Pg 18] generally from eight to twelve inches in length. At the top of it was a slit, or catch, to which the thread was fixed, so that the weight of the spindle might carry the thread down to the ground as fast as it was finished. Its lower extremity was inserted into a whorl, or wheel, made of stone, metal, or some heavy material which both served to keep it steady and to promote its rotation. The spinner, who, as we have said before, was usually a female, every now and then gave the spindle a fresh gyration by a gentle touch so as to increase the twist of the thread. Whenever the spindle reached the ground a length was spun; the thread was then taken out of the slit, or clasp, and wound upon the spindle; the clasp was then closed again, and the spinning of a new thread commenced. All these circumstances are briefly mentioned by Catullus, in a poem from which we have already quoted:—

In order to understand this description of Catullus, it is necessary to bear in mind, that as the bobbin of each spindle was loaded with thread, it was taken off from the whorl and placed in a basket until there was a sufficient quantity for the weavers to commence their operations.

Homer incidentally mentions the spool or spindle on which the weft-yarn was wound, in his description of the race at the funeral-games in honor of Patroclus:

[Pg 19]

In India women of all castes prepare the cotton thread for the weaver, spinning it on a piece of wire, or a very thin rod of polished iron with a ball of clay at one end; this they turn round with the left hand, and supply the cotton with the right; the thread is then wound upon a stick or pole, and sold to the merchants or weavers; for the coarser thread the women make use of a wheel very similar to that of the Irish spinster, though upon a smaller construction. (For further information on the manufactures of India, their present state, &c., see Part III.)

The Reverend Mr. C. Forster of Great Britain, has lately published a very curious work on Arabia, being the result of many years’ untiring research in that part of the world; from which we learn the very interesting fact, that the ancient Arabians were skilled in the manufacture of silken textures, at as remote a period as within 500 years of the flood!

Mr. Forster has, it appears, succeeded in deciphering many very remarkable inscriptions found on some ancient monuments near Adon on the coast of Hadramant. These records, it is said, restore to the world its earliest written language, and carry us back to the time of Jacob, and within 500 years of the flood.

The inscriptions are in three parts. The longest is of ten lines, engraved on a smooth piece of rock forming one side of the terrace at Hisn Ghorab. Then there are three short lines, found on a small detached rock on the summit of the little hill. There are also two lines found near the inscriptions, lower down the terrace. They all relate to one transaction, an incident in Adite history. The tribe of Ad, according to Mr. Sale, were descended from Ad the son of Aws or Uz, the son of Aram, the son of Shem, the son of Noah. The event recorded is the rout and entire destruction of the sons of Ac, an Arab tribe, by the Aws or tribe of Ad, whom they invaded. In Mr. Forster’s book fac similes are given of the inscription; the Aditie and the Hamyaritie alphabet; and a glossary containing every word in them, its derivation, and its explanation; with notes of copious illustration upon every point which they involve. The first inscription of ten lines is thus translated:

[Pg 20]

On the subject of these inscriptions, Mr. Forster, in the dedication of his book to the Archbishop of Canterbury, thus remarks: “What Job (who, living in the opposite quarter of Arabia, amid the sands of the great Northern desert, had no lasting material within reach on which to perpetuate his thoughts,) so earnestly desired, stands here realized.” “Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were printed in a Book! That (like the kindred creed of the lost tribe of Ad) they were graven with an iron pen, and lead, in the rock forever. (For mine is a better and brighter revelation than theirs.) For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though, after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in the flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.”

[Pg 21] That the Arabians should have understood the manufacture of silken textures at as remote a period as that supposed by Mr. Forster, viz., 500 years after the flood, is, to say the least of it, exceedingly questionable, yet it cannot be denied that we are indebted to them for many useful inventions, and among which may be mentioned the art of making cotton paper[24]. It is no less true that we first received our cotton-wool from countries where the Arabic language was spoken.

To the Arabs also we are indebted for that almost indispensable article of apparel, the shirt, the Arabic name for which is camees, whence the Italian camiscia, and the French chemise[25].

In the attempt here made to trace from the dark ages of antiquity the progress of trades and manufactures so widely diffused over the civilised world as those of cotton, linen, silk, wool, &c., chronological order is followed as closely as the nature of the inquiry will permit.

[Pg 22]

The next Authors, who make mention of silk, are the Latin poets of the Augustan age, Tibullus and Propertius, Virgil, Horace, and Ovid. The Parthian war, and the increased intercourse between the Roman empire and the kingdoms of the East, had been the means of recently introducing every kind of silken goods into more general use, although these manufactures were still so rare as to be the objects of curiosity and admiration, and were therefore well adapted to be brought in among the embellishments of poetical imagery.

The appearance of the silken flags attached to the gilt standards of the Parthians (Florus iii. 11.) must have been a very striking sight for the army of Crassus, contributing both to inflame their cupidity and to alarm them with a sense of the [Pg 23] power of their opponents. The conflict here referred to took place in the year 54 B. C. In about 30 years after this date the Roman empire obtained its greatest extension. In the language of Petronius Arbiter (c. 119.),

After these words he says, that among the richest productions of distant climates the Seres sent their “new fleeces.” The remotest countries thus contributed to increase the luxury of Rome, and we shall now see how silk, one of the most costly and the most admired of its recent acquisitions, was used by its poets to represent the polish of elevated life and to adorn their language with rich and beautiful allusions. The webs, which they mention, are either those still obtained from Cos, or those imported from the country of the Seres.

TIBULLUS.

The latter of these two passages is remarkable as showing that the Coan women practised the elegant art of interweaving gold thread in their silken webs. The gold was no doubt displayed in transverse stripes.

PROPERTIUS.

In the next passage Propertius is speaking of his own Poetry, and alludes to his frequent mention of Coan garments.

[Pg 24]

ON A STATUE OF VERTUMNUS.

The same poet (L. iv. 8. 23.) mentions “Serica carpenta,” chariots with silk curtains; and the following line (L. i. 14. 22.) shows, that couches with ornamented silk covers were then in use:

Propertius also mentions silk under the name of the animal, which produced it:

In this line, as well as in some of those before quoted, he alludes to the use of silk by females of indifferent character. He probably uses the epithet Arabian, because the Roman merchants obtained silk from the Arabs, who received it from Persia.

VIRGIL.

The poet is here enumerating the chief productions of different countries, and therefore mentions cotton and silk. The idea, that silk webs were manufactured from thin fleeces obtained from trees, will be found recurring in many of the subsequent citations. It may have been founded on reports brought [Pg 25] by the soldiers of Crassus, or by others who visited the interior of Asia about the same period.

HORACE.

These passages allude to the fineness and transparency of silken webs, which in the time of Horace were worn at Rome only by prostitutes, or by those women who aimed at being as attractive and luxurious as possible in their attire.

The former passage shows, that the silks manufactured in Cos were dyed with the murex, “Coæ purpuræ.”

The expression “Sericos pulvillos” (Epod. 8. 15.) has been supposed to denote small cushions covered with silk. But the epithet “Sericos” implies nothing more than that they were obtained from the Seres, who supplied the Romans with skins as well as silk[26]; and leather seems to have been a more proper substance than silk for making cushions.

OVID.

[Pg 26] In another passage (Amores i. 14. 5.) Ovid compares the thin hairs of a lady to the silken veils of the Seres,

We now proceed to the testimonies of authors who wrote either in Greek or Latin at the latter part of the Augustan age, or immediately after it.

DYONISIUS PERIEGETES.

It is worthy of observation that Dyonisius speaks expressly not only of the fineness of the thread, but of the flowered texture of the silk.

STRABO.

This is repeated by Eustathius on Dyonisius Periegetes[27]. The account seems to have been taken by Strabo, perhaps inaccurately, from Nearchus. It is doubtful, whether Σηρικὰ denoted silken webs in this passage. But whatever Strabo meant, he supposed the raw material to be scraped from the bark of trees[28].

As contemporary with the authors last quoted, Dyonisius and Strabo, we may here mention the law passed by the Roman Senate early in the reign of Tiberius, “Ne vestis Serica viros fœdaret.” Taciti Annales, ii. 33. Dion. Cass. l. 57. p. 860. [Pg 27] Reim. Suidas in v.Τιβέριος[29]. Silk was to be worn by women only.

The next emperor Caligula had silk curtains to his throne (Dion. Cass. l. 59. p. 915. Reim.), and he wore silk as part of his dress, when he appeared in public. Dio Cassius particularly mentions, that, when he was celebrating a kind of triumph at Puteoli, he put on what he alleged to be the thorax of Alexander, and over that a silken chlamys, dyed with the murex, and adorned with gold and precious stones. On the following day he wore a tunic interwoven with gold[30]. The use of shawls and tunics of silk was, however, except in the case of the extravagances of a Caligula, still confined to the female sex. Under the earlier emperors it is probable, that silk was obtained in considerable quantities for the wardrobe of the empress, where it was preserved from one reign to another, until in the year 176 Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, the philosopher, in consequence of the exhausted state of his treasury, sold by public auction in the Forum of Trajan the imperial ornaments and jewels together with the golden and silken robes of the Empress[31].

FIRST CENTURY.

SENECA, THE PHILOSOPHER.

The Seres must be supposed to have dwelt somewhere in the centre of Asia. Perhaps those geographers who represent Little Bucharia as their country[32], are nearest the truth, and thus far neither Greeks nor Romans had penetrated. Silk was brought to them “from nations, to which even their commerce had not yet extended.” Hence their inaccurate ideas respecting its origin[33].

SENECA, THE TRAGEDIAN.

At a very early period the art of dyeing had been carried to a very great degree of perfection in Phœnicia. The method of dyeing woollen cloths purple was, it is said, first discovered at Tyre. This color, the most celebrated among the ancients, appears to have been brought to a degree of excellence, of which we can form but a very faint idea:

[Pg 29]

LUCAN.

The poet is describing the dress of Cleopatra. He supposes her to have worn over her breast a piece of silk, woven by the Seres, imported through Sidon into Egypt, and then embroidered. By the last process, in which the Egyptians greatly excelled, the threads were in part separated, so as to exhibit the appearance of lace, and to allow the white breast of the queen to be visible through the texture.

With this description we compare that of Seneca, which represents silk as embroidered in Asia Minor, with the “Mæonian needle.”

PLINY

speaks copiously and repeatedly of the manufacture of silk. Nevertheless we learn from him scarce anything, which we did not know from the earlier authorities. His accounts are taken from Aristotle, from Varro, and probably also from persons who accompanied the Parthian expeditions, or who engaged in the trade with inner Asia. But according to his usual manner, when he speaks of what he has not himself seen, he confounds accounts from different witnesses, which are inconsistent with one another. He asserts that the bombyx was a native of Cos; but it is not probable that the women of that island would, in such case, have recourse to the laborious operation of converting foreign finished goods into threads for their own weaving. It is, therefore, only reasonable to suppose that whatever manufacture was carried on from the raw material, was, like that of Tyre or Berytus, composed of unwrought silk imported from the East. It is mentioned both by Theophanes and Zonares, the Byzantine historians, that before silk-worms were brought to Constantinople in the middle of the sixth century, no person in that capital knew that silk was produced by a worm; a tolerably strong evidence that none were reared so near to Constantinople as Cos.

Pliny’s account of the Coan bombyx is evidently a cloud of fable and absurdity, in which, however, we may discern a few lines of truth, probably derived from the accounts of the silk-worm of the Seres.

JOSEPHUS

says, that the emperors Titus and Vespasian wore silk dresses[35], when they celebrated at Rome their triumph over the Jews.

[Pg 31]

SAINT JOHN.

Silk (Σηρικὸν) occurs but once in the New Testament, Rev. xviii. 12. It is here mentioned in a curious enumeration of all the most valuable articles of foreign traffic.

SILIUS ITALICUS.

In the last passage Silius is describing the effects of the recent eruption of Mount Vesuvius, A. D. 79. That its ashes should reach the country of the Seres, whether it was in Persia or China, would indeed have been “Monstrum admirabile!”

STATIUS.

PLUTARCH

dissuades the virtuous and prudent wife from wearing silk[37]. He mentions, that webs of silk and fine linen were at the same time thin and compact or close[38].

[Pg 32]

JUVENAL

speaks of women,

MARTIAL.

Here Martial alludes to the employment of presses (prela) for preserving the garments of silk and other precious materials, belonging to the Empress, in the same way, in which we now use presses to keep table-linen. He says to a lady (L. ix. 38.),

In another passage (L. xi. 27.) he speaks of silken goods (Serica) as procurable in the Vicus Tuscus at Rome: and lastly in L. xiv. Ep. 24, he mentions ribbons or fillets of silk as used for adorning the hair.

PAUSANIAS,

a native of Asia Minor, and an inquisitive traveller in the second century, gives the following distinct account of Sericum according to the ideas received among the Greeks in his time.

The most interesting circumstance, mentioned by Pausanias, is the breeding of the silk-worms within doors in houses adapted both for summer and winter. There seems no reason to doubt the truth of this fact; and, if admitted, it proves, that their country, the Serica of the ancients, lay so far North, or was so elevated, as to have a great difference of temperature in summer and in winter. It is remarkable, that in China the worms are now reared in small houses, and this practice has long prevailed in that country[41].

GALEN

recommends silk thread for tying blood-vessels in surgical operations, observing that the opulent women in many parts of the Roman empire possessed such thread, especially in the great cities[42]. He also mentions cloths of silk and gold in his treatise, c. 9. (Hippocratis et Galeni Opp. ed. Chartier, tom. vi. p. 533.):

CLEMENS ALEXANDRINUS,

dissuading the Christian convert from luxury in dress, thus speaks:

The use of the epithet “Indian” in this passage may be accounted for from the circumstance, that in the time of the writer silken goods were brought to Alexandria and other cities of Egypt from India. Clemens has evidently borrowed this description from Aristotle.

SECOND CENTURY.

TERTULLIAN.

thus describes the Bombyx:

In the same treatise (De Pallio, c. 4.) we find the following notice:

Soon after, the same author, speaking of Alexander the Great, says,

He afterwards says of a philosopher,

Again he says of a low character, “She exposes her silk to the wind.”

In his treatise on Female Attire he mentions silk in relation to Milesian wool, and he concludes that treatise in the following terms:

Lastly, this author says (Adv. Marcionem, l. i. p. 372.),

APULEIUS.

ULPIAN.

Vossius, in his Etymologicum Linguæ Latinæ, in the learned and copious article Sericum, says, “Inter sericum et [Pg 36] bombycinum discrimen ponit Ulpianus, l. xxiii. de aur. arg. leg. ‘Vestimentorum sunt omnia lanea, lineaque, vel serica, vel bombycina.’”

JULIUS POLLUX.

JUSTIN

evidently refers to the use of silken garments in his account of the customs of the Parthians, where he says,

All doubt, whether the transparent garments, mentioned by Justin, were of silk, must be removed by the authority of Procopius, from whom we shall hereafter cite ample and important testimony in reference to the time when he lived, and who in the two following passages expressly states, that the webs, called by the Greeks in his time Seric, were more anciently denominated Median.

Among the valuable and curious effects of the emperor Commodus, which after his death (A. D. 192.) were sold by his successor Pertinax, was a garment with a woof of silk, of a bright yellow color, the appearance of which was more beautiful than if the material had been interwoven with threads of gold[43].

THIRD CENTURY.

The authorities now quoted supply evidence respecting the use of silk among the Greeks and Romans down to the end of the second century. It is rarely mentioned by any writer belonging to the following century[44]; so far as we have discovered, [Pg 37] only by the three historians now to be quoted, by Cyprian, and by Solinus. But we have from these historians some remarkable accounts of the regard paid to it by the emperors Heliogabalus, Alexander Severus, Aurelian, Claudius II., Tacitus, and Carinus, all of whom reigned in the third century.

Ælius Lampridius says (c. 26.), that the profligate and effeminate emperor Heliogabalus was the first Roman, who wore cloth made wholly of silk, the silk having been formerly combined with other less valuable materials, and, in consequence of his example, the custom of wearing silk soon became general among the wealthy citizens of Rome. He mentions (c. 33) among the innumerable extravagances of this emperor, that he had prepared a silken rope of purple and scarlet colors to hang himself with.

Of the emperor Alexander Severus he says (c. 40), that he himself had few garments of silk, that he never wore a tunic made wholly of silk, and that he never gave away cloth made of silk mixed with less valuable materials.

The following is the testimony of Flavius Vopiscus in his life of the emperor Aurelian.

Although the above mentioned restrictions in the use of silk may be partly accounted for from the usual severity of Aurelian’s character, yet the facts here stated abundantly show the rarity and high value of this material in that age.

Flavius Vopiscus further states, that the emperor Tacitus made it unlawful for men to wear silk unmixed with cheaper materials. Carinus, on the other hand, made presents of silken garments, as well as of gold and silver, to Greek artificers, and to wrestlers, players, and musicians.

Trebellius Pollio, in his life of Claudius II. (c. 14 and 17.), twice mentions white garments of silk mixed with cheaper materials, which were destined for that emperor.

[Pg 38]

CYPRIAN,

Bishop of Carthage in the third century, inveighs in the following terms against the use of silk:

Also in his treatise on the dress of Virgins he says,

In the same place he gives us a translation of the well-known passage of Isaiah enumerating the luxuries of female attire among the Jews: “In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, the chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, the bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the head-bands, and the tablets, and the ear-rings, the rings, and nose-jewels, the changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, the glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils.” Isaiah in. 18-23.

SOLINUS,

[Pg 39]

AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS.

This historian describes the Seres as “a quiet and inoffensive people who, avoiding all quarrels with their neighbors, are exempt from the distresses and alarms of war, and not being under the necessity of using offensive arms, do not even know their use, and occupy a fertile country under a delicious and healthy climate. He represents them as passing their happy life in the most perfect tranquillity and the most delicious repose amidst shady thickets refreshed by pleasant zephyrs, and where the soil furnishes so soft a wool, that after having been sprinkled with water and combed, it forms cloths resembling silk.”

Marcellinus proceeds to describe the Seres as being content with their own felicitous condition, and so reserved in their intercourse with the rest of mankind, that when foreigners venture within their boundaries for wrought and unwrought silk, and other valuable articles, they consider the price offered in silence, and transact their business without exchanging a word; a mode of traffic which is still practised in some eastern countries.

Macpherson, in the Annals of Commerce, a very valuable work, thinks that according to all appearances, the Seres were themselves the authors of this story, in order to make strangers believe that their country enjoyed all these benefits by the peculiar blessing of heaven, and that no other nation could participate in them.

The remarks of Solinus and Ammianus conspire to show, how much more common silk had become about the end of the third century, being then worn, at least with a warp of cheaper materials, by men as well as by women, and not being confined to the noble and the wealthy. These authors likewise dilate upon the use of showers of water to detach silk from the trees on which it was found. According to Pliny and Solinus, water was also employed after the silk was gathered from the trees[45]: and probably the fact was so. Silk, as it [Pg 40] comes from the worm, contains a strong gum, which would be dissolved by the showers of water dashed against the trees, and thus the cocoons, being loosened from the leaves and twigs, would be easily collected. In the subsequent processes, water would be further useful in enabling the women to spin the silk or to wind it upon bobbins.

It may be observed that in this use of water art only follows nature. When the moth is ready to leave its cell, it always softens the extremity of it by emitting a drop of fluid, and thus easily obtains for itself a passage. In the third volume of the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society (p. 543.), Colonel Sykes gives the following account of the process by which the moth of the Kolisurra silk-worm liberates itself from confinement. “It discharges from its mouth a liquor, which dissolves or loosens that part of the cocoon adjoining to the cord which attaches it to the branch, causing a hole, and admitting of the passage of the moth. The solvent property of this liquid is very remarkable; for that part of the cocoon, against which it is directed, although previously as hard as a piece of wood, becomes soft and pervious as wetted brown paper.”

In the seventh volume of the Linnæan Transactions, is an account by Dr. Roxburgh of the Tusseh silk-worm. Both species are natives of Bengal. The cocoons require to be immersed in cold water before the silk can be obtained from them. In the latter species it is too delicate to be wound from the cocoons, and is therefore spun like cotton. Thus manufactured it is so durable, that the life of one person is seldom sufficient to wear out a garment made of it, and the same piece descends from mother to daughter. (See Chap. VIII. of this Part.)

[Pg 41]

FOURTH CENTURY.

Some curious evidence respecting the use of silk, both unmixed with linen and with the warp of linen, or some inferior material, is found in the Edict of Diocletian, which was published A. D. 303 for the purpose of fixing a maximum of prices for all articles in common use throughout the Roman Empire[46]. The passage pertaining to our present subject, is as follows:

[Pg 42]

This document proves, in exact conformity with the passages quoted from Solinus and Ammianus, that silk had come into general use at the commencement of the fourth century. It is also manifest from this extract, that silk was employed in giving to garments a greater proportion of intricacy and ornament than had been in use before.

The authors who make mention of silk in the fourth and following centuries are very numerous. We shall first take the heathen authors, and then the Christian writers, whose observations often have some moral application, which gives them an additional interest.

The unknown author of the Panegyric on the emperor Constantine, pronounced A. D. 317, thus mentions silk as characterizing oriental refinement.

The testimony of the Roman historian Flavius Vopiscus, in reference to the practice of the emperor Aurelian and the dearness of silk during his reign, has already been produced. This author, in his life of the same emperor, makes the following remarks on a display of silk which he had himself recently witnessed.

[Pg 43]

The exact period here referred to is no doubt the Consulship of Placidus and Romulus, A. D. 343.

In the Epistles of Alciphron (i. 39.) Myrrhine, a courtesan, loosens her girdle, which probably fastened her upper garment or shawl. Her shift was silk, and so transparent as to show the color of her skin.

AUSONIUS

satirizes a rich man of mean extraction, who nevertheless made lofty pretensions to nobility of birth, pretending to be descended from Mars, Romulus, and Remus, and who therefore caused their images to be embossed upon his plate and woven in a silken shawl.—Epig. 26.

In the following line, he alludes to the production of silk in the usual terms:

QUINTUS AUR SYMMACHUS.

This distinguished officer, in a letter to the Consul Stilicho, apologizes in the following terms for his delay in sending a contribution of Holoseric pieces, that is, webs wholly made of silk, to the public exhibitions.

In a letter to Magnillus (l. v. 20.) he speaks of Subseric pieces, webs made only in part of silk, as presents;

CLAUDIAN

mentions silk in numerous passages. This poet, in describing [Pg 44] the consular robes of the two brothers Probinus and Olybrius (A. D. 395.), represents the Gabine Cincture, by which the toga was girt over the breast, as made of silk.

In the following passage he represents the two brothers, Honorius and Arcadius, as dividing the empire of the world between them and receiving tributes of its productions from the most distant regions:

In a poem, which immediately succeeds this in the order of time, Claudian describes a magnificent toga, worn by Honorius on being appointed a fourth time consul, by saying, that it received its color (the Tyrian purple) from the Phœnicians; its woof (of silk forming stripes or figures) from the Seres; and its weight (produced by Indian gems) from the river Hydaspes[48]. Again, in his poem on the approaching marriage of Honorius and Maria, he mentions yellow silk curtains (l. 211.) as a decoration of the nuptial chamber.

Again he says (in Eutrop. l. i. v. 225, 226. 304. l. ii. v. 337.):

He also mentions with delight the use of gold in dress, as well as of silk. The following passage represents the manner in which Proba, a Roman matron, near the end of the fourth century, expressed her affectionate congratulations on the elevation of her two sons to the Consulship, by preparing robes interwoven with gold for the ceremony of their installation.

[Pg 45]

From these verses we learn that Proba had herself acquired the art of covering the thread with gold, and that she then used her gold thread in the woof to form the stripes or other ornaments of the consular trabeæ. These are afterwards called stiff togas (togæ rigentes, l. 205.), on account of the rigidity imparted to them by the gold thread.

The same poet gives an elaborate description of a Trabea which he supposes to have been woven by the Goddess Rome with the aid of Minerva for the use of the Consul Stilicho. Five different scenes are said to have been woven in this admirable robe (regentia dona, graves auro trabeas), and certain parts of them were wrought in gold[49].

Again, Claudian supposes Thetis to have woven scarfs of gold and purple for her son Achilles:

The epigram in which this line occurs, seems to imply that Serena, mother-in-law of the Emperor Honorius, wove garments of the same kind for him.

Maria, the daughter of the above-mentioned Stilicho, was bestowed by him upon Honorius, but died shortly after, about A. D. 400. In February, 1544, the marble coffin, containing her remains, was discovered at Rome. In it were preserved a garment and a pall, which, on being burnt, yielded 36 pounds of gold. There were also found a great number of glass vessels, jewels, and ornaments of all kinds, which Stilicho had given as a dowry to his daughter[50]. We may conclude, that the garments discovered in the tomb of Maria were woven by the hands of her mother Serena, since the epigram of Claudian [Pg 46] proves that she wove robes of a similar description for Honorius, and probably on the same occasion. Anastasius Bibliothecarius says, that when Pope Paschal was intent on finding the body of St. Cæcilia, having performed mass with a view to obtain the favor of a revelation on the subject, he was directed A. D. 821 to a cemetery on the Appian Way near Rome, and there found the body enveloped in cloth of gold[51]. Although there is no reason to believe, that the body found by Paschal was the body of the saint pretended, yet it may have been the body of a Roman lady who had lived some centuries before, and probably about the time of Honorius and Maria.

Pisander, who belonged to the same period (900 B. C.) with Homer, speaks of the Lydians as wearing tunics adorned with gold. Lydus observes, that the Lydians were supplied with gold from the sands of the Pactolus and the Hermus[52].

Virgil also represents the use of gold in weaving, as if it had existed in Trojan times. One of the garments so adorned was manufactured by Dido, the Sidonian, one by Andromache, and another was in the possession of Anchises[53]. In all these instances the reference is to the habits of Phœnice, Lycia, or other parts of Asia.

He describes an ape ludicrously attired in a silk jacket; and, inveighing against the progress of luxury, he speaks of some to whom even silk garments were a burthen. In elaborate descriptions of the figured consular robes (the Trabeæ) of Honorius and Stilicho, he mentions the reins and other trappings of horses, as being wrought in silk[54].

The frequent allusions to silk in the complimentary poems of Claudian, receive illustration from various imperial laws, which were promulgated in the same century, and in part by the very emperors to whom his flattery is addressed, and which [Pg 47] are preserved in the Code of Justinian. Their object was not to encourage the silk manufacture, but, on a principle very opposite to that of modern times, to make it an imperial monopoly. The admiration excited by the splendor and elegance of silk attire was the ground, on which it was forbidden that any individual of the male sex should wear even a silken border upon his tunic or pallium, with the exception of the emperor, his officers and servants. To confine the enjoyment of these luxuries more entirely to the imperial family and court, all private persons were strictly forbidden engaging in the manufacture, gold and silken borders were to be made only in the imperial Gynæcea[55].

THE PERIPLUS MARIS ERYTHRÆI.

In this important document on ancient geography and commerce, we find repeated mention of silk in its raw state, in that of thread, and woven[56]. These articles were conveyed down the Indus to the coast of the Erythrean Sea. They were also brought to the great mart of Barygaza, which was on the Gulf of Cambay near the modern Surat, and to the coast of Lymirica, which was still more remote. The author of the Periplus states, that they were carried by land through Bactria to Barygaza from a great city called Thina, lying far towards the North in the interior of Asia. He of course refers to some part of Serica. It is remarkable, that he makes no mention of silk as the native production of India.

Silk is mentioned in two passages of the laws of Manu, viz. XI. v. 168, and XII. v. 64. It is, however, observed by Heeren, who quotes passages of the Ramayana that make mention of silk, that garments of this material are there represented as worn only on festive occasions, and that they were undoubtedly Seric or Chinese productions[57]. Indeed it appears that [Pg 48] the cloth made from the thread of the native worms of Hindostan, although highly valued for strength and durability, is not remarkable for fineness, beauty, or splendor.

RUFUS FESTUS AVIENUS.

This author, adopting the common notion of his time, supposes the Seres to spin thread from fleeces which were produced upon the trees. He also mentions silk shawls (Serica pallia, l. 1008.) as worn by the female Bacchantes of Ionia in their processions in honor of Bacchus; and it is worthy of remark, that they are not mentioned in the original passage of Dionysius, the author whom Avienus translates, so that we may reasonably infer, that the use of them on these occasions was introduced between the time of Dionysius (about 30 B. C.) and that of Avienus (A. D. 400).

MARTIANUS CAPELLA.

The following Inscription is given in Gruter, Tom. iii. p. DCXLV. It was found at Tivoli, and expresses that M. N. Proculus, silk-manufacturer, erected a monument to Valeria Chrysis, his excellent and deserving wife.

D. M.
VALERIAE. CHRYSIDI.
M. NVMIVS. PROCVLVS.
SERICARIVS.
CONJVGI. SVAE.
OPTIMÆ. BENEM.
FECIT.

Before proceeding to the Christian writers of the 4th and following centuries we may now introduce the remarks of Servius on the passage formerly quoted from Virgil. He is supposed to have written about A. D. 400.

[Pg 49] It will be seen hereafter, that these “Indian Seres” were the inhabitants of Khotan in Little Bucharia.

The frequent comparison of Bombyces to spiders by the ancients suggests the inquiry whether they employed the thread of any kind of spider to make cloth, as was attempted in France by M. Bon. The failure of his attempt is sufficient, as it appears, to show, that the extensive manufacture of garments from this material must have been scarcely possible in ancient times. It is also to be observed, that the ancients, when they compare the silk-worm to the spider, refer to the spider’s web, whereas M. Bon, not finding the web strong enough, made his cloth from the thread with which the spider envelopes its eggs[58].

But, although we have no reason to believe, that the web of any spider was anciently employed to make cloth, yet these accounts may have referred to worms, possibly varieties of the silk-worm, which spun long threads floating in the air. The [Pg 50] common silk-worm spins and suspends itself by its thread, long before it begins its cocoon. It appears probable, therefore, that there may have been wild varieties of this creature, or perhaps other species of the same genus, which in the earlier stages of their existence spun threads long enough for use. We ground this conjecture partly on the following passage from Du Halde’s History of China[59].

This account affords a remarkable illustration of many of the expressions of the ancient writers, such as “Bombyx pendulus urget opus,” Martial; “Per aerem liquando aranearum horoscopis idoneas sedes tendit,” Tertullian; “In aranearum morem tenuissima fila deducunt,” Servius.

In further illustration of the subject, and as tending to show that the Kien-tcheou is manufactured from the thread of a silk-worm, modified in its habits and perhaps in its organization by circumstances, we shall now quote a few passages from a work having the following title: “China; its costume, arts, manufactures, &c., edited from the originals in the cabinet of M. Bertin, with observations by M. Breton. Translated from the French. London, 1812.” Vol. iv. p. 55, &c.

[Pg 51]

The circumstance that the worms were sometimes fed with oak-leaves is mentioned in Du Halde’s History of China, vol. ii. p. 363.

Here then we have a justification of the ancients in asserting, both that the silk-worms produced long threads and webs floating in the air like those of spiders, and that they fed upon the leaves of the oak, the ash, and many other trees. It may be recollected, that Pliny expressly mentions both the oak (quercus) and the ash (fraxinus).

Until very lately the use of silk among the ancients was investigated only by philologists. Within a few years M. Latreille, an entomologist of the highest distinction, has directed his attention to the subject and has examined particularly the above-cited passages of Aristotle, Pliny, and Pausanias[60]. He never [Pg 52] supposes the ancient Sericum to have been the produce of anything except the silk-worm. But of this there are several varieties, partly perhaps natural, and partly the result of domestication. He endeavors to explain some parts of Pliny’s description by showing their seeming correspondence with some of the practices actually observed by the Orientals in the management of silk-worms.

An account of the wild silk-worms of China is to be found in the “Mémoires concernant l’Histoire, les Sciences, les Arts, &c., des Chinois,” compiled by the missionaries of Peking[61]. This account is principally derived from the information of Father D’Incarville, one of the missionaries. It coincides generally with the accounts already quoted from Du Halde and Breton. We extract the following particulars as conveying some further information:

The following passage is also deserving of attention: “Le papillon de ces vers sauvages, dit le Père d’Incarville, est à ailes vitrées.” This information, if correct, would prove that there was at least one kind of wild silk-worms in China, which was a different species from the Phalæna Mori; for that has no transparent membranes in its wings, and would not be likely to receive them in consequence of any change in its mode of life.

We now proceed to take the Christian authors of the fourth and following centuries in the order of time.

ARNOBIUS (A. D. 306.)

thus speaks of the heathen gods:

[Pg 53]

GREGORIUS NAZIENZENUS, CL., A. D. 370.

The following passage contains, we believe, the earliest allusion to the use of silk in the services of the Christian Church.

BASIL, CL., A. D. 370.

Although this celebrated author was a native of Asia Minor, and had studied in Syria and Palestine, he appears to have known the silk-worm only from books and by report. His description of it in the following passage, in which we first find the beautiful illustration of the doctrine of a resurrection from the change of the chrysalis, is chiefly copied from Aristotle’s account as formerly quoted.

[Pg 54] When St. Basil says of the new-born moth, that “it assumes light and expanded wings,” the beauty of the comparison in illustrating the Christian doctrine of the resurrection is enhanced, when we consider that in its wild state the moth flies very well, although, when domesticated, its flight is weak and its wings small and shrivelled[63]: but still more beautiful does the figure become, if we suppose a reference to those larger and more splendid Phalænæ which produce the coarser kinds of silk in India, and probably in China also.

Basil is the first writer, who distinctly mentions the change of the silk-worm from a Chrysalis to a moth. In his application of that fact he addresses himself to his countrywomen in Asia Minor, and his language represents them sitting and winding on bobbins the raw silk obtained from the Seres and designed to be afterwards woven into cloth.

Between these two authors, Aristotle and Basil, we observe a difference of phraseology which appears deserving of notice. While they both describe the women, not as spinning the silk, but as winding it on bobbins, they designate the material so wound by two different names. Basil uses the term νήματα, which might be meant to imply that the silk came from the Seres in skeins as it comes to us from China: Aristotle, on the contrary, uses the term βομβύκια, which can only refer to the state of silk before it is wound into skeins. As it might appear impossible to convey it in this state to Cos, we shall here insert from the authorities already quoted, the Chinese Missionaries, an account of the process by which the cocoons are prepared for winding, and it will then be seen, that the cocoons might have been transported to any part of the world.

“To prepare the cocoons of the wild silk-worms, the Chinese cut the extremities of them with a pair of scissors. They are then put into a canvass bag, and immersed for an hour or more in a kettle of boiling lye, which dissolves the gum. When this is effected, they are taken from the kettle; [Pg 55] pressed to expel the lye, and then laid out to dry. Whilst they are still moist, the chrysalises are extracted; each cocoon is then turned inside out, so as to make a sort of cowl. It is necessary only, to put them again into lukewarm water, after which ten or twelve of them are capped one upon another like so many thimbles, to insert a small distaff through them, when the silk may be reeled off.”

Basil, in one of his Homilies, (Opp. tom. ii. p. 53. 55. ed. Benedict.) inveighs against the ladies of Cæsarea, who employed themselves in weaving gold; and he is no less indignant at their husbands who adorned even their horses with cloths of gold and scarlet as if they were bridegrooms.

The author of a Treatise “De disciplinâ et bono pudicitiæ,” which is usually published with Cyprian, and which may be referred to the fourth or fifth century, thus speaks (Cypriani Opera, ed. Erasmi, p. 499.):

The same censure is implied in the following address of Alcimus Avitus to his sister.

The effect of such exhortations as the preceding, was to induce piously disposed persons to apply pieces of gold cloth to public and sacred, instead of private purposes. After this period we find continual instances of their use in the decoration of churches and in the robes of the priesthood.

[Pg 56]

AMBROSE, CL. A. D. 374.

Here we think it not out of place to introduce the account of the silk-worm by Georgius Pisida, who flourished about A. D. 640, although he lived at Constantinople after the breeding of silk-worms had been introduced there. According to him the silk-worm pines or moulders almost to nothing in its tomb, and then returns to its former shape. The verses are however deserving of attention for their elegance, and for the repetition of Basil’s idea, which Ambrose has left out, of the analogy between the restoration of the silk-worm and the resurrection of man.

MACARIUS, CL., A. D. 373.

This author gives us an additional proof (Homil. 17, § 9,) that the use of silken clothing was characteristic of dissolute women.

JEROME, CL., A. D. 378.

This great author mentions silk in numerous passages.

In his translation of Ezekiel xxvii. he has supposed silk (sericum) to be an article of Syrian and Phœnician traffic as early as the time of that prophet.

In his beautiful and interesting Epistle to Læta on the Education of her Daughter (Opp. Paris, 1546, tom. i. p. 20. C.), he says:

In the following he further condemns the practice of wrapping the bodies of the dead in cloth of gold:

[Pg 58]

CHRYSOSTOM, CL., A. D. 398.

Chrysostom also inveighs against the practice of embroidering shoes with silk thread, observing that it was a shame even to wear it woven in shawls. Such is the change of circumstances, that now even the poorest persons of both sexes, if decently attired, have silk in their shoes.

HELIODORUS, CL., A. D. 390.

This author, describing the ceremonies at the nuptials of Theagenes and Chariclea, says, “The ambassadors of the Seres came, bringing the thread and webs of their spiders, one of the webs dyed purple (!), the other white.” Æthiopica, lib. x. p. 494. Commelini.

Salmasius (in Tertullianum de Pallio, p. 242.) quotes the following passage from an uncertain author.

This writer, whoever he was, appears to have had a correct idea of the manner in which the silk-worm wraps itself in a leaf of the tree, on which it feeds, and spins its tomb within[64].

[Pg 59]

FIFTH CENTURY.

PRUDENTIUS, CL., A. D. 405.

The following sentence occurs in a speech of St. Lawrence at his martyrdom:

In another Hymn to the honor of St. Romanus we find the following lines:

In the same Hymn (l. 1015.) Prudentius describes a heathen priest sacrificing a bull, and dressed in a silken toga which is held up by the Gabine cincture (Cinctu Gabino Sericam fultus togam). Perhaps, however, we ought here to understand that the cincture only, not the whole toga, was of silk. It was used to fasten and support the toga by being drawn over the breast.

In two other passages this poet censures the progress of luxury in dress, and especially when adopted by men.

PALLADIUS.

A work remains under the name of Palladius on “The Nations of India and the Brachmans.” Whether it is by the same Palladius, who wrote the Historia Lausiaca, is disputed. But, as we see no reason to doubt, that it may have been written as early as his time, we introduce here the passages, which have been found in it, relating to the present subject. The author represents the Bramins as saying to Alexander the Great, “You envelope yourselves in soft clothing, like the silk-worms.” (p. 17. ed. Bissœi.) It is also asserted, that Alexander did not pass the Ganges, but went as far as Serica, where the silk-worms produce raw-silk (p. 2.).

In the London edition this tract is followed by one in Latin, [Pg 61] bearing the name of St. Ambrose and entitled De moribus Brachmanorum. It contains nearly the same matter with the preceding. The writer professes to have obtained his information from “Musæus Dolenorum Episcopus,” meaning, as it appears from the Greek tract, Moses, Bishop of Adule, of whom he says,

These notices are not devoid of value as indicating what were the first steps to intercourse with the original silk country. It may however be doubted, whether the last account here quoted is a modification of the ideas previously current among the Greeks and Romans, or whether it arose from the mistakes of Moses himself, or of other Christian travellers into the interior of Asia, who confounded the production of silk with that of cotton.

THE THEODOSIAN CODE,

published A. D. 438, mentions silk (sericam et metaxam) in various passages.

APOLLINARIS SIDONIUS, CL., A. D. 472.

Describing the products of different countries, this learned author says (Carmen. v. l. 42-50),

In a passage (Carmen. xv.), he mentions a pall,

The expression here used, indicates that the silk thread was [Pg 62] brought from the country of the Seres to be dyed in Phœnice. In Horace we have already noticed the “Coæ purpuræ.”

A passage from the Burgus Pontii Leontii (Carmen. xxii.), shows that the same article (Serica fila) was imported into Gaul.

In the same author (l. ii. Epist. ad Serranum) we meet with “Sericatum toreuma.” The latter word probably denoted a carved sofa or couch. The epithet “sericatum” may have referred to its silken cover.

The same author describes Prince Sigismer, who was about to be married, going in a splendid procession and thus clothed:

Describing the heat of the weather, he says:

Lastly, in the following lines he alludes to the practice of giving silk to the successful charioteers at the Circensian games:

ALCIMUS AVITUS, CL., A. D. 490.

Describing the rich man in the parable of Lazarus, this author says:

Avitus also mentions “the soft fleeces sent by the Seres.”

[Pg 63]

SIXTH CENTURY.

BOETHIUS, CL., A. D. 510

The Tyrians are chiefly known to us in commercial history for their skill in dyeing; the Tyrian purple formed one of the most general and principal articles of luxury in antiquity: but dyeing could scarcely have existed without weaving, and though we have no direct information respecting the Tyrian and Sidonian looms, we possess several ancient references to their excellence, the less suspicious because they are incidental. Homer, for instance, when Hecuba, on the recommendation of the heroic Hector, resolves to make a rich offering to Minerva, describes her as selecting one of Sidonian manufacture as the finest which could be obtained.

Tyre appears to have been the only city of antiquity which made dyeing its chief occupation, and the staple of its commerce. There is little doubt that purple, the sacred symbol of royal and sacerdotal dignity, was a color discovered in that city; and, that it contributed to its opulence and grandeur. It is related that a shepherd’s dog, instigated by hunger, having broken a shell on the sea shore, his mouth became stained with a color, which excited the admiration of all who saw it, and that the same color was afterwards applied with great success to the dyeing of wool. According to some of the ancient writers, this discovery is placed in the reign of Phœnix, second [Pg 64] King of Tyre (five hundred years before the Christian era); others fix it in that of Minos, who reigned 939 years earlier or, 1439 B. C. The honor of the invention of dyeing purple, is however, generally awarded to the Tyrian Hercules, who presented his discovery to the king of Phœnicia; and the latter was so jealous of the beauties of this new color, that he forbade the use of it to all his subjects, reserving it for the garments of royalty alone. Some authors relate the story differently: Hercules’ dog having stained his mouth with a shell, which he had broken on the seashore, Tysus, a nymph of whom Hercules was enamored, was so charmed with the beauty of the color, that she declared she would see her lover no more until he had brought garments dyed of the same. Hercules, in order to gratify his mistress, collected a great number of the shells, and succeeded in staining a robe of the color she had demanded. “Colored dresses,” says Pliny[65], “were known in the time of Homer (900 B. C.), from which the robes of triumph were borrowed.” Purple habits are mentioned among the presents made to Gideon, by the Israelites, from the spoils of the kings of Midan. Ovid, in his description of the contest in weaving between Minerva and Arachne, dwells not only on the beauty of the figures which the rivals wove, but also mentions the delicacy of shading by which the various colors were made to harmonize together:

[Pg 65] The Tyrian purple was communicated by means of several species of univalve shell-fish. Pliny gives us an account of two kinds of shell-fish from which the purple was obtained. The first of these was called buccinum, the other purpura[66]. A single drop of the liquid dye was obtained from a small vessel or sac, in their throats, to the amount of only one drop from each animal! A certain quantity of the juice thus collected being heated with sea salt, was allowed to ripen for three days, after which it was diluted with five times its bulk of water, kept at a moderate heat for six days more, occasionally skimmed, to separate the animal membranes, and when thus clarified, was applied directly as a dye to white wool, previously prepared for this purpose, by the action of lime-water, or of a species of lichen called fucus. Two operations were requisite to communicate the finest Tyrian purple; the first consisted in plunging the wool into the juice of the purpura, the second into that of the buccinum. Fifty drachms of wool required one hundred of the former liquor, and two hundred of the latter. Sometimes a preliminary tint was given with cocus, the kermes of the present day, and the cloth received merely a finish from the precious animal juice. The color appears to have been very durable; for Plutarch observes in his life of Alexander[67], that, at the taking of Susa, the Greeks found in the royal treasury of Darius a quantity of purple stuffs of the value of five thousand talents, which still retained its beauty, though it had lain there for one hundred and ninety years[68].

[Pg 66]

We now come to the very interesting account of the first introduction of silk-worms into Europe, which is given by Procopius in the following terms. (De Bello Gothico, iv. 17.)

“About this time (A. D. 530.) two monks, having arrived from India, and learnt that Justinian was desirous that his subjects should no longer purchase raw silk from the Persians, went to him and offered to contrive means, by which the Romans would no longer be under the necessity of importing this article from their enemies the Persians or any other nation. [Pg 67] They said, that they had long resided in the country called Serinda, one of those inhabited by the various Indian nations, and had accurately informed themselves how raw silk might be produced in the country of the Romans. In reply to the repeated and minute inquiries of this Emperor, they stated, that the raw silk is made by worms, which nature instructs and continually prompts to this labor; but that to bring the worms alive to Byzantium would be impossible; that the breeding of them is quite easy; that each parent animal produces numberless eggs, which long after their birth are covered with manure by persons who have the care of them, and being thus warmed a sufficient time, are hatched. The Emperor having promised the monks a handsome reward, if they would put in execution what they had proposed, they returned to India and brought the eggs to Byzantium, where, having hatched them in the manner described, they fed them with the leaves of the Black Mulberry, and thus enabled the Romans thenceforth to obtain raw silk in their own country.”

The same narrative, abridged from Procopius, is found in Manuel Glycas (Annal. l. iv. p. 209.), and Zonares (Annal. l. xiv. p. 69. ed. Du Cange.). In the abstract given by Photius (Biblioth. p. 80. ed. Rotham) of the history of Theophanes Byzantinus, who was a writer of nearly the same age with Procopius, we find a narrative, in which the only variation is, that a Persian brought the eggs to Byzantium in the hollow stem of a plant. The method now practised in transporting the eggs from country to country is to place them in a bottle not more than half full, so that by being tossed about, they may be kept cool and fresh. If too close, they would probably be heated and hatch on the journey[69].

The authors who have hitherto treated of the history of the silk-worm, have supposed the Serinda of Procopius to be the modern Sir-hind, a city of Circar in the North of Hindostan[70]. [Pg 68] Notwithstanding the striking similarity of names, we think it more likely that Serinda was adopted by Procopius as another name for Khotan in Little Bucharia. The ancients included Khotan among the Indian nations[71]: and that they were right in so doing is established from the facts, that Sanscrit was the ancient language of the inhabitants of Khotan; that their alphabetical characters, their laws, and their literature resembled those of the Hindoos; and that they had a tradition of being Indian in their origin[72]. Since, therefore, Khotan was also included in the ancient Serica, a term probably of wide and rather indefinite extent[73]; the name Serinda would exactly denote the origin and connexions of the race which occupied Khotan.

On the other hand, although Sir-hind is termed “an ancient city” by Major Rennell[74], we cannot find any evidence that the [Pg 69] silk-worm was ever bred there. So far is this from being the case, that it appears to be a country very ill adapted for the production of silk[75]. It may indeed be true, as stated by Latreille, that Sir-hind was colonized from Khotan, and it may be mentioned as a remarkable circumstance in confirmation of this supposition, that there is a town called Kotana a little way to the North East of the City of Sir-hind. But, supposing this account to be correct, it is highly probable that the settlement of Sir-hind as a colony of Khotan did not take place till after the year 530, when the breeding of silk-worms was according to Procopius introduced into Europe from “Serinda.” Rather more than 120 years before this time India was visited by the Chinese traveller, Fa Hian, who on his way passed some months with great delight and admiration in Khotan; and the special object of whose journey was to see and describe all the cities of India where Buddhism was professed. The inhabitants of Khotan being wholly devoted to that delusion, the same system must have been established in its colony; and, since this zealous pilgrim crossed India at no great distance from the spot where Sir-hind afterwards stood, we cannot doubt that he would have mentioned it, if it had existed in his age. He says not a word about it; and the time is comparatively so short between his visit to India and the date of the introduction of silk-worms into Europe, that we can scarcely suppose Sir-hind, the colony of Khotan and consequently the seat of Buddhism, to have been in existence either at the former or latter period[76].

In another passage of his history (Bell. Pers. 1. 20.) Procopius throws some light upon our subject by stating that in consequence of the monopoly of the trade in raw silk by the Persians, Justinian attempted to obtain it through the Æthiopians [Pg 70] of Arabia, but found this to be impracticable, as the Persian merchants frequented the ports to which the Indians resorted, and from them purchased all their cargoes.

Procopius further states (Hist. Arcana, c. 25.), that silk shawls had long been manufactured in the Phœnician cities Tyre and Berytus (to which all who were concerned in the silk trade, either as merchants or manufacturers, consequently resorted, and from whence goods were carried to every part of the earth); but that in the reign of Justinian the manufacturers in Byzantium and other Greek cities raised the prices of their goods, alleging that the Persians had also advanced theirs, while the imposts were increased among the Romans. Justinian, pretending to be much concerned at the high prices, forbade any one in his dominions to sell silk for more than eight aurei per pound, threatening confiscation of goods against any one who transgressed the law. To comply was impossible, since they were required to sell their goods at a price lower than that for which they bought them. They therefore abandoned the trade, and secretly sold the remnant of their goods for what they could get. The Empress Theodora, on being apprised of this, immediately seized the goods and fined the proprietors a hundred aurei besides. It was then determined, that the silk manufacture should be carried on solely by the Imperial Treasurer. Peter Barsames held the office, and conducted himself in relation to this business in the most unjust and oppressive manner, so that the silk-trade was ruined not only in Byzantium but also at Tyre and Berytus, while the Emperor, Empress and their Treasurer amassed great wealth by the monopoly.

MENANDER PROTECTOR, A. D. 560-570.

In an account of an embassy sent to Constantinople by the Avars of Sarmatia, this author states, that the Emperor Justinian endeavored to excite their admiration by a display of splendid couches, gold chains, and garments of silk[77].

The establishment of the Turkish power in Asia, about the [Pg 71] middle of the sixth century, together with subsequent wars, had greatly interrupted the caravan trade between China and Persia. On the return of peace, the Sogdians, an Asiatic people, who had the greatest interest in the revival of the trade, persuaded the Turkish sovereign, whose subjects they were become, to send an embassy to Chosroes, king of Persia, to open a negotiation for this purpose. Maniak, a Sogdian prince, who was ambassador, being instructed to request that the Sogdians might be allowed to supply the Persians with silk; presented himself before the Persian monarch in the double character of merchant and envoy, carrying with him many bales of silken merchandise, for which he hoped to find purchasers among the Persians. But Chosroes, who thought the conveyance by sea to the Persian Gulf more advantageous to his subjects than this proposed traffic, was not disposed to lend a favorable ear to the legation, and rather uncourteously showed his contempt for the Sogdian traders. He bought up all the silk which the ambassador had carried with him, and immediately burned it before them; thus giving the most convincing proof of the little value which it had in his estimation.

After this the Persians and Chinese united against the Turks, who, to strengthen themselves, sought an alliance with the Emperor Justin. Maniak was again appointed ambassador, and sent to negotiate the terms of the alliance; but disappointment, though from a dissimilar cause, attended this his second embassy. The sight of silk-worms, and the establishment for manufacturing their produce, in Constantinople, were to him as unwelcome as unexpected; he however concealed his mortification, and, with perhaps an overstrained civility, acknowledged, that the Romans were already become as expert as the Chinese in both the management of silk-worms and manufacture of their silk[78]; and when in the fourth year of Justin II. (i. e. A. D. 569.) they went on the same mission to Byzantium, they found that here also there was no demand, since silk-worms were bred there already. Soon after this we learn· that the Byzantines sent an embassy to Disabul, King of the Sogdiani, who [Pg 72] received the ambassadors in tents covered with variously-colored silks.

PAUL, THE SILENTIARY, A. D. 562,

mentions silk thread, used in adorning the vestments in the church of St. Sophia at Constantinople. (P. ii. l. 368.) The note of the Editor, Du Cange, on the description of the pall, (577.), contains various quotations from ecclesiastical writers, which mention “vela rubea Serica;” “vela alba holoserica rasata;” “vela serica de blattin.” These quotations show, that silk had been introduced into general use for the churches.

ISIDORUS HISPALENSIS, CL., A. D. 575.

The etymological work of Isidore of Seville may be regarded as a kind of encyclopedia, exhibiting the general state of knowledge and art at the time when he wrote. Hence the following descriptive extracts are well deserving of attention.

Touching these extracts we would remark, that the testimony of Isidore must not be considered as proving, that the silk manufacture still existed in Cos. His statement was no doubt merely copied from Varro or Pliny, or founded upon the authority of other writers long anterior to his own age. It is indeed probable that silk-worms had by this time been brought into Greece, but that he was ignorant of the fact.

[Pg 73]

SEVENTH CENTURY.

DOROTHEUS, ARCHIMANDRITE OF PALESTINE, A. D. 601.

THEOPHYLACTUS SIMOCATTA, A. D. 629.

This author, in his Universal History (l. vii. c. 9.), informs us that the silk manufacture was carried on at Chubdan, with the greatest skill and activity, which was probably the same as Khotan, or, as it was called in his time, Ku-tan[79].

We have, moreover, the following account of the origin of the growth and manufacture of silk in that country (p. 55, 56.).

“The monastery of Lou-che (occupied by Buddhists) is to the south-west of the royal city. Formerly the inhabitants of this kingdom had neither mulberries nor silk-worms. They heard of them in the East country, and sent an embassy to ask for them. The King of the East refused the request, and issued the strictest injunctions to prevent either mulberries or silk-worms’ eggs from being conveyed across the border. Then the King of Kiu-sa-tan-na (i. e. Koustana, or Khotan) asked of him a princess in marriage. This having been granted, the king charged the officer of his court who went to escort her, to say, that in his country there were neither mulberry-trees nor cocoons, and that she must introduce them, or be without silk dresses. The princess, having received this information, obtained the seed both of mulberries, and silk-worms, which she concealed in her head-dress. On arriving at the frontier, the officers searched every where, but dare not touch the turban of the princess. Having arrived at the spot, where the monastery of Lou-che was afterwards erected, she deposited the seed both of the mulberries and worms. The trees were planted in the spring, and she afterwards went herself to assist in gathering the leaves. At first the worms were fed upon the [Pg 74] leaves of other plants, and a law was enacted, that no worms were to be destroyed or sacrificed until their quantity was sufficiently great. The monastery was founded to commemorate so great a benefit, and some trunks of the original mulberry-trees can yet be seen there[80].”

In the following passage (Règne Animal, par Cuvier, tom. v. p. 402.,) Latreille mentions Turfan as an important city as far as it affected the early silk-trade. In other respects his account coincides with that already given.

A diploma of Ethelbert, King of Kent, mentions “Armilausia holoserica,” proving that silk was known in England at the end of the sixth century[81]. The usual dress of the earliest French kings seems to have been a linen shirt and drawers of the same material next to the skin; over these a tunic, probably of fine wool, which had a border of silk, ornamented sometimes with gold or precious stones; and upon this a sagum, which was fastened with a fibula on the right shoulder. Eginhart informs us, that Charlemagne wore a tunic, or vest, with a silken border (limbo serico)[82].

[Pg 75]

ALDHELMUS, CL., A. D. 680.

This author, who died Abbot of Sherburn, was among the most learned men of his age. In his Ænigmas, which are written in tetrastics, we find the following description of the silk-worm. As it is scarcely possible that he could have seen this creature, we have cause to admire both the ingenuity and general accuracy of his lines. The ascending to the tops of thorns or shrubs, such as “genistæ,” to which the animal may attach its cocoon (globulum), has not been noticed by any earlier author.

In a book written by this author, in praise of virginity, he observes, That chastity alone did not form an amiable and perfect character, but required to be accompanied and adorned by many other virtues; and this observation he further illustrates by the following simile taken from the art of weaving: “As it is not a web of one uniform color and texture, without any variety of figures, that pleaseth the eye and appears beautiful, but one that is woven by shuttles, filled with threads of purple, and many other colors, flying from side to side, and forming a variety of figures and images, in different compartments, with admirable art.”—Bibliotheca Patrum, tom. xiii.

[Pg 76]

EIGHTH CENTURY.

BEDE, CL., A. D. 701.

The latter portion of this extract, wherein we are informed of the origin of the practice, universally adopted, of covering the Eucharist with a white linen cloth, must be a later addition. Pope Silvester lived, as the reader will perceive, long after the time of Bede.

Bede, in his History of the Abbots of Wearmouth, states that the first abbot and founder of the monastery, Biscop, surnamed Benedict, went a fifth time to Rome for ornaments and books to enrich it, and on this occasion (A. D. 685.) brought two scarfs, or palls, of incomparable workmanship, composed entirely of silk, with which he afterwards purchased the land of three families situated at the mouth of the Wear[83]. This shows the high value of silken articles at that period.

[Pg 77]

TENTH CENTURY.

About the year 970 Kenneth, king of Scotland, paid a visit in London to Edgar, king of England. The latter sovereign, to evince at once his friendship and munificence, bestowed upon his illustrious guest silks, rings, and gems, together with one hundred ounces of pure gold[84].

Perhaps we may refer to the same date the composition of the “Lady of the Fountain,” a Welsh tale, recently translated by Lady Charlotte Guest[85]. At the opening of this poem King Arthur is represented sitting in his chamber at Caer-leon upon Usk. It is said,

The mention of silk and satin is frequent in this tale.

GERBERT, CL., A. D. 970.

This author, who became Pope Silvester, mentions garments of silk (sericas vestes) in a passage which has been already quoted (see Part II. chap. V.).

TWELFTH CENTURY.

THEODORUS PRODROMUS,

a romance writer in the twelfth century, mentions the figured shawls (πέπλα) manufactured by the Seres.

The breeding of silk-worms in Europe appears to have been confined to Greece from the time of the Emperor Justinian until the middle of the twelfth century. The manufacture [Pg 78] of silk was also very rare in other parts of Europe, being probably practised only as a recreation and accomplishment for ladies. But in the year 1148 Roger I., King of Sicily, having taken the cities of Corinth, Thebes, and Athens, thus got into his power a great number of silk-weavers, took them away with the implements and materials necessary for the exercise of their art, and forced them to reside at Palermo[86]. Nicetas Choniates[87], referring to the same event, speaks of these artisans as of both sexes, and remarks that in his time those who went to Sicily might see the sons of Thebans and Corinthians employed in weaving velvet stoles interwoven with gold, and serving like the Eretrians of old among the Persians[88].

We find in the writings of Ingulphus several curious accounts of vestments of silk, interwoven with eagles and flowers of gold. This author, in his history, mentions that among other gifts made by Witlaf, king of Mercia, to the abbey of Croyland, he presented a golden curtain, embroidered with the siege of Troy, to be hung up in the church on his birth-day[89]. At a later period, 1155, a pair of richly worked sandals, and three mitres, the work of Christina, abbess of Markgate, were among the valuable souvenirs presented by Robert, abbot of St. Albans, to Pope Adrian IV.[90].

[Pg 79] Without digressing from our subject to question the right of the royal marauder thus tyrannously to sever these unoffending artisans from the ties of country and of kindred, we may yet be allowed to express some satisfaction at the consequences of his cruelty. It is well for the interests of humanity that blessings, although unsought and remote, do sometimes follow in the train of conquest; that wars are not always limited in their results to the exaltation of one individual, the downfall of another, the slaughter of thousands, and misery of millions, but occasionally prove the harbingers of peaceful arts, heralds of science, and in short deliverers from the yoke of slavery or superstition.

In twenty years from this forcible establishment of the manufacture, the silks of Sicily are described as having attained a decided excellence; as being of diversified patterns and colors; some fancifully interwoven with gold tastefully embellished with figures; and others richly adorned with pearls. The industry and ingenuity thus called forth, could not fail to exercise a beneficial influence over the character and condition of the Sicilians.

From Palermo the manufacture of silk extended itself through all parts of Italy and into Spain. We learn from Roger de Hoveden, that the manufacture flourished at Almeria in Grenada about A. D. 1190[91].

FOURTEENTH CENTURY.

According to Nicholas Tegrini[92], the silk manufacture afterwards flourished in Lucca; and the weavers, having been ejected from that city in the earlier part of the fourteenth century, carried their art to Venice, Florence, Milan, Bologna, and even to Germany, France, and Britain.

We have seen from different historical testimonies, that silk was known to the inhabitants of France and England as early as the sixth century. The fact of its introduction into all parts [Pg 80] of the North of Europe is manifest from the use of words for silk in several northern languages. These words appear, according to the inquiries of the learned orientalists, Klaproth and Abel Rémusat[93], to have been derived from those Asiatic countries, in which silk was originally produced. In the language of Corea silk is called Sir; in Chinese Se, which may have been produced by the usual omission of the final r. In the Mongol language silk is called Sirkek, in the Mandchou Sirghè. In the Armenian the silk-worm is called Chèram. In Arabic, Chaldee, and Syriac, silk was called Seric[94]. From the same source we have in Greek and Latin Σηρικὸν, Sericum.

In the more modern European languages we find two sets of terms for silk, the first evidently derived from the oriental Seric, but with the common substitution of l for r, the second of an uncertain origin. To the first set belong,

To the second set belong,

According to Abel Rémusat (Journal Asiat. l. c.) the merchandise of Eastern Asia passed through Slavonia to the North of Europe in the middle ages, even without the mediation of Greece or Italy. This may account for the use of the terms of the first class, while it is possible that those of the second have been derived from the South of Europe, from whence we have seen that silken commodities were also occasionally transported to the North.

To the evidence now produced from authors and printed documents respecting the history of silk from the earliest times to the period of its universal extension throughout Europe, another species of proof may be added, viz. that afforded by Relics preserved in churches, and by other remains of the antiquities of the middle ages. As examples of this method for illustrating the subject, the following articles may be enumerated.

I. The relics of St. Regnobert, Bishop of Bayeux in the seventh century. These consist of a Casula, or Chasuble, a Stole, and a Maniple. They are yet preserved in the cathedral of Bayeux, and worn by the Bishop on certain annual festivals. [Pg 82] They are of silk interwoven with gold, and adorned with pearls[100].

II. Portions of garments of the same description with those of St. Regnobert were discovered A. D. 1827 on opening the tomb of St. Cuthbert in the Cathedral of Durham. They are preserved in the library of that church, and accurately described by the Rev. James Raine, the librarian, in a quarto volume.

III. The scull-cap of St. Simon, said to have been made in the tenth century, and now preserved in the Cathedral of Treves. Its border is interwoven with gold.

In regard to these interesting relics, they may with confidence be looked upon as specimens of the manufacture of silk from the seventh to the twelfth century.

IV. In the Cathedral at Hereford is a charter of one of the Popes with the bull (the leaden seal), attached to it by silken threads. Silk was early used for this purpose in the South of Europe[101]. The Danish kings began to use silk to append the waxen seals to their charters about the year 1000[102].

V. Silk, in the form of velvet, may be seen on some of the ancient armor in the Tower of London.

VI. The binding of ancient manuscripts affords specimens of silk. A French translation of Ludolphus Saxo’s Life of Christ in four folio volumes, among Dr. William Hunter’s MSS. at Glasgow, still has its original binding covered with red velvet, which is probably as old as the fourteenth century. A curious source of information on the art of book-binding at that period is the Inventory, or Catalogue of the library collected by that ardent lover of books, Charles V. of France. As this catalogue particularly describes the bindings of about 1200 volumes, many of which were very elaborate and splendid, it enables us to judge of the use made of all the most valuable stuffs and materials which could be employed for this purpose, and under the head of silk we find the following: “soie,” [Pg 83] silk; “veluyau,” velvet; “satanin,” satin; “damas,” damask; “taffetas,” taffetas; “camocas;” “cendal;” and “drap d’or,” cloth of gold, having probably a basis or ground of silk[103].

From the few examples of ancient Catholic vestments that have escaped destruction, the generality of persons are but little acquainted with the extreme beauty of the embroidery worked for ecclesiastical purposes during the Middle Ages. The countenances of the images were executed with perfect expression, like miniatures in illuminated manuscripts. Every parochial church, previous to the Reformation, was furnished with complete sets of frontals and hangings for the altars. One of the great beauties of the ancient embroidery was its appropriate design; each flower, leaf, and device having a significant meaning with reference to the festival to which the vestment belonged. Such was the extreme beauty of the English vestments in the reign of Henry III., that Innocent IV. forwarded bulls to many English bishops, enjoining them to send a certain quantity of embroidered vestments to Rome, for the use of the clergy[104].

[Pg 84]

The use of gold in weaving may be traced to the earliest times, but seems to be particularly characteristic of oriental manners.

It was employed in connexion with woollen and linen thread of the finest colors to enrich the ephod, girdle, and breast-plate of Aaron[105]. The sacred historian goes so far as to describe the [Pg 85] mode of preparing the gold to be used in weaving: “And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with cunning work.”—Ex. xxxix. 2-8. The historian certainly does not intend to describe the process of wire-drawing, nor probably the art of making gold thread. It seems likely, that neither of these ingenious manufactures were invented in his time. The queen described in Ps. xiv., wears “clothing of wrought gold[106].” Homer mentions a golden girdle, (Od. ε. 232. κ. 543.). He also describes an upper garment, which Penelope made for Ulysses before going to Illium. On the front part of it a beautiful hunting piece was wrought in gold. It is thus described. “A dog holds a fawn with its fore feet, looking at it as it pants with fear and strives to make its escape.” This, he says, was the subject of universal admiration[107].

Pisander, who probably lived at the same period with Homer, speaks of the Lydians as wearing tunics adorned with gold. Lydus, who has preserved this expression of the ancient cyclic poet, observes that the Lydians were supplied with gold from the sands of the Pactolus and the Hermus[108].

Virgil also represents the use of gold in weaving, as if it had existed in Trojan times. One of the garments so adorned was made by Dido, the Sidonian, another by Andromache, and a third was in the possession of Anchises[109]. In all these instances the reference is to the habits of Phœnice, Lycia, or other parts of Asia.

Among all the Asiatics, none were more remarkable than [Pg 86] the Persians for the display of textures of gold, as well as every other kind of luxury in dress. A tiara interwoven with gold was one of the presents which Xerxes gave as an expression of his gratitude to the citizens of Abdera (Herod. viii. 120.). The Indians also employed the same kind of ornament (Strabo, L. xv. c. i. § 69.); and the Periegesis (l. 881.) of Priscian attributes the use of it to the Arabians[110].

The history of Alexander the Great affords frequent traces of the use of cloth interwoven with gold in Persia. Garments made of such cloth were among the most splendid of the spoils of Persepolis[111].

Justin (L. xii.) says that Alexander, to avoid offending the Persians, ordered his principal attendants to adopt for their dress “longam vestem auream purpureamque.” The dress prescribed was therefore of fine woollen cloth, or probably of silk, dyed purple, and interwoven with gold. Among the vast multitudes which preceded the King of Persia when he advanced to oppose Alexander, was the band of ten thousand called the Immortals, whose dress was carried to the ‘ne plus ultra’ of barbaric splendor, some wearing golden collars, others “cloth variegated with gold.” Some idea of the extravagance and pomp of the Persians on this occasion may be formed from the following passage, taken from Rollin’s “Ancient History.”

At the nuptials of Alexander purple and scarlet cloths, interwoven with gold, were expanded over the guests: and a pall of the same description covered the golden sarcophagus made to contain his body. Among the splendid ornaments of the tent erected not long after at Alexandria by Ptolemy Philadelphus, there were tunics interwoven with gold: and in the procession on the same occasion, the colossal statues of Bacchus and his nurse Nysa were attired; the former in a shawl; the latter in a tunic variegated with gold. Probably we may refer to the same country and age the “golden tunic” mentioned in one of the Arundle marbles (No. xxii. 2.). Also the tent pitched by Arsace with hangings of gold and purple tissues, and the robe of similar materials worn by Arsace herself, as described by Heliodorus (Æthiop. vii.), relate to the customs of the same country.

Another of the successors of Alexander, viz. Demetrius Poliorcetes, wore purple garments with borders of gold[112].

[Pg 88] Themistius describes a portrait of one of the kings of Persia, who wore, together with the tiara and the collar or necklace, a purple shawl interwoven with gold (Orat. 24. p. 369. ed. Dindorf.).

During the periods to which the preceding evidence has allusion, it is not probable that cloth of gold was in use among the Greeks and Romans except to a very limited extent. Nevertheless it does not appear to have escaped the avidity for every species of excellence, which in early times distinguished the inhabitants of Magna Græcia. For, when Pythagoras became a teacher of wisdom and philosophy at Crotona, among other lessons of frugality he persuaded the matrons to put off their “golden garments” with other fashionable ornaments, and deposit them in the temple of Juno as offerings to the goddess[113]. In a passage attributed to Menander we meet with the mention of a “golden or purple chlamys” as a suitable offering to the gods[114]. Hedylus of Samos, a writer of the same age, describes a woman of loose morals, by name Niconoe, as wearing a tunic striped with gold (Brunck’s Analecta, i. 483.).

Attalus, king of Pergamus, is said by Pliny (L. viii. cap. 48.) to have invented the art of embroidering with gold thread[115]. Nevertheless we have seen, that gold was thus used long before the time of Attalus. But there can be no doubt, that he established and maintained a great manufacture of these stuffs at Pergamus; thus contributing greatly to improve the art, and bring these cloths into more general use.

The next passage is from Dr. Bostock’s translation of the 33rd Book, ch. xix. “Gold may be spun or woven like wool, without the latter being mixed with it. We are informed by Verrius, that Tarquinius Priscus rode in triumph in a tunic of gold; and we have seen Agrippina, the wife of the Emperor Claudius, when he exhibited the spectacle of a naval combat, sitting by him covered with a robe made entirely of woven gold. In what are called the Attalic stuffs, the gold is woven [Pg 89] with some other substance. This art was the invention of one of the kings of Asia.”

In Book xxxv. c. 36. Pliny says that Zeuxis, to display his wealth at Olympia, caused his name to be woven in gold in the compartments of his outer garment.

Caligula once wore a tunic interwoven with gold. Heliogabalus was far more profuse in regard to this kind of splendor. White sheets, interwoven with gold, were used at the funeral obsequies of Nero[116]. We may here observe, that the use of gold in dress almost invariably accompanied that of silk. The same Emperors who took delight in the one, indulged themselves with the other also. On the contrary, Alexander Severus, as we shall show when treating of linen in Part IV., was economical in both these respects.

In Chapters II. and III., we quoted several passages which make mention of cloth of gold, from Tibullus, Ovid, Seneca the Tragedian, Lucan, Dio Cassius, Claudian, Virgil, Gregorius Nazienzenus, and Basil, all of which speak of cloth of gold. Ovid mentions purple garments variously colored and interwoven with gold, as belonging to Bacchus.—Met. iii. 556.

Publius Syrus was a writer of the same period. In the following fragment preserved by Petronius Arbiter, he compares the train of the peacock to Babylonian stuffs enriched with gold and various colors:

Shawls, interwoven with gold, are mentioned by Galen[117], and by Valerius Flaccus[118]; also by Lucan in the following passage, where he is describing the furniture of Cleopatra’s palace (x. 125, 126.):

The following passages also contain evidence on the same subject.

[Pg 90]

SENECA, THE PHILOSOPHER.

LUCIAN

describes the tragic actors, when they performed the part of kings, as wearing a chlamys interwoven with gold[119].

APULEIUS.

PHILOSTRATUS

depicts Midas wearing a golden robe[120].

NEMESIANUS.

The poet is addressing Diana and describing her attire.

AUSONIUS.

This is the first passage since the time of Homer, which mentions Greece as concerned in weaving with gold. But Ausonius probably alluded to the Greeks of Asia Minor, as, besides the evidence produced from Basil, we have seen that Pergamus was one of the most noted places for these productions, which were on that account called “Attalicæ vestes[122].”

[Pg 91] When Ausonius was appointed Consul at Rome A. D. 379, his friend and former pupil, the Emperor Gratian, sent him as a present a toga in which was inserted a figure of Constantius II., wrought in gold.—Ausonii Gratiarum Actio, § 53.

CLAUDIAN

mentions with delight the use of gold in dress as well as of silk. His testimony has been given in chapter III. of this Part.

SIDONIUS APOLLINARIS

mentions the gold in the dress of Prince Sigismer. His testimony is also given in chapter III.

CORIPPUS,

describing the accession of Justin II. to the Empire (A. D. 565), mentions (L. ii.) his tunic enriched with gold as part of his imperial costume.

PAULINUS.

We find the following law in the Codex Justinianus:

The “aurata paragauda” was a border of gold lace or thread. It appears that ladies might wear it on their tunics, while men were only permitted to use it in token of their official character as being in the service of the emperor. In allusion to these or similar regulations, Ælius Lampridius (34) says of the emperor Alexander Severus,

[Pg 92]

The testimony of Ambrose, Jerome, and Basil has been given in Chapter III., which see.

From the book of Joshua we learn that the woven stuffs of Babylon were not confined to domestic use, but exported into foreign countries. The two chief productions of Babylonian looms were carpets and shawls. One of the principal objects of luxury in Asia from the remotest ages, were nowhere so finely woven, and in such rich colors as at Babylon. On the Babylonian carpets were woven or depicted representations of those fabulous animals the dragon and griffin, together with other unnatural combinations of form, probably originating in India, and with which we have become acquainted by the ruins of Persepolis. It was by means of the Babylonian manufactures, that the knowledge of these fanciful and imaginary beings, was conveyed to the Western world, and from them transferred to the Greek vases. “A mantle of Shinar,” or as our translators have rendered it, “A Babylonish garment,” was secreted by Achan from the spoils of Jericho; and the delinquent speaks of this as being the most valuable part of his plunder[123]. Next to carpets and shawls, the Babylonian garments called Sindones were held in the highest estimation. The most costly Sindones, were so much valued for their fineness of texture and brilliancy of color, as to be compared to those of Media, and set apart for royal use; they were even to be found at the tomb of Cyrus, which was profusely decorated with every species of furniture in use among the Persian monarchs during their lives.

[Plate II]

Plate II

From Champollion

EGYPTIAN LOOMS,
with the processes of Spinning and Winding.

[Pg 93]

The Evangelist Luke, in Acts xii. 21. speaks of the “royal apparel,” in which Herod Agrippa, king of Judea, was arrayed when he received the ambassadors of Tyre and Sidon, sitting in great state upon his throne at Cæsarea. “And upon a set day, Herod arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.”

Josephus describes the same garment, which was a tunic, as “all made of silver, and wonderful in its texture.” He adds, that the king appeared in this dress at break of day in the theatre, and that the silver, illuminated by the first rays of the sun, glittered in such a manner as to terrify the beholders, so that his flatterers began to call out aloud, saluting him as a god. He was then seized with the painful and loathsome distemper, of which he soon after died[124].

We extract the following curious account of the discovery of Ancient Piece-goods and manufactured stuffs from a late [Pg 94] number of an English publication called the “Mining Review.”

Discovery of ancient Piece-goods and manufactured stuffs.—“It is more than a thousand years since Theodolphus, Bishop of Orleans, gave to Notre Dame du Puy en Velay a beautiful manuscript, containing the ancient Testament, the chronography of St. Isidor, and other pieces, the whole distributed into 138 articles; which he presented in token of gratitude for his deliverance from the prison of Angers, where he was confined in the year 835. It was on Palm Sunday that year, while Louis Le Debonnaire was passing, that he began to sing a well-known Canticle, which the Catholic church has since then introduced into its ceremonies. This precious manuscript, in a state of perfect preservation, is to be seen in the archives of the Bishopric of the Puy en Velay, department of the Haute Loire. A portion of the manuscript is written on leaves of common parchment, in letters of red and black, with a few of gold intermixed. The other portion is inscribed on leaves of parchment, dyed purple, with letters of gold and silver, among which are observed, ornaments of different kinds and colors, designated the “Byzantine style.” The manuscript, remarkable for its beauty and preservation, is still more valuable for the manufactured stuffs which it contains. When Theodolphus composed his manuscript, with the intention of preserving from contact and friction the gold and silver characters (which, in time, would have tended to displace and obliterate them), he placed between each page a portion of the manufactured tissues peculiar to the era in which he lived. These specimens of the silk, and other pieces of goods of the time are thus curiously preserved[125]. Till lately, little attention was paid to these tissues, which are principally of India manufacture, bearing scarcely any analogy to the products of the modern loom. Some are CASHMERE SHAWLS of those patterns, which the French call broucha and espouline, and are [Pg 95] made in the Indian fashion, but with this difference, that they are limited to four colors, and demonstrate the greatest antiquity by the primitive simplicity of their colors and design. Others are CRAPES and GAUZES, against the luxury of whose transparent tissues, the fathers of the church at that time so perseveringly fulminated their censures. The rest consist of muslins and China-crape of exquisite beauty. The components of the majority of these tissues are of goats’ or camels’ hair of exceeding delicacy and fineness. Like the manufactured stuffs of ancient Egypt, painted on the walls of its palaces and tombs, or substantially preserved amidst the envelopes of mummies, the designs are limited to four colors, which are in fact the four sacred ones of China, India, Egypt, and the Hebrew Tabernacle. Nevertheless, the Egyptian designs, identical with those of India, are many of them of exquisite beauty. The consummate skill of the silk and cotton manufacturers of ancient Egypt, 4000 years ago, the beauty and richness of their fabrics—the little alteration which has taken place in the economy or machinery of the factories, as well as in their product, has been recently demonstrated in the great work of Champollion. All the details of the silk and cotton factories of Egypt, under the Pharaohs of the 18th dynasty (which then monopolized the commerce of the world, and sent a colony of weavers, from the overburthened population of Lower Egypt, to found Athens, and the subsequent civilization of Europe), are laid open with vivid accuracy in that splendid work[126], and brought with all their startling analogies before the eye of the modern reader by drawings from the temples, palaces, and tombs which it contains. It proves, indeed, that there is ”nothing new under the sun.”

That the Egyptians excelled in science and art is evident from their monuments, paintings, and sculptures, whereon they are depicted. It is also proved by Scripture, which speaks of the “wisdom of Egypt” with reference to art; and from the fact that Egypt was deemed by other nations the fountain of arts and sciences, and that their philosophers were wont to resort [Pg 96] thither to collect some of the “droppings of Egyptian wisdom.” According to Diodorus, all trades vied with each other in improving their own particular branch, no pains being spared to bring each to perfection. To promote the more effectually this object, it was enacted that no artisan should follow any trade or employment but that defined bylaw, and pursued by his ancestors. No tradesman was permitted to meddle with political affairs, or hold any civil office in the state, lest his thoughts should be distracted by the inconsistency of his pursuits, or the jealousy and displeasure of the master in whose service he was employed. They foresaw that without such a law constant interruptions would take place, in consequence of the necessity or desire of becoming conspicuous in a public station; that their proper occupations would be neglected, and many would be led by vanity and self-sufficiency to interfere in matters which were out of their sphere. They considered, moreover, that to pursue more than one avocation would be detrimental to their own interests, and those of the community at large; and that, when men, from a motive of avarice, engage in numerous branches of art, the general result is, that they are unable to excel in any. If any artisan interfered in political matters, or engaged in any employment other than the one to which he had been brought up, a severe punishment was immediately inflicted upon him.

The eminent German hierologist, Dr. Lepsius, now employed in Egypt by the Prussian government, after mentioning, in a recent letter, the many discoveries he had made of ancient ruins, tombs, &c., writes as follows:

“With the exception of about twelve, which belong to a later period, all these tombs were erected contemporaneously with, or soon after, the building of the great pyramid, and consequently their dates throw an invaluable light on the study of human civilization in the most remote period of antiquity. The sculptures in relief are surprisingly numerous, representing whole figures, some the size of life, and others of various dimensions. The paintings are on back grounds of the finest chalk. They are numerous and beautiful beyond conception—as fresh and perfect as if finished yesterday! The pictures and sculptures [Pg 97] on the walls of the tombs, represent, for the most part, scenes in the lives of the deceased persons, whose wealth in cattle, fish-boats, servants, &c., is ostentatiously displayed before the eye of the spectator. All this gives an insight into the details of private life among the ancient Egyptians. By the help of these inscriptions I think I could, without difficulty, make a “Court Calendar” of the reign of King Cheops[127]. In some instances I have traced the graves of father, son, grandson, and even great-grandson—all that now remains of the distinguished families, which five thousand years ago, formed the nobility of the land.”

[Pg 98]

It can never be too strongly impressed upon a mind anxious for the acquisition of knowledge, that the commonest things by which we are surrounded are deserving of minute and careful attention. The most profound investigations of Philosophy are necessarily connected with the ordinary circumstances of our being, and of the world in which our every-day life is spent. With regard to our own existence, the pulsation of the heart, the act of respiration, the voluntary movement of our limbs, the condition of sleep, are among the most ordinary operations of our nature; and yet how long were the wisest of men struggling with dark and bewildering speculations before they could offer anything like a satisfactory solution of these phenomena, and how far are we still from an accurate and complete knowledge of them! The science of Meteorology, which attempts to explain to us the philosophy of matters constantly before our eyes, as dew, mist, and rain, is dependent for its illustrations upon a knowledge of the most complicated facts, such as the [Pg 99] influence of heat and electricity upon the air; and this knowledge is at present so imperfect, that even these common occurrences of the weather, which men have been observing and reasoning upon for ages, are by no means satisfactorily explained, or reduced to the precision that every science should aspire to. Yet, however difficult it may be entirely to comprehend the phenomena we daily witness, everything in nature is full of instruction. Thus the humblest flower of the field, although, to one whose curiosity has not been excited, and whose understanding has, therefore, remained uninformed, it may appear worthless and contemptible, is valuable to the botanist, not only with regard to its place in the arrangement of this portion of the Creator’s works, but as it leads his mind forward to the consideration of those beautiful provisions for the support of vegetable life, which it is the part of the physiologist to study and admire[128].

This train of reasoning is peculiarly applicable to the economy of insects. They constitute a very large and interesting part of the animal kingdom. They are everywhere about us. The spider weaves his curious web in our houses; the caterpillar constructs his silken cell in our gardens; the wasp that hovers over our food has a nest not far removed from us, which she has assisted to build with the nicest art; the beetle that crawls across our path is also an ingenious and laborious mechanic, and has some curious instincts to exhibit to those who will feel an interest in watching his movements; and the moth that eats into our clothes has something to plead for our pity, for he came, like us, naked into the world, and he has destroyed our garments, not in malice or wantonness, but that he may clothe himself with the same wool which we have stripped from the sheep. An observation of the habits of these little creatures is full of valuable lessons, which the abundance of the examples has no tendency to diminish. The more such observations are multiplied, the more we are led forward to the freshest and the most delightful parts of knowledge; the more do [Pg 100] we learn to estimate rightly the extraordinary provisions and most abundant resources of a creative Providence; and the better do we appreciate our own relations with all the infinite varieties of Nature, and our dependence, in common with the ephemeron that flutters its little hour in the summer sun, upon that Being in whose scheme of existence the humblest as well as the highest creature has its destined purposes. “If you speak of a stone,” says St. Basil, “if you speak of a fly, a gnat, or a bee, your conversation will be a sort of demonstration of his power whose hand formed them, for the wisdom of the workman is commonly perceived in that which is of little size. He who has stretched out the Heavens, and dug up the bottom of the sea, is also He who has pierced a passage through the sting of the bee for the ejection of its poison.”

If it be granted that making discoveries is one of the most satisfactory of human pleasures, then we may without hesitation affirm, that the study of insects is one of the most delightful branches of natural history, for it affords peculiar facilities for its pursuit. These facilities are found in the almost inexhaustible variety which insects present to the curious observer.

There is, perhaps, no situation in which the lover of nature and the observer of animal life may not find opportunities for increasing his store of facts. It is told of a state prisoner under a cruel and rigorous despotism, that when he was excluded from all commerce with mankind, and was shut out from books, he took an interest and found consolation in the visits of a spider; and there is no improbability in the story. The operations of that persecuted creature are among the most extraordinary exhibitions of mechanical ingenuity; and a daily watching of the workings of its instinct would beget admiration in a rightly constituted mind. The poor prisoner had abundant leisure for the speculations in which the spider’s web would enchain his understanding. We have all of us, at one period or other of our lives, been struck with some singular evidence of contrivance in the economy of insects, which we have seen with our own eyes. Want of leisure, and probably want of knowledge, have prevented us from following up the curiosity which for a moment was excited. And yet some such [Pg 101] accident has made men Naturalists, in the highest meaning of the term. Bonnet, evidently speaking of himself, says, “I knew a naturalist, who, when he was seventeen years of age, having heard of the operations of the ant-lion, began by doubting them. He had no rest till he had examined into them; and he verified them, he admired them, he discovered new facts, and soon became the disciple and the friend of the Pliny of France[129]” (Réaumur). It is not the happy fortune of many to be able to devote themselves exclusively to the study of nature, unquestionably the most fascinating of human employments; but almost every one may acquire sufficient knowledge to be able to derive a high gratification from beholding the more common operations of animal life. His materials for contemplation are always before him.

The silk-worm is a species of caterpillar which, like all other insects of the same class, undergoes a variety of changes during the short period of its life; assuming, in each of three successive transformations, a form wholly dissimilar to that with which it was previously invested.

Among the great variety of caterpillars, the descriptions of which are to be found in the records of natural history, the silk-worm occupies a place far above the rest. Not only is our attention called to the examination of its various transformations, by the desire of satisfying our curiosity as entomologists, but our artificial wants incite us likewise to the study of its nature and habits, that we may best and most profitably apply its instinctive industry to our own advantage.

It has been well observed by Pullein, a writer on this subject, that “there is scarcely anything among the various wonders which the animal creation affords, more admirable than the variety of changes which the silk-worm undergoes;” but the curious texture of that silken covering with which it surrounds itself when it arrives at the perfection of its animal life, vastly surpasses what is made by other animals of this class. All the caterpillar kind do, indeed, pass through changes like those of the silk-worm, and the beauty of many in their butterfly state [Pg 102] greatly exceeds it; but the covering which they put on before this mutation is poor and mean, when compared to that golden tissue in which the silk-worm wraps itself. They, indeed, come forth in a variety of colors, their wings bedropped with gold and scarlet, yet are they but the beings of a summer’s day; both their life and beauty quickly vanish, and they leave no remembrance after them; but the silk-worm leaves behind it such beautiful, such beneficial monuments, as at once to record both the wisdom of their Creator and his bounty to man.”

We may without impropriety, here introduce the following truly beautiful comparison of the shortness of human life, as well as in illustration of this part of our subject, as evidenced in the May-fly.

[Pg 104] Silk-worms proceed from eggs which are deposited during the summer by a grayish kind of moth, of the genus palæna. These eggs are about equal in size to a grain of mustard seed: their color when first laid is yellow; but in three or four days after, they acquire a bluish cast. In temperate climates, and by using proper precautions, these eggs may be preserved during the winter and spring, without risk of premature hatching. The period of their animation may be accelerated or retarded by artificial means, so as to agree with the time when the natural food of the insect shall appear in ample abundance for its support.

All the curious changes and labors which accompany and characterize the life of the silk-worm are performed within the space of a very few weeks. This period varies, indeed, according to the climate or temperature in which its life is passed; all its vital functions being quickened, and their duration proportionally abridged, by warmth. With this sole variance, its progressions are alike in all climates, and the same mutations accompany its course.

The three successive states of being put on by this insect are, that of the worm or caterpillar, of the chrysalis or aurelia, and moth. In addition to these more decided transformations, the progress of the silk-worm in its caterpillar state is marked by five distinct stages of being.

When first hatched, it appears as a small black worm about [Pg 105] a quarter of an inch in length. Its first indication of animation is the desire which it evinces for obtaining food, in search of which, if not immediately supplied, it will exhibit more power of locomotion than characterizes it at any other period. So small is the desire of change on the part of these insects, that of the generality it may be said, their own spontaneous will seldom leads them to travel over a greater space than three feet throughout the whole duration of their lives. Even when hungry, the worm still clings to the skeleton of the leaf from which its nourishment was last derived. If, by the continued cravings of its appetite, it should be at length incited to the effort necessary for changing its position, it will sometimes wander as far as the edge of the tray wherein it is confined, and some few have been found sufficiently adventurous to cling to its rim; but the smell of fresh leaves will instantly allure them back. It would add incalculably to the labors and cares of their attendants, if silk-worms were endowed with a more rambling disposition. So useful is this peculiarity of their nature, that one is irresistibly tempted to consider it the result of design, and a part of that beautiful system of the fitness of things, which the student of natural history has so many opportunities of contemplating with delight and admiration.

In about eight days from its being hatched, its head becomes perceptibly larger, and the worm is attacked by its first sickness. This lasts for three days; during which time it refuses food, and remains motionless as in a kind of lethargy. Some have thought this to be sleep, but the fatal termination which so frequently attends these sicknesses seems to afford a denial to this hypothesis. The silk-worm increases its size so considerably, and in so short a space of time,—its weight being multiplied many thousand fold in the course of one month,—that if only one skin had been assigned to it, which should serve for its whole caterpillar state, it would with difficulty have distended itself sufficiently to keep pace with the insect’s growth. The economy of nature has therefore admirably provided the embryos of other skins, destined to be successively called into use; and this sickness of the worm, and its disinclination for food, [Pg 106] may very probably be occasioned by the pressure of the skin, now become too small for the body which it encases.

At the end of the third day from its first refusal of food, the animal appears, on that account, much wasted in its bodily frame; a circumstance which materially assists in the painful operation of casting its skin: this it now proceeds to accomplish. To facilitate this moulting, a sort of humor is thrown off by the worm, which, spreading between its body and the skin about to be abandoned, lubricates their surfaces, and causes them to separate the more readily. The insect also emits from its body silken traces, which, adhering to the spot where it rests, serves to confine the skin to its then existing position. These preliminary steps seem to call for some considerable exertion, as after them the worm remains quiet for a short space of time, to recover from its fatigue. It then proceeds, by rubbing its head among the leafy fibres surrounding it, to disencumber itself of the scaly covering. Its next effort is to break through the skin nearest to the head, which, as it is there the smallest, calls for the greatest exertion; and no sooner is this accomplished and the two front legs are disengaged, than the remainder of the body is quickly drawn forth, the skin being still fastened to the spot in the manner already described.

This moulting is so complete, that not only is the whole covering of the body cast off, but that of the feet, the entire skull, and even the jaws, including the teeth. These several parts may be discerned by the unassisted eye; but become very apparent when viewed through a magnifying lens of moderate power.

In two or three minutes from the beginning of its efforts the worm is wholly freed, and again puts on the appearance of health and vigor; feeding with recruited appetite upon its leafy banquet. It sometimes happens that the outer skin refuses to detach itself wholly, but breaks and leaves an annular portion adhering to the extremity of its body, from which all the struggles of the insect cannot wholly disengage it. The pressure thus occasioned induces swelling and inflammation in other parts of the body; and, after efforts of greater or less duration, death generally terminates its sufferings.

[Pg 107] Worms newly freed from their exuviæ are easily distinguished from others by the pale color and wrinkled appearance of their new skin. This latter quality, however, soon disappears, through the repletion and growth of the insect, which continues to feed during five days. At this time its length will be increased to half an inch; when it is attacked by a second sickness, followed by a second moulting, the manner of performing which is exactly similar to the former. Its appetite then again returns, and is indulged during other five days, in the course of which time its length increases to three quarters of an inch: it then undergoes its third sickness and moulting. These being past in all respects like the former, and five more days of feeding having followed, it is seized by its fourth sickness, and casts its skin for the last time in the caterpillar state. The worm is now about one and a half or two inches long. This last change being finished, the worm devours its food most voraciously, and increases rapidly in size during ten days.

The silk-worm has now attained to its full growth, and is a slender caterpillar from two and a half to three inches in length (See Figure 1. Plate III.). The peculiarities of its structure may be better examined now than in its earlier stages. It can readily be seen that the worm has twelve membranous rings round its body, parallel to each other; and which, answering to the movements of the animal, mutually contract and elongate. It has sixteen legs, in pairs: six in front, which are covered with a sort of shell or scale, and are placed under the three first rings, and cannot be either sensibly lengthened, or their position altered. The other ten legs are called holders: these are membranous, flexible, and attached to the body under the rings, being furnished with little hooks, which assist the insect in climbing. The skull is inclosed in a scaly substance, similar to the covering of the first six legs. The jaws are indented or serrated like the teeth of a saw, and their strength is great considering the size of the insect. Its mouth is peculiar, having a vertical instead of an horizontal aperture; and the worm is furnished with eighteen breathing holes, placed at equal distances down the body, nine on each side. Each of these holes is supposed to be the termination of a particular organ of respiration. [Pg 108] On either side of the head, near to the mouth, seven small eyes may be discerned. The two broad appearances higher upon the head, which are frequently mistaken for eyes, are bones of the skull. The two apertures through which the worm draws its silken filament are placed just beneath the jaw, and close to each other; these being exceedingly minute.

At the period above-mentioned the desire of the worm for food begins to abate: the first symptom of this is the appearance of the leaves nibbled into small portions and wasted. It soon after entirely ceases even to touch the leaves; appears restless and uneasy; erects it head; and moves about from side to side, with a circular motion, in quest of a place wherein it can commence its labor of spinning. Its color is now light green, with some mixture of a darker hue. In twenty-four hours from the time of its abstaining from food, the material for forming its silk will be digested in its reservoirs; its green color will disappear; its body will have acquired a degree of glossiness, and have become partially transparent towards its neck. Before the worm is quite prepared to spin, its body will have acquired greater firmness, and be in a trifling measure lessened in size.

“The substance,” says Mr. Porter, “of which the silk is composed, is secreted in the form of a fine yellow transparent gum in two separate vessels of slender dimensions, wound, as it were, on two spindles in the stomach; and if unfolded, these vessels would be about ten inches in length[131].” This statement is proved to be erroneous, as the reader will perceive, at the conclusion of this chapter.

When the worm has fixed upon some angle, or hollow place, whose dimensions agree with the size of its intended silken ball or cocoon, it begins its labor by throwing forth thin and irregular threads, see Figure 2. Plate III., which are intended to support its future dwelling.

During the first day, the insect forms upon these a loose structure of an oval shape, which is called floss silk, and within which covering, in the three following days, it forms the firm [Pg 109] and consistent yellow ball; the laborer, of course, always remaining on the inside of the sphere which it is forming[132].

The silken filament, which when drawn out appears to be one thread, is composed of two fibres, unwound through the two orifices before described; and these fibres are brought together by means of two hooks, placed within the silk-worm’s mouth for the purpose. The worm rests on its lower extremity throughout the unwinding operation, and employs its mouth and front legs in the task of directing and uniting the two filaments. The filament is not wound in regular concentric circles round the interior surface of the ball, but in spots, going backwards and forwards with a sort of wavy motion. This apparently irregular manner of proceeding is plainly perceptible when the silk is being reeled off the ball; which does not make more than one or two entire revolutions while ten or twelve yards of silk are being transferred to the reel[133].

At the end of the third or fourth day, the worm will have completed its task; and we have then a silk cocoon (See Figure 3. Plate III.), with the worm imprisoned in its centre; the [Pg 110] cocoon being from an inch to an inch and a half long, and of a yellow or orange color.

When the insect has finished its labor of unwinding, it smears the entire internal surface of the cocoon with a peculiar kind of gum, very similar in its nature to the matter which forms the silk itself; and this is no doubt designed as a shield against rain or the humidity of the atmosphere, for the chrysalis in its natural state; when of course it would be subject to all varieties of weather. The silken filament of which the ball is made up, is likewise accompanied, throughout its entire length, by a portion of gum, which serves to give firmness and consistency to its texture; and assists in rendering the dwelling of the chrysalis impervious to moisture. This office it performs so well, that when, for the purpose of reeling the silk with greater facility, the balls are thrown into basins of hot water, they swim on the top with all the buoyancy of bladders; nor, unless the ball be imperfectly formed, does the water penetrate within until the silk is nearly all unwound. In figure 4, plate III., the cocoons are drawn two-thirds of the usual size, and are shown with part of the outward floss silk removed.

The continual emission of the silken material during the formation of its envelope, together with its natural evaporation, uncompensated by food, causes the worm gradually to contract in bulk; it becomes wrinkled, and the rings of its body approach nearer to each other and appear more decidedly marked. When the ball is finished, the insect rests awhile from its toil, and then throws off its caterpillar garb. If the cocoon be now opened, its inhabitant will appear in the form of a chrysalis or aurelia, in shape somewhat resembling a kidney-bean (See Figure 5. plate III.), but pointed at one end, having a smooth brown skin. Its former covering, so dissimilar to the one now assumed, will be found lying beside it.

The account which has been given of the progressions of the silk-worm shows, that, in its various modifications, the animal organization of the insect has been always tending towards its simplification. Count Dandolo, writing upon this subject, observes, “Thus the caterpillar is in the first instance composed [Pg 111] of animal, silky, and excremental particles; this forms the state of the growing caterpillar: in the next stage it is composed of animal and silky particles; it is then the mature caterpillar: and lastly, it is reduced to the animal particles alone; and is termed in this state the chrysalis. The poet Cowper, in the following lines, beautifully illustrates this subject:

It has been already noticed that the progressions of the insects are accelerated by an increase of temperature; and some variation will equally be experienced where different modes of treatment are followed; and, in particular, where different periods of the year are chosen in which to produce and rear the worm. Malpighius, in his “Anatomy of the Silk-worm,” says, [Pg 112] that worms which he hatched in May were eleven days old ere they were attacked by their first sickness; others hatched in July were ten days, and those brought forth in August nine days, before they refused their food, preparatory to their first moulting. Eight days appear to be the most usual term for their first attack; and by his judicious treatment count Dandolo shortened even this term by two days. In Europe, except where recourse is had to artificial aid, the term of the caterpillar state is usually that which has been already mentioned.

Sudden transitions from cold to heat, or vice versa, are highly injurious to the silk-worm; but it can bear a very high degree of heat, if uniformly maintained, without sustaining injury. Count Dandolo observed, that “the greater the degree of heat in which it is reared, the more acute are its wants, the more rapid its pleasures, and the shorter its existence.” Monsieur Boissier de Sauvagues made many experiments on this point. One year, when by the early appearance of the mulberry leaves, which were developed by the end of April, he was forced to hurry forward the operations of his filature, he raised the heat of the apartment in which the newly-hatched worms were placed to 100°; gradually diminishing this during their first and second ages to 95°. In consequence of the animal excitement thus induced, there elapsed only nine days between the hatching and the second moulting inclusively. It was the general opinion of those cultivators who witnessed the experiment, that the insects would not be able to exist in so intensely heated an atmosphere. The walls of the apartment, and the wicker hurdles on which the worms were placed, could scarcely be touched from the great heat, and yet all the changes and progressions went forward perfectly well, and a most abundant crop of silk was the result.

The same gentleman, on a subsequent occasion, exposed his brood to the temperature of 93° to 95° during their first age; of 89° to 91° in the second age; and remarked that the attendant circumstances were the same as in his former experiment, the changes of the worm being performed in the same space of time; whence he came to the conclusion, that it is not practicable to accelerate their progress beyond a certain point [Pg 113] by any superadditions of heat. In both of these experiments the quantity of food consumed, was as great as is usually given during the longer period employed in the common manner of rearing. After the second moulting had taken place in the last experiment, the temperature was lowered to 82°; and it is remarkable that the worms occupied only five days in completing their third and fourth changes, although others which had been accustomed to this lower degree from their birth occupied seven or eight days for each of these moultings. It would therefore seem that the constitution of the insects can be affected, and an impetus given to their functions at the period of their first animation, which accompanies them through their after stages. So far from this forcing system proving injurious to the health of silk-worms, M. de Sauvagues found that his broods were unusually healthy; and that while the labors of cultivation were abridged in their duration, much of the attendant anxiety was removed.

Like other caterpillars, the silk-worm is not a warm-blooded animal, and its temperature is therefore always equal to that of the atmosphere in which it is placed. In the silk-producing countries, where modes of artificial heating have not been studied practically and scientifically, the difficulty and expense that must attend the prosecution of this heating system, form abundant reasons why it cannot be generally adopted. The great susceptibility of the insect to atmospheric influences would also in a great degree render unsuitable the more common arrangements for the purpose. The plan of warming apartments by means of stoves, in its passage through which the air becomes highly heated before it mixes with and raises the general temperature of the air in the chamber, is liable to this inconvenience,—that the portion so introduced, having its vital property impaired by the burning heat through which it has passed, injures, proportionably, the respirable quality of the whole atmosphere; an effect which is easily perceptible by those who inhale it. A better plan of heating has lately been suggested, and is rapidly coming into practice, viz., of warming buildings by a current of hot water (an American invention), which is, by a very simple process, kept constantly flowing in [Pg 114] close channels through the apartment, where it continually gives off its heat by radiation; and the degree of this being far below the point which is injurious to the vital quality of air, the evil before alluded to is avoided. If the expense of fuel be not too great, as compared with that of the labor which would be saved by this invention, the adoption in silk countries of such a mode of raising and regulating the temperature might, probably, prove advantageous.

The silk-worm remains in the form of a chrysalis, for periods which, according to the climate or the temperature wherein it may be placed, vary from fifteen to thirty days. In India, the time is much shorter (See Chapter VIII.); in Spain and Italy, eighteen to twenty days. In France three weeks; and in the climate of England, when unaccelerated by artificial means, thirty days will elapse from the time the insect begins to spin until it emerges in its last and perfect form. It then throws off the shroud which had confined it in seeming lifelessness, and appears as a large moth of a grayish-white color, furnished with four wings, two eyes, and two black horns or antlers which present a feathery appearance (See Figure 6. plate III.).

If left until this period within the cocoon, the moth takes immediate measures for its extrication: ejecting from its mouth a liquor with which it moistens and lessens the adhesiveness of the gum wherewith it had lined the interior surface of its dwelling, and the insect is enabled, by frequent motions of its head, to loosen, without breaking, the texture of the ball; then using its hooked feet, it pushes aside the filaments and makes a passage for itself into light and freedom. It is erroneously said that the moth recovers its liberty by gnawing the silken threads; but it is found, on the contrary, that if carefully unwound, their continuity is by this means rarely broken.

One of the most remarkable circumstances connected with the natural history of silk-worms, is the degree in which their bulk and weight is increased, and the limited time wherein that increase is attained. Count Dandolo, who appears to have neglected nothing that could tend to the right understanding of the subject, and to the consequent improvement of the processes employed, had patience enough to count and [Pg 115] weigh many hundred thousand eggs, as well as follow out to the ultimate result his inquiries respecting their produce. He found that on an average sixty-eight sound silk-worm’s eggs weighed one grain. One ounce[134], therefore, comprised, 39,168 eggs. But one twelfth part of this weight evaporates previous to hatching, and the shells are equal to one fifth more. If, therefore, from one ounce, composed of 576 grains, 48 grains be deducted for evaporation, and 115 for the shells, 413 grains will remain equal to the weight of 39,168 young worms; and, at this rate, 54,526 of the insects when newly hatched, are required to make up the ounce. After the first casting of the skin, 3840 worms are found to have this weight, so that the bulk and weight of the insects have in a few days been multiplied more than fourteen times. After the second change 610 worms weigh an ounce, their weight being increased in the intermediate time six fold. In the week passed between the second and third ages, the number of insects required to make up the same weight, decreases from 610 to 144, their weight being therefore more than quadrupled. During the fourth age, a similar rate of increase is maintained: thirty-five worms now weigh an ounce. The fifth age of the caterpillar comprises nearly a third part of its brief existence, and has been described, by an enthusiastic writer on the subject, as the happiest period of its life, during which it rapidly increases in size, preparing and secreting the material it is about to spin. When the silk-worms are fully grown, and have arrived at their period of finally rejecting food, six of them make up the weight of an ounce. They have, therefore, since their last change, again added to their weight six fold.

It is thus seen that, in a few short weeks, the insect has multiplied its weight more than nine thousand fold! From this period, and during the whole of its two succeeding states of being, the worm imbibes no nourishment, and gradually diminishes in weight; being supported by its own substance, and [Pg 116] appearing to find sufficient occupation in forming its silken web, and providing successors for our service, without indulging that grosser appetite which forms the beginning and the end of their desires during their caterpillar existence.

The moth enjoys its liberty for only a very brief space. Its first employment is to seek its mate; after which the female deposits her eggs; and both in the course of two or three days after, end their being.

Formation of Silk. By M. H. Straus, of Durckheim.—“It is generally admitted by naturalists that the thread of the caterpillar is produced by a simple emission of liquid matter through the orifice of the spinner, and that it acquires solidity at once from the drying influence of the air. It was easy to entertain such an hypothesis, for nothing is more simple than the formation of a very fine thread by such a process. But a little reflection will soon show us, even à priori, that it is not possible; for how can we comprehend that so fine a fibre, liquid at the instant of its issue from the aperture, should instantly acquire such a consistence as to bear the weight of the animal suspended by it, and at the same time that it is rapidly produced? Though the fluid, holding the silk in solution, should be quickly volatilised, it must still be a matter of conjecture, how the animal suspended by this thread could be able to arrest its issue, holding on only by the thread itself, for it cannot pinch the thread, seeing that it is only in a liquid state inside, and the thread cannot be glued to the edge of the opening, as its rapid adhesion would prevent its issue while the animal is spinning. A little examination would satisfy us that silk cannot be produced in this manner, but that it is secreted in the form of silk in the silk vessels, and that the spinning apparatus only winds it. The thread is produced in the slender posterior part of the vessel, the inflated portion of which consists of the reservoir of ready formed silk, where it is found in the form of a skein; each thread being rolled up so as to occupy in the silk-worm (Bombex mori) a space of only about a sixth part of the real length of the skein. The fact is shown by the following experiment I made for the purpose of ascertaining whether the silk is formed in the body of the caterpillars.

[Pg 117]

‘Take one of the animals when about to form its cocoon, clean it in common vinegar, in which it may remain from four to six hours, open it on the back and extract the silk vessels, there being one on each side of the alimentary canal. Take them up by the hinder end, just where they begin to swell (further back the silk is not solid enough), and draw them out. The membrane forming the vessel is easily torn open, and the contents expand to six or seven times its original length. The skein having attained its full length by the letting out of its gathers, we obtain a cord perfectly equal in size throughout, except at the end, where it is attenuated. This cord resembles a large horse-hair, and constitutes what fishermen call “Florence hair.” I ought to add that in simply drawing out the silk vessel, the Florence hair is found enveloped in a golden yellow gummy matter, forming the glutinous portion by which the worm fastens its thread. This must be got rid of by drawing the cord through the fold formed on the inside of the joint of the left fore finger, converted into a canal by applying to it the end of the thumb. The glutinous substance and the membranes being thus separated, we have the naked hair. In this state, before the silk becomes dry and hard, not only will it be indefinitely divided longitudinally, which proves its fibrous structure, but in trying to split it by drawing it transversely, the little filaments of silk which form it are perfectly separated, making a bundle of extremely fine fibrils.’

We cannot better conclude this interesting portion of our subject, than by quoting the following beautiful lines by Miss H. F. Gould:—

THE SILK-WORM’S WILL.

[Plate III]

Plate III

Silk-Worm, Cocoons, Chrysalis, Moths and Pinna.

[Pg 119]

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[135],” there are numerous [Pg 120] wood-cuts, accompanied by letter-press explanatory of the different processes of farming and the silk-manufacture. The former head is confined to the production of rice, the staple article of food, and proceeds from the ploughing of the land to the packing of the grain; the latter details all the operations connected with planting the mulberry and gathering its leaves, up to the final weaving of the silk.

The mulberry-tree is chiefly cultivated in Chĕ-kiang, which province, together with the only three others that produce fine silk, namely, Kiang-nân, Woo-pĕ, and Sze-chuen, is crossed by the thirtieth parallel of latitude. Chĕ-kiang is a country highly alluvial, intersected by numerous rivers and canals, with a climate that corresponds pretty nearly to the same latitude as that in the United States of America. The soil is manured with mud, dug from the rivers, assisted with ashes or dung; and the spaces between the trees are generally filled with millet, pulse, or other articles of food. The time for pruning the young trees, so as to produce fine leafy shoots, is at the commencement of the year. About four eyes are left on every shoot, and care is taken that the branches be properly thinned, with a view to giving plenty of light and air to the leaves. In gathering these, they make use of steps, as the young trees could not support a ladder, and would besides be injured in their branches by the use of one. The trees, with their foliage, are carefully watched, and the mischiefs of insects prevented by the use of various applications, among which are some essential oils.

The young trees of course suffer by being stripped of their leaves, which are the lungs of plants, and this is an additional reason for renewing them after a certain time. They endeavor in part to counteract the evil effect, by pruning and lopping the tree, so as to diminish the wood when the leaves have [Pg 121] been gathered. It is surprising, however, to observe how soon a tree in those climates will recover its leaves in the summer or autumn, after having been entirely stripped of them by a typhoon or hurricane. Fresh plants are procured by cuttings or layers, and sometimes from seed. When the trees grow too old for the production of the finest leaves, and show a greater tendency to fruiting, they are either removed or so cut and managed as to produce young branches.

The principal object, in the cultivation of the mulberry, is to produce the greatest quantity of young and healthy leaves without fruit. For this reason the trees are not allowed to exceed a certain age and height. They are planted on the plan of a quincunx[136], and said to be in perfection in about three years.

Mr. Barrow, who observed the management of the trees and silk-worms in Chĕ-kiang, confirms the usual Chinese accounts, by saying that “the houses in which the worms are reared are placed generally in the centre of each plantation, in order that they may be removed as far as possible from every kind of noise; experience having taught them that a sudden shout, or the bark of a dog, is destructive of the young worms. A whole brood has sometimes perished from the effects of a thunder-storm.”

Some notion of the extent of the care required in the management of the worms may be formed from the following extract, taken from the Chinese work referred to at the beginning of this chapter.

“The place where their habitation is built must be retired, free from noise, smells, and disturbances of every kind. The least fright, makes great impressions on these sensitive creatures; even the barking of dogs, &c., is capable of throwing them into the utmost disorder.

For the purpose of paying them every attention an affectionate mother is provided, who is careful to supply their wants; [Pg 122] she is called Isan-mon, ‘mother of the worms.’ She takes possession of the chamber, but not before she has washed herself and put on clean clothes, which have not the least repulsive smell; she must not have eaten anything immediately before, or handled any wild succory, the smell of which is very prejudicial. She must be clothed in a plain habit, without any lining, that she may be more sensible of the warmth of the place, and accordingly increase or lessen the fire. She must also carefully avoid making a smoke or raising a dust, which would also be offensive.”

Silk-worms require to be carefully humored before the time of casting their slough. Every day is to them a year, having in a manner, the four seasons; the morning being the Spring; the middle of the day: Summer; the evening: Autumn; and the night, Winter.

The chambers are so contrived as to admit of the use of artificial heat when necessary. Great care is taken of the sheets of paper on which the eggs have been laid; and the hatching is either retarded or advanced, by the application of cold or heat according to circumstances, so as to time the simultaneous exit of the young worms exactly to the period when the tender spring-leaves of the mulberry are most fit for their nourishment.

They proportion the food very exactly to the young worms by weighing the leaves, which in the first instance are cut, but as the insects become larger, are given to them whole. The greatest precautions being observed in regulating the temperature of the apartments. The worms are fed upon a species of small hurdles of basket-work, strewed with leaves, which are constantly shifted for the sake of cleanliness, the insects readily moving off to a fresh hurdle with new leaves, as the scent attracts them. In proportion to their growth, room is afforded to them by increasing the number of these hurdles, the worms of one being shifted to three, then to six, and so on until they attain their greatest size. When they have cast their several skins, reached their greatest size, and assumed a transparent yellowish color, they are removed to places divided into compartments, preparatory to casting forth their silken filaments.

In the course of a week after the commencement of this operation, [Pg 123] the cocoons are complete, and it now becomes necessary to take them in hand before the pupæ turn into moths, which would immediately bore their way out, and spoil the cocoons. When a certain number, therefore, have been laid aside for the sake of future eggs, the chrysalides are killed by being placed in jars under layers of salt and leaves, with a complete exclusion of air. They are subsequently placed in moderately warm water, which dissolves the glutinous substance that binds the silk together, and the filament is wound off upon reels. This is put up in bundles of a certain size and weight, and either becomes an article of merchandise under the name of “raw silk,” or is subjected to the loom, and manufactured into various stuffs, for home or foreign consumption. The Chinese notwithstanding the simplicity of their looms (see frontispiece), will imitate exactly the newest and most elegant patterns from France. They particularly excel in the production of damasks, figured-satins, and embroidery. Their crape has never yet been perfectly imitated; and they make a species of washing silk, called at Canton “ponge,” which, the longer it is used, the softer it becomes.

The Chinese have from time immemorial been celebrated for the beauty of their embroideries; indeed, it has been doubted whether the art was not originally introduced into Europe by them, through the Persians.

From what has been said, it is evident that the raising of the mulberry-tree should first engage the attention of the cultivator, since its leaves form the almost exclusive nourishment of the silk-worm. It is scarcely necessary that we should in a work of this description enter more fully into the cultivation of the mulberry-tree. This has already been so ably done by Jonathan Cobb, Esq. of Dedham, Mass., Dr. Pascalis of New York, Judge Comstock of Hartford, Conn., and E. P. Roberts, Esq. of Baltimore, as to leave no stone unturned, or any want upon the subject.

In such parts of the Chinese empire where the climate is favorable to the practice, and where alone, most probably, the silk-worm is indigenous, it remains at liberty, feeding on the leaves of its native mulberry-tree, and going through all its mutations [Pg 124] among the branches, uncontrolled by the hand and unassisted by the cares of man. As soon, however, as the silken balls have been constructed, they are appropriated by the universal usurper, who spares only the few required to reproduce their numbers, and thus furnish him with successive harvests[137].

This silk, the spontaneous offering of nature, is not, however, equal in fineness to that produced by worms under shelter, and whose progressions are influenced by careful management. Much attention is, therefore, bestowed by the Chinese in the artificial rearing of silk-worms. One of their principal cares, is to prevent the too early hatching of the eggs, to which the nature of the climate so strongly disposes them. The mode of insuring the requisite delay, is, to cause the moth to deposit her eggs on large sheets of paper: these, immediately upon their production, are suspended from a beam in the room, while the windows are opened to expose them to the air. In a few days the papers are taken down and rolled loosely up with the eggs inside, in which form they are again hung during the remainder of the summer and autumn. Towards the end of the year they are immersed in cold water wherein a small portion of salt has been dissolved. In this state the eggs are left during two days; and on being taken from the salt and water are first hung to dry, and then rolled up rather more tightly than before, each sheet of paper being thereafter inclosed in a [Pg 125] separate earthen vessel. Some persons, who are exceedingly particular in their processes, use a lye made of mulberry-tree ashes, and place the eggs likewise, during some minutes, on snow-water.

These processes appear efficacious for checking the hatching, until the expanding leaves of the mulberry-tree give notice to the silk-worm-rearer that he may take measures for bringing forth his brood. For this purpose the rolls of paper are taken from the earthen vessels, and hung up towards the sun, the side to which the eggs adhere being turned from its rays, by being placed inside, and thus allowing the heat to be transmitted to them through the paper. In the evening the sheets are rolled closely up and placed in a warm situation. The same proceeding is repeated on the following day, when the eggs assume a grayish color. On the evening of the third day, after a similar exposure, they are found to be of a much darker color, nearly approaching to black; and the following morning, on the paper being unrolled, they are covered with worms. In the higher latitudes the Chinese have recourse to the heat of stoves, in order to promote the simultaneous hatching of the eggs.

The apartments in which the worms are kept stand in dry situations, in a pure atmosphere, and apart from all noise, which is thought to be annoying to the worms, especially when they are young. The rooms are made very close, but adequate means of ventilation provided: the doors being open to the south. Each chamber is provided with nine or ten rows of frames, placed one above the other. On these frames, rush hurdles are ranged; upon which the worms are fed through their five ages. A uniform degree of heat is constantly preserved, either by means of stoves placed in the corners of the apartments, or by chafing-dishes which from time to time are carried up and down the room. Flame and smoke being always carefully avoided: cow-dung dried in the sun is preferred by the Chinese to all other kinds of fuel for this purpose.

The most unremitting attention is paid to the wants of the worms, which are fed night and day. On their being hatched they are furnished with forty meals for the first day, thirty are given on the second day, and fewer on and after the third. [Pg 126] The Chinese believe that the growth of silk-worms is accelerated, and their success promoted by the abundance of their food, and therefore, in cloudy and damp weather, when the insects are injuriously affected by the state of the atmosphere, their appetites are stimulated by a wisp of very dry straw being lighted and held over them, thus causing the cold and damp air to be dissipated.

The Chinese calculate that the same number of insects which would, if they had attained the full size in twenty-three or twenty-four days, produce twenty-five ounces of silk, would give only twenty ounces if their growth occupied twenty-eight days, and only ten ounces if forty days. In order, therefore, to accelerate their growth, they supply them with fresh food every half-hour during the first day of their existence, and then gradually reduce the number of meals as the worms grow older. It deserves to be remarked as a fact unnoticed in Natural Theology, that the substance on which this valuable caterpillar feeds, is the leaf of the mulberry-tree; and Providence, as if to ensure the continuance of this useful species, has so ordained it that no other insect will partake of the same food; thus ensuring a certain supply for the little spinster.

Many persons believe that light is injurious to silk-worms; but, so far from this opinion being correct, the opposite belief would probably be nearer to the truth. In its native state, the insect is of course exposed to light, and suffers no inconvenience on that account; and it has been observed by one who gave much attention to the subject (Count Dandolo), that in his establishment, “on the side on which the sun shone directly on the hurdles, the silk-worms were stronger and more numerous than in those places where the edge of the wicker hurdle formed a shade.” The obscurity wherein the apartments are usually kept has a very pernicious influence on the air: the food of the worms emits in light oxygen, or vital air, while in darkness it exhales carbonic acid gas, unfit for respiration. This well-known fact occurs alike with all leaves similarly circumstanced[138]. To the bad effects thus arising from the exclusion [Pg 127] of the sun’s rays, another evil is added by the nature of the artificial lights employed, being such as still further to vitiate the air.

An almost incredible quantity of fluid is constantly disengaged by evaporation from the bodies of the insects; and if means be not taken to disperse this as it is produced, another cause of unwholesomeness in the air arises. Noticing this, Count Dandolo observes, “This series of causes of the deterioration of the air which the worms must inhale, may be termed a continual conspiracy against their health and life; and their resisting it, and living throughout shows them to have great strength of constitution.”

In seven days from the commencement of the cocoons they are collected in heaps; those which are designed to continue [Pg 128] the breed being first selected and set apart on hurdles, in a dry and airy situation. The next care, is to destroy the vitality of the chrysalides in those balls which are to be reeled. The most approved method of performing this, is to fill large earthen vessels with cocoons, in layers, throwing in one-fortieth part of their weight of salt upon each layer, covering the whole with large dry leaves resembling those of the water-lilly, and then closely stopping the mouths of the vessels. In reeling their silk the Chinese separate the thick and dark from the long and glittering white cocoons, as the produce of the former is inferior.

We are indebted to Dr. Ure for the two following articles (extracted from the Journal of the Asiatic Society, for January, 1837), on wild silk-worms. The first article is from the pen of Thomas Hugon, a resident of Nowgong, and relates to wild silk-worms of Assam.

“The Assamese select for breeding, such cocoons only as have been begun to be formed in the largest number on the same day, usually the second or third after the commencement; those which contain males being distinguishable by a more pointed end. They are put in a closed basket suspended from the roof; the moths, as they come forth, having room to move about, at the expiration of a day, the females (known only by their large body) are taken out, and tied to small wisps of thatching-straw, selected always from over the hearth, its darkened color being thought more acceptable to the insect. If out of a batch, there should be but few males; the wisps with the females tied to them are exposed outside at night; and the males thrown away in the neighborhood, find their way to them. These wisps are hung upon a string tied across the roof, to keep them from vermin. The eggs laid after the first three days, are said to produce weak worms. The wisps are taken out morning and evening, and exposed to the sun, and in ten days after being laid, a few of them are hatched. The wisps being then hung up to the tree, the young worms find their way to the leaves. The ant, whose bite is fatal to the worm in its early stages, is destroyed by rubbing the trunk of the tree with molasses, and tying dead fish and toads to it, to [Pg 129] attract these rapacious insects in large numbers, when they are destroyed with fire; a process which needs to be repeated several times. The ground under the trees is also well cleared, to render it easy to pick up and replace the worms which fall down. They are prevented from coming to the ground, by tying fresh plantain-leaves round the trunk, over whose slippery surface they cannot crawl; and then transferred from exhausted trees to fresh ones, on bamboo platters tied to long poles. The worms require to be constantly watched and protected from the depredations of both day and night birds, as well as rats and other vermin. During their moultings, they remain on the branches; but when about beginning to spin, they come down the trunk, and being stopped by the plantain-leaves, are there collected in baskets, which are afterwards put under bunches of dry leaves, suspended from the roof, into which the worms crawl, and form their cocoons—several being clustered together: this accident, owing to the practice of crowding the worms, which is most injudicious, rendering it impossible to wind off their silk in continuous threads, as in the filatures of Italy, France, and even Bengal. The silk is, therefore, spun like flax, instead of being unwound in single filaments. After four days the proper cocoons are selected for the next breed, and the rest are reeled. The total duration of a breed varies from sixty to seventy days; divided into the following periods:—

“On being tapped with the finger, the body renders a hollow sound; the quality of which shows whether they have come down for want of leaves on the tree, or from their having ceased feeding.

“As the chrysalis is not soon killed by exposure to the sun, the cocoons are put on stages, covered with leaves, and exposed to the hot air from grass burned under them; they are next boiled for about an hour in a solution of the potash, made from [Pg 130] incinerated rice-stalks; then taken out and put on a cloth folded over them to keep them warm. The floss being removed by hand, they are then thrown into a basin of hot water to be unwound; which is done in a very rude and wasteful way.

“The plantations for the mooga silk-worm in Lower Assam, amount to 5000 acres, besides what the forests contain; and yield 1500 maunds of 84 lbs. each per annum. Upper Assam is more productive.

“The cocoon of the Koutkuri mooga is of the size of a fowl’s egg. It is a wild species, and affords filaments much valued for fishing-lines.

“The Arrindy, or Eria worm, and moth, is reared over a great part of Hindostan, but entirely within doors. It is fed principally on the Hera, or Palma christi leaves, and gives sometimes 12 broods of spun silk in the course of a year. It affords a fibre which looks rough at first; but when woven, becomes soft and silky, after repeated washings. The poorest people are clothed with stuff made of it, which is so durable as to descend from mother to daughter. The cocoons are put in a close basket, and hung up in the house, out of reach of rats and insects. When the moths come forth, they are allowed to move about in the basket for twenty-four hours; after which the females are tied to long reeds or canes, twenty or twenty-five to each, and then hung up in the house. Of the eggs that are laid the first three days, about 200, only are kept; then tied up for seed. When a few of the worms are hatched, the cloths are put on small bamboo platters hung up in the house, in which they are fed with tender leaves. After the second moulting, they are removed to bunches of leaves suspended above the ground, beneath which a mat is laid to receive them when they fall. When they cease to feed, they are thrown into baskets full of dry leaves, among which they form their cocoons, two or three being often discovered joined together.

“The Saturnia trifenestrata has a yellow cocoon of a remarkably silky lustre. It lives on the soom-tree in Assam, but seems not to be much used.”

The second article is from the pen of Dr. Helfer, upon those [Pg 131] wild silk-worms which are indigenous to India. Besides the Bombyx mori, the Doctor enumerates the following seven species, formerly unknown:—1. “The wild silk-worm of the central provinces, a moth not larger than the Bombyx mori.” 2. “The Joree silk-worm of Assam, Bombyx religiosæ, which spins a cocoon of a fine filament, with much lustre. It lives upon the pipul tree (Ficus religiosa), which abounds in India, and ought therefore to be turned to account in breeding this valuable moth.” 3. “Saturnia silhetica, which inhabits the cassia mountains in Silhet and Dacca, where its large cocoons are spun into silk.” 4. “A still larger Saturnia, one of the greatest moths in existence, measuring ten inches from the one end of the wing to the other[139]; observed by Mr. Grant, in Chirra punjee”. 5. “Saturnia paphia, or the Tusseh silk-worm, is the most common of the native species, and furnishes the cloth usually worn by Europeans in India. It has not hitherto been domesticated, but millions of its cocoons are annually collected in the jungles, and brought to the silk factories near Calcutta and Bhagelpur. It feeds most commonly on the hair-tree (Zizyphus jujuba), but it prefers the Terminalia alata, or Assam tree, and the Bombax heptaphyllum. It is called Koutkuri mooga, in Assam.” 6. “Another Saturnia, from the neighborhood of Comercolly.” 7. “Saturnia assamensis, with a cocoon of a yellow-brown color, different from all others, called mooga, in Assam; which, although it can be reared in houses, thrives best in the open air upon trees, of which seven different kinds afford it food. The Mazankoory mooga, which feeds on the Adakoory tree, produces a fine silk, which is nearly white, and fetches 50 per cent. more than the fawn colored. The trees of the first year’s growth produce by far the most valuable cocoons. The mooga which inhabits the soom-tree, is found principally in the forests of the plains, and in the villages. The tree grows to a large size, and yields three crops of leaves in the year. The silk is of a light fawn color, and ranks next in value to the Mazankoory. There are generally five breeds of mooga worms in the year; 1. In January and [Pg 132] February; 2. In May and June; 3. In June and July; 4. In August and September; 5. In October and November; the first and last being the most valuable.”

Dr. Anderson informs us, that in Madras the silk-worm goes through all its evolutions in the short space of twenty-two days. It appears, however, that the saving of time, and consequently labor, is the only economy resulting from the acceleration; as the insects consume as much food during their shorter period of life, as is assigned to the longer-lived silk-worms of Europe.

We extract the following paper, with slight emendations, from Ellsworth’s Report of the Patent Office for the year 1844, being a communication from Dr. Stebbins of Northampton, Mass[140]., to the Editor of the American Agriculturalist, as having some bearing upon the present subject.

We will now conclude this Chapter with Dr. Bowling’s admirable illustration, of the mutual dependence of the arts upon each other:—

[Pg 137]

[Pg 138]

Of spiders there are many species; most of them extend their labors no farther than merely to make a web to ensnare and detain their food. But others are known to go beyond this, and spin a bag in the form of a cocoon, for the protection of their eggs, nearly similar to that of the silk-worm.[142]

Modern naturalists do not rank spiders among insects, because they have no antennæ, and no division between the head [Pg 139] and shoulders. They breathe by leaf-shaped gills, situated under the belly, instead of spiracles in the sides; and have a heart connected with these. But as spiders are popularly considered insects, it will sufficiently suit our purpose to introduce them here as such.

Spiders are usually classed according to their difference of color, whether black, brown, yellow, &c., or sometimes by the number and arrangement of their eyes: of these organs some possess no fewer than ten, others eight, and others again six[143].

Some species of spiders are known to possess the power of not merely forming a web, but also of spinning, for the protection of their eggs, a bag somewhat similar in form and substance to the cocoon of the silk-worm. The apparatus by which they construct their ingenious fabrics, is much more complicated than that which is common to the various species of caterpillars. Caterpillars have only two reservoirs for the materials of their silk; but the spider spins minute fibres from fine papillæ, or small nipples placed in the hinder part of its body. These papillæ serve the office of so many wire-drawing machines, from which the silken threadlets are ejected. Spiders, according to the dissections of M. Treviranus, have four principal vessels, two larger and two smaller, with a number of minute ones at their base. Several small tubes branch towards the reservoirs, for carrying to them, no doubt, a supply of the secreted material. Swammerdam describes them as twisted into many coils of an agate color[144]. We do not find them coiled, but nearly straight, and of a deep yellow color. From these, when broken, threads can be drawn out like those spun by the spider, though we cannot draw them so fine by many degrees.

From these little flasks or bags of gum, situated near the apex of the abdomen, and not at the mouth as in caterpillars, a tube originates, and terminates in the external spinnerets, which may be seen by the naked eye in the form of five little teats surrounded by a small circle, as represented in Fig. 8. [Pg 140] Plate IV.; this figure shows the garden spider (Epeira diadema) suspended by a thread proceeding from its spinneret.

We have seen that the thread of the silk-worm is composed of two filaments united, but the spider’s thread would appear, from the first view of its five spinnerets, to be quintuple, and in some species which have six teats, so many times more. It is not safe, however, in our interpretations of nature to proceed upon conjecture, however plausible, nor to take anything for granted which we have not actually seen; since our inferences in such cases are almost certain to be erroneous. If Aristotle, for example, had ever looked narrowly at a spider when spinning, he could not have fancied, as he does, that the materials which it uses are nothing but wool stripped from its body. On looking, then, with a strong magnifying glass, at the teat-shaped spinnerets of a spider, we perceive them studded with regular rows of minute bristle-like points, about a thousand to each teat, making in all from five to six thousand. These are minute tubes which we may appropriately term spinnerules, as each is connected with the internal reservoirs, and emits a thread of inconceivable fineness. Fig. 9. represents this wonderful apparatus as it appears in the microscope.

We do not recollect that naturalists have ventured to assign any cause for this very remarkable multiplicity of the spinnerules of spiders, so different from the simple spinneret of caterpillars. To us it appears an admirable provision for their mode of life. Caterpillars neither require such strong materials, nor that their thread should dry as quickly. It is well known in our manufactures, particularly in rope-spinning, that in cords of equal thickness, those which are composed of many smaller ones united are stronger than those spun at once. In the instance of the spider’s thread, this principle must hold still more strikingly, inasmuch as it is composed of fluid materials that require to be dried rapidly, and this drying must be greatly [Pg 141] facilitated by exposing so many to the air separately before their union, which is effected at about the tenth of an inch from the spinnerets. In Fig. 10. Plate IV. each of the threads shown is represented to contain one hundred minute threads, the whole forming only one of the spider’s common threads. In the figure the threads are, of course, greatly magnified, so that, for the small space represented, the lines are shown as parallel. The threadlets, or filaments as they come from the papillæ, are too fine to be counted with any degree of accuracy, but it is evident that very many are sent forth from each of the larger papillæ. This fact tends to explain the power possessed by the spider of producing threads having different degrees of tenuity. By applying more or less of these papillæ against the place whence it begins its web, the spider joins into one thread the almost imperceptible individual filaments which it draws from its body; the size of this thread being dependent on the number of nipples employed, and regulated by that instinct which teaches the creature to make choice of the degree of exility most appropriate to the work wherein it is about to engage.

Réaumur relates that he has often counted as many as seventy or eighty fibres through a microscope, and perceived that there were yet infinitely more than he could reckon; so that he believed himself to be far within the limit of truth in computing that the tip of each of the five papillæ furnished 1000 separate fibres: thus supposing that one slender filament of a spider’s web is made up of 5000 fibres!

Leeuwenhoeck, in one of his extraordinary microscopical observations on a young spider, not bigger than a grain of sand, upon enumerating the threadlets in one of its threads, calculated that it would require four millions of them to be as thick as a hair of his head!

Another important advantage derived by the spider from the multiplicity of its threadlets is, that the thread affords a much more secure attachment to a wall, a branch of a tree, or any other object, than if it were simple; for, upon pressing the spinneret against the object, as spiders always do when they fix [Pg 142] a thread, the spinnerules are extended over an area of some diameter, from every hair’s breadth of which a strand, as rope-makers term it, is extended to compound the main cord. Fig. 11. Plate IV. exhibits, magnified, this ingenious contrivance. Those who may be curious to examine it, will see it best when the line is attached to any black object, for the threads, being whitish, are, in otherwise, not so easily perceived.

Shooting of the lines.—It has long been considered a curious though difficult investigation, to determine in what manner spiders, seeing that they are destitute of wings, transport themselves from tree to tree, across brooks, and frequently through the air itself, without any apparent starting point. On looking into the authors who have treated upon this subject, it is surprising how little there is to be met with that is new, even in the most recent. Their conclusions, or rather their conjectural opinions, are, however, worthy of notice; for by unlearning error, we the more firmly establish truth.

1. One of the earliest notions upon this subject is that of Blancanus, the commentator on Aristotle, which is partly adopted by Redi, by Henricus Regius of Utrecht, by Swammerdam[145], by Lehmann, as well as by Kirby and Spence[146]. “The spider’s thread,” says Swammerdam, “is generally made up of two or more parts, and after descending by such a thread, it ascends by one only, and is thus enabled to waft itself from one height or tree to another, even across running waters; the thread it leaves loose behind it being driven about by the wind, and so fixed to some other body.” “I placed,” says Kirby, “the large garden spider (Epeira diadema) upon a stick about a foot long, set upright in a vessel containing water.... It let itself drop, not by a single thread, but by two, each distant from the other about the twelfth of an inch, guided, as usual, by one of its hind feet, and that one apparently smaller than the other. When it had suffered itself to descend nearly to the surface of the water, it stopped short, and by some means, which I could not distinctly see, broke off, close to the spinners, the smallest thread, which still adhering by the other end to [Pg 143] the top of the stick, floated in the air, and was so light as to be carried about by the slightest breath. On approaching a pencil to the loose end of this line, it did not adhere from mere contact. I, therefore, twisted it once or twice round the pencil, and then drew it tight. The spider, which had previously climbed to the top of the stick, immediately pulled at it with one of its feet, and finding it sufficiently tense, crept along it, strengthening it as it proceeded by another thread, and thus reached the pencil.”

1. “We have repeatedly witnessed this occurrence,” says Mr. Rennie, “in the fields, and when spiders were placed for experiment, as Kirby has described; but we very much doubt that the thread broken is ever intended as a bridge cable, or that it would have been so used in that instance, had it not been artificially fixed and again accidentally found by the spider. According to our observations, a spider never for an instant, abandons, the thread which she dispatches in quest of an attachment, but uniformly keeps trying it with her feet, in order to ascertain its success. We are, therefore, persuaded, that when a thread is broken in the manner above described, it is because it has been spun too weak, and spiders may often be seen breaking such threads in the process of netting their webs.”

The plan, besides, as explained by these distinguished writers, would more frequently prove abortive than successful, from the cut thread not being sufficiently long. They admit, indeed, that spiders’ lines are often found “a yard or two long, fastened to twigs of grass not a foot in height.... Here, therefore, some other process must have been used[147].”

2. The celebrated English naturalist, Dr. Lister, whose treatise upon the native spiders of that country, has been the basis of every subsequent work on the subject, maintains that “some spiders shoot out their threads in the same manner that porcupines do their quills[148]; that whereas the quills of the latter are entirely separated from their bodies, when thus shot out, the threads of the former remain fixed to their anus, as the sun’s rays to its body[149].” A French periodical writer goes a little farther, and says, that spiders have the power of shooting out threads, and directing them at pleasure towards a determined point, judging of the distance and position of the object [Pg 144] by some sense of which we are ignorant[150]. Kirby also says, that he once observed a small garden spider (Aranea reticulata) “standing midway on a long perpendicular fixed thread, and an appearance caught” his “eye, of what seemed to be the emission of threads.” “I,” therefore, he adds, “moved my arm in the direction in which they apparently proceeded, and, as I had suspected, a floating thread attached itself to my coat, along which the spider crept. As this was connected with the spinners of the spider, it could not have been formed” by breaking a “secondary thread[151].” Again, in speaking of the gossamer-spider, he says, “it first extends its thigh, shank, and foot, into a right line, and then, elevating its abdomen till it becomes vertical, shoots its thread into the air, and flies off from its station[152].”

Another distinguished naturalist, Mr. White of Selborne, in speaking of the gossamer-spider, says, “Every day in fine weather in autumn do I see these spiders shooting out their webs, and mounting aloft: they will go off from the finger, if you take them into your hand. Last summer, one alighted on my book as I was reading in the parlor; ran to the top of the page, and shooting out a web, took its departure from thence. But what I most wondered at, was, that it went off with considerable velocity in a place where no air was stirring; and I am sure I did not assist it with my breath[153].”

“Having so often witnessed,” says Mr. Rennie, “the thread set afloat in the air by spiders, we can readily conceive the way in which those eminent naturalists were led to suppose it to be ejected by some animal force acting like a syringe; but as the statement can be completely disproved by experiment, we shall only at present ask, in the words of Swammerdam—‘how can it be possible that a thread so fine and slender should be shot out with force enough to divide and pass through the air?—is it not rather probable that the air would stop its progress, and so entangle it and fit it to perplex the spider’s operations[154]?’” [Pg 145] The opinion, indeed, is equally improbable with another suggested by Dr. Lister, that the spider can retract her thread within the abdomen, after it has been emitted[155]. De Geer[156] very justly joins Swammerdam in rejecting both of these fancies, which, in our own earlier observations upon spiders, certainly struck us as plausible and true. There can be no doubt, indeed, that the animal has a voluntary power of permitting the material to escape, or stopping it at pleasure, but this is not projectile.

3. “There are many people,” says the Abbé de la Pluche, “who believe that the spider flies when they see her pass from branch to branch, and even from one high tree to another; but she transports herself in this manner; and places herself upon the end of a branch, or some projecting body, and there fastens her thread; after which, with her two hind feet, she squeezes her dugs (spinnerets), and presses out one or more threads of two or three ells in length, which she leaves to float in the air till it be fixed to some particular place[157].” Without pretending to have observed this, Swammerdam says, “I can easily comprehend how spiders, without giving themselves any motion, may, by only compressing their spinnerets, force out a thread, which being driven by the wind, may serve to waft them from place to place[158].” Others, proceeding upon a similar notion, give a rather different account of the matter. “The spider,” says Bingley, “fixes one end of a thread to the place where she stands, and then with her hind paws draws out several other threads from the nipples, which, being lengthened out and driven by the wind to some neighboring tree or other object, are by their natural clamminess fixed to it[159].”

Observation gives some plausibility to the latter opinion, as the spider always actively uses her legs, though not to draw out the thread, but ascertain whether it has caught upon any object. The notion of her pressing the spinneret with her feet [Pg 146] must be a mere fancy; at least it is not countenanced by anything which we have observed.

4. An opinion much more recondite is mentioned, if it was not started, by M. D’Isjonval, that the floating of the spider’s thread is electrical. “Frogs, cats, and other animals,” he says, “are affected by natural electricity, and feel the change of weather; but no other animal more than myself and spiders.” In wet and windy weather he accordingly found that they spun very short lines, “but when a spider spins a long thread, there is a certainty of fine weather for at least ten or twelve days afterwards[160].” A periodical writer, who signs himself Carolan[161], fancies that in darting out her thread the spider emits a stream of air, or some subtle electric fluid, by which she guides it as if by magic.

A living writer (Mr. John Murray) whose learning and skill in conducting experiments give no little weight to his opinions, has carried these views considerably farther. “The aëronautic spider,” he says, “can propel its thread both horizontally and vertically, and at all relative angles, in motionless air and in an atmosphere agitated by winds; nay more, the aërial traveller can even dart its thread, to use a nautical phrase, in the ‘wind’s eye.’ My opinion and observations are based on many hundred experiments.... The entire phenomena are electrical. When a thread is propelled in a vertical plane, it remains perpendicular to the horizontal plane always upright, and when others are projected at angles more or less inclined, their direction is invariably preserved; the threads never intermingle, and when a pencil of threads is propelled, it ever presents the appearance of a divergent brush. These are electrical phenomena, and cannot be explained but on electrical principles.”

“In clear, fine weather, the air is invariably positive; and it is precisely in such weather that the aëronautic spider makes its ascent most easily and rapidly, whether it be in summer or winter.” “When the air is weakly positive, the ascent of the [Pg 147] spider will be difficult, and its altitude extremely limited, and the threads propelled will be but little elevated above the horizontal plane. When negative electricity prevails, as in cloudy weather, or on the approach of rain, and the index of De Saussure’s hygrometer rapidly advancing towards humidity, the spider is unable to ascend[162].”

Mr. Murray tells us, that “when a stick of excited sealing-wax is brought near the thread of suspension, it is evidently repelled; consequently, the electricity of the thread is of a negative character,” while “an excited glass tube brought near, seemed to attract the thread, and with it the aëronautic spider[163].” His friend, Mr. Bowman, further describes the aërial spider as “shooting out four or five, often six or eight, extremely fine webs several yards long, which waved in the breeze, diverging from each other like a pencil of rays.” One of them “had two distinct and widely diverging fasciculi of webs,” and “a line uniting them would have been at right angles to the direction of the breeze[164].”

“Such is the chief evidence in support of the electrical theory,” says Mr. Rennie; “but though we have tried these experiments, we have not succeeded in verifying any one of them. The following statements of Mr. Blackwall come nearer our own observations.

5. ‘Having procured a small branched twig,’ says Mr. Blackwall, ‘I fixed it upright in an earthen vessel containing water, its base being immersed in the liquid, and upon it I placed several of the spiders which produce gossamer. Whenever the insects thus circumstanced were exposed to a current of air, either naturally or artificially produced, they directly turned the thorax towards the quarter whence it came, even when it was so slight as scarcely to be perceptible, and elevating the abdomen, they emitted from their spinners a small portion of glutinous matter, which was instantly carried out in a line, consisting of four finer ones, with a velocity equal, or nearly [Pg 148] so, to that with which the air moved, as was apparent from observations made on the motion of detached lines similarly exposed. The spiders, in the next place, carefully ascertained whether their lines had become firmly attached to any object or not, by pulling at them with the front pair of legs; and if the result was satisfactory, after tightening them sufficiently, they made them pass to the twig; then discharging from their spinners, which they applied to the spot where they stood, a little more of their liquid gum, and committing themselves to these bridges of their own constructing, they passed over them in safety, drawing a second line after them, as a security in case the first gave way, and so effected their escape.

‘Such was invariably the result when spiders were placed where the air was liable to be sensibly agitated: I resolved, therefore, to put a bell-glass over them; and in this situation they remained seventeen days, evidently unable to produce a single line by which they could quit the branch they occupied, without encountering the water at its base; though, on the removal of the glass, they regained their liberty with as much celerity as in the instances already recorded.

‘This experiment, which, from want of due precaution, has misled so many distinguished naturalists, I have tried with several geometric spiders, and always with the same success[165].’”

Mr. Blackwall, from subsequent experiments, says he is “confident in affirming, that in motionless air, spiders have not the power of darting their threads even through the space of half an inch[166].” The following details are given in confirmation of this opinion. Mr. Blackwall observed, the 1st of Oct., 1826, a little before noon, with the sun shining brightly, no wind stirring, and the thermometer in the shade ranging from 55°.5 to 64°, a profusion of shining lines crossing each other at every angle, forming a confused net-work, covering the fields and hedges, and thickly coating his feet and ankles, as he walked across a pasture. He was more struck with the phenomenon because on the previous day a strong gale of wind had [Pg 149] blown from the south, and as gossamer is only seen in calm weather, it must have been all produced within a very short time.

“What more particularly arrested my attention,” says Mr. Blackwall, “was the ascent of an amazing quantity of webs of an irregular, complicated structure, resembling ravelled silk of the finest quality, and clearest white; they were of various shapes and dimensions, some of the largest measuring upwards of a yard in length, and several inches in breadth in the widest part; while others were almost as broad as long, presenting an area of a few square inches only.

“These webs, it was quickly perceived, were not formed in the air, as is generally believed, but at the earth’s surface. The lines of which they were composed, being brought into contact by the mechanical action of gentle airs, adhered together, till, by continual additions, they were accumulated into flakes or masses of considerable magnitude, on which the ascending current, occasioned by the rarefaction of the air contiguous to the heated ground, acted with so much force as to separate them from the objects to which they were attached, raising them in the atmosphere to a perpendicular height of at least several hundred feet. I collected a number of these webs about mid-day, as they rose; and again in the afternoon, when the upward current had ceased, and they were falling; but scarcely one in twenty contained a spider: though, on minute inspection, I found small winged insects, chiefly aphides, entangled in most of them.

“From contemplating this unusual display of gossamer, my thoughts were naturally directed to the animals which produced it, and the countless myriads in which they swarmed almost created as much surprise as the singular occupation that engrossed them. Apparently actuated by the same impulse, all were intent upon traversing the regions of air; accordingly, after gaining the summits of various objects, as blades of grass, stubble, rails, gates, &c., by the slow and laborious process of climbing, they raised themselves still higher by strengthening their limbs; and elevating the abdomen, by bringing it from the usual horizontal position into one almost [Pg 150] perpendicular, they emitted from their spinning apparatus a small quantity of the glutinous secretion with which they construct their webs. This viscous substance being drawn out by the ascending current of rarefied air into fine lines several feet in length, was carried upward, until the spiders, feeling themselves acted upon with sufficient force in that direction, quitted their hold of the objects on which they stood, and commenced their journey by mounting aloft.

“Whenever the lines became inadequate to the purpose for which they were intended, by adhering to any fixed body, they were immediately detached from the spinners and so converted into terrestrial gossamer, by means of the last pair of legs, and the proceedings just described were repeated; which plainly proves that these operations result from a strong desire felt by the insects to effect an ascent[167].” Mr. Blackwall has recently read a paper (still unpublished) in the Linnæan Society, confirmatory of his opinions.

6. “Without going into the particulars,” says Mr. Rennie, “of what agrees or disagrees in the above experiments with our own observations, we shall give a brief account of what we have actually seen in our researches. So far as we have determined, then, all the various species of spiders, how different soever the form of their webs may be, proceed in the circumstance of shooting their lines precisely alike; but those which we have found the most manageable in experimenting, are the small gossamer spider (Aranea obtextrix, Bechstein), known by its shining blackish-brown body and reddish-brown semi-transparent legs; but particularly the long-bodied spider (Tetragnatha extensa, Latr.), which varies in color from green to brownish or grey—but has always a black line along the belly, with a silvery white or yellowish one on each side. The latter is chiefly recommended by being a very industrious and persevering spinner, while its movements are easily seen, from the long cylindrical form of its body and the length of its legs.

“We placed the above two species with five or six others, including the garden, the domestic, and the labyrinthic spiders, [Pg 151] in empty wine-glasses, set in tea-saucers filled with water, to prevent their escape. When they discovered, by repeated descents from the brims of the glasses, that they were thus surrounded by a wet ditch, they all set themselves to the task of throwing their silken bridges across. For this purpose they first endeavored to ascertain in what direction the wind blew, or rather (as the experiment was made in our study) which way any current of air set,—by elevating their arms as we have seen sailors do in a dead calm. But, as it may prove more interesting to keep to one individual, we shall first watch the proceedings of the gossamer spider.

“Finding no current of air on any quarter of the brim of the glass, it seemed to give up all hopes of constructing its bridge of escape, and placed itself in the attitude of repose; but no sooner did we produce a stream of air, by blowing gently towards its position, than, fixing a thread to the glass, and laying hold of it with one of its feet, by way of security, it placed its body in a vertical position, with its spinnerets extended outwards; and immediately we had the pleasure of seeing a thread streaming out from them several feet in length, on which the little aëronaut sprung up into the air. We were convinced, from what we thus observed, that it was the double or bend of the thread which was blown into the air; and we assigned as a reason for her previously attaching and drawing out a thread from the glass, the wish to give the wind a point d’appui—something upon which it might have a purchase, as a mechanic would say of a lever. The bend of the thread, then, on this view of the matter, would be carried out by the wind,—would form the point of impulsion,—and, of course, the escape bridge would be an ordinary line doubled.”

Such is the opinion of Mr. Rennie, which is strongly corroborated by what has been said by M. Latreille—than whom no higher authority could be given. “When the animal,” says he, “desires to cross a brook, she fixes to a tree or some other object one of the ends of her first threads, in order that the wind or a current of air may carry the other beyond the obstacle[168];” [Pg 152] and as one end is always attached to the spinnerets, he must mean that the double of the thread flies off. In his previous publications, however, Latreille had contented himself with copying the statement of Dr. Lister. “In order to ascertain the fact,” says Mr. Rennie, “and put an end to all doubts, we watched, with great care and minuteness, the proceedings of the long-bodied spider above mentioned, by producing a stream of air in the same manner, as it perambulated the brim of the glass. It immediately, as the other had done, attached a thread and raised its body perpendicularly, like a tumbler standing on his hands with his head downwards; but we looked in vain for this thread bending, as we had at first supposed, and going off double. Instead of this it remained tight, while another thread, or what appeared to be so, streamed off from the spinners, similar to smoke issuing through a pin-hole, sometimes in a line, and sometimes at a considerable angle, with the first, according to the current of the air,—the first thread, extended from the glass to the spinnerets, remaining all the while tight drawn in a right line. It further appeared to us, that the first thread proceeded from the pair of spinnerets nearest the head, while the floating thread came from the outer pair,—though it is possible in such minute objects we may have been deceived. That the first was continuous with the second, without any perceptible joining, we ascertained in numerous instances, by catching the floating line and pulling it tight, in which case the spider glides along without attaching another line to the glass; but if she have to coil up the floating line to lighten it, as usually happens, she gathers it into a packet and glues the two ends tight together. Her body, while the floating line streamed out, remained quite motionless, but we distinctly saw the spinnerets not only projected, as is always done when a spider spins, but moved in the same way as an infant moves its lips when sucking. We cannot doubt, therefore, that this motion is intended to emit (if eject or project be deemed words too strong), the liquid material of the thread; at the same time, [Pg 153] we are quite certain that it cannot throw out a single inch of thread without the aid of a current of air. A long-bodied spider will thus throw out in succession as many threads as we please, by simply blowing towards it; but not one where there is no current, as under a bell-glass, where it may be kept till it die, without being able to construct a bridge over water of an inch long. We never observed more than one floating thread produced at the same time; though other observers mention several.

“The probable commencement, we think, of the floating line, is by the emission of little globules of the glutinous material to the points of the spinnerules—perhaps it may be dropped from them, if not ejected, and the globules being carried off by the current of air, drawn out into a thread. But we give this as only a conjecture, for we could not bring a glass of sufficient power to bear upon the spinnerules at the commencement of the floating line.

“In subsequent experiments we found, that it was not indispensable for the spider to rest upon a solid body when producing a line, as she can do so while she is suspended in the air by another line. When the current of air also is strong, she will sometimes commit herself to it by swinging from the end of the line. We have even remarked this when there was scarcely a breath of air.

“We tried another experiment. We pressed pretty firmly upon the base of the spinnerets, so as not to injure the spider, blowing obliquely over them; but no floating line appeared. We then touched them with a pencil and drew out several lines an inch or two in length, upon which we blew in order to extend them, but in this also we were unsuccessful, as they did not lengthen more than a quarter of an inch. We next traced out the reservoirs of a garden-spider (Epeira diadema), and immediately taking a drop of the matter from one of them on the point of a fine needle, we directed upon it a strong current of air, and succeeded in blowing out a thick yellow line, as we might have done with gum-water, of about an inch and a half long.

“When we observed our long-bodied spider eager to throw a [Pg 154] line by raising up its body, we brought within three inches of its spinnerets an excited stick of sealing-wax, of which it took no notice, nor did any thread extend to it, not even when brought almost to touch the spinnerets. We experienced the same want of success with an excited glass rod; and indeed had not anticipated any other result, as we have never observed that either these attract or repel the floating threads, as Mr. Murray has seen them do; nor have we ever noticed the end of a floating thread separated into its component threadlets and diverging like a brush, as he and Mr. Bowman describe (See Fig. 11.). It may be proper to mention that Mr. Murray, in conformity with his theory, explains the shooting of lines in a current of air by the electric state produced by motion in consequence of the mutual friction of the gaseous particles. But this view of the matter does not seem to affect our statements.”

Nests, Webs, and Nets of Spiders.—“The neatest,” says Mr. Rennie, “though the smallest spider’s nest which we have seen, was constructed in the chink of a garden-post, which we had cut out the previous summer in getting at the cells of a carpenter-bee. The architect was one of the larger hunting-spiders, erroneously said by some naturalists to be incapable of spinning. The nest in question was about two inches high, composed of a very close satin-like texture. There were two parallel chambers placed perpendicularly, in which position also the inhabitant reposed there during the day, going, as we presume, only abroad to prey during the night. But the most remarkable circumstance was, that the openings (two above and two below) were so elastic, that they shut closely together. We observed this spider for several months, but at last it disappeared, and we took the nest out under the notion that it might contain eggs; but found none, and therefore concluded that it was only used as a day retreat.” The account which Evelyn has given of these hunting spiders is so interesting that we must transcribe it.

“Of all sorts of insects,” says he, “none have afforded me more divertisement than the venatores (hunters), which are a sort of lupi (wolves) that have their dens in rugged [Pg 155] walls and crevices of our houses; a small brown and delicately-spotted kind of spiders, whose hinder legs are longer than the rest. Such I did frequently observe at Rome, which, espying a fly at three or four yards distance, upon the balcony where I stood, would not make directly to her, but crawl under the rail, till being arrived to the antipodes, it would steal up, seldom missing its aim; but if it chanced to want anything of being perfectly opposite, would, at first peep, immediately slide down again,—till taking better notice, it would come the next time exactly upon the fly’s back: but if this happened not to be within a competent leap, then would this insect move so softly, as the very shadow of the gnomon seemed not to be more imperceptible, unless the fly moved; and then would the spider move also in the same proportion, keeping that just time with her motion, as if the same soul had animated both these little bodies; and whether it were forwards, backwards, or to either side, without at all turning her body, like a well-managed horse: but if the capricious fly took wing and pitched upon another place behind our huntress, then would the spider whirl its body so nimbly about, as nothing could be imagined more swift: by which means she always kept the head towards her prey, though, to appearance, as immoveable as if it had been a nail driven into the wood, till by that indiscernible progress (being arrived within the sphere of her reach) she made a fatal leap, swift as lightning, upon the fly, catching him in the pole, where she never quitted hold till her belly was full, and then carried the remainder home.”

One feels a little sceptical, however, when he adds, “I have beheld them instructing their young ones how to hunt, which they would sometimes discipline for not well observing; but when any of the old ones did (as sometimes) miss a leap, they would run out of the field and hide themselves in their crannies, as ashamed, and haply not to be seen abroad for four or five hours after; for so long have I watched the nature of this strange insect, the contemplation of whose so wonderful sagacity and address has amazed me; nor do I find in any chase whatsoever more cunning and stratagem observed. I [Pg 156] have found some of these spiders in my garden, when the weather, towards spring, was very hot, but they are not so eager in hunting as in Italy[169].”

We have only to add to this lively narrative, that the hunting-spider, when he leaps, takes good care to provide against accidental falls by always swinging himself from a good strong cable of silk, as Swammerdam correctly states[170], and which anybody may recognise, as one of the small hunters (Salticus scenicus), known by its back striped with black and white like a zebra.

Mr. Weston, the editor of “Bloomfield’s Remains,” falls into a very singular mistake about hunting-spiders, imagining them to be web-weaving ones which have exhausted their materials, and are therefore compelled to hunt. In proof of this he gives an instance which came under his own observation[171]!

“As a contrast,” says Mr. Rennie, “to the little elastic satin nest of the hunter, we may mention the largest with which we are acquainted,—that of the labyrinthic spider (Agelena labyrinthica, Walckenaer). Our readers must often have seen this nest spread out like a broad sheet in hedges, furze, and other low bushes, and sometimes on the ground. The middle of this sheet, which is of a close texture, is swung like a sailor’s hammock, by silken ropes extended all around to the higher branches; but the whole curves upwards and backwards, sloping down to a long funnel-shaped gallery which is nearly horizontal at the entrance, but soon winds obliquely till it becomes quite perpendicular. This curved gallery is about a quarter of an inch in diameter, is much more closely woven than the sheet part of the web, and sometimes descends into a hole in the ground, though oftener into a group of crowded twigs, or a tuft of grass. Here the spider dwells secure, frequently resting with her legs extended from the entrance of the gallery, ready to spring out upon whatever insect may fall into her sheet net. She herself can only be caught by getting behind her and forcing her out into the web; but though we [Pg 157] have often endeavored to make her construct a nest under our eye, we have been as unsuccesful as in similar experiments with the common house spider (Aranea domestica).

“The house spider’s proceedings were long ago described by Homberg, and the account has been copied, as usual, by almost every subsequent writer. Goldsmith has, indeed, given some strange mis-statements from his own observations, and Bingley has added the original remark, that, after fixing its first thread, creeping along the wall, and joining it as it proceeds, it ‘darts itself to the opposite side, where the other end is to be fastened[172]!’ Homberg’s spider took the more circuitous route of travelling to the opposite wall, carrying in one of its claws the end of the thread previously fixed, lest it should stick in the wrong place. This we believe to be the correct statement, for as the web is always horizontal, it would seldom answer to commit a floating thread to the wind, as is done by other species. Homberg’s spider, after stretching as many lines by way of warp as it deemed sufficient between the two walls of the corner which it had chosen, proceeded to cross this in the way our weavers do in adding the woof, with this difference, that the spider’s threads were only laid on, and not interlaced[173]. The domestic spiders, however, in these modern days, must have forgot this mode of weaving, for none of their webs will be found thus regularly constructed!”

The geometric, or net-working spiders (See Fig. 12. Plate IV.) are as well known as any of the preceding; almost every bush and tree in our gardens and hedge-rows having one or more of their nests stretched out in a vertical position between adjacent branches. The common garden spider (Epeira diadema), and the long-bodied spider (Tetragnatha extensa), are the best known of this order.

“The chief care of a spider of this sort,” says Mr. Rennie, “is, to form a cable of sufficient strength to bear the net she means to hang upon it; and after throwing out a floating line as above described, when it catches properly, she doubles and [Pg 158] redoubles it with additional threads. On trying its strength she is not contented with the test of pulling it with her legs, but drops herself down several feet from various points of it, as we have often seen, swinging and bobbing with the whole weight of her body. She proceeds in a similar manner with the rest of the frame of her wheel-shaped net; and it may be remarked that some of the ends of these lines are not simple, but in form of a Y, giving her the additional security of two attachments instead of one.”

In constructing the body of the nest, the most remarkable circumstance is the using of her limbs as a measure, to regulate the distances of her radii or wheel-spokes (See Fig. 12. Plate IV., which represents the geometric net of the “Epeira diadema”), and the circular meshes interwoven into them. These are consequently always proportional to the size of the spider. She often takes up her station in the centre, but not always, though it is so said by inaccurate writers; but she as frequently lurks in a little chamber constructed under a leaf or other shelter at the corner of her web, ready to dart down upon whatever prey may be entangled in her net. The centre of the net is said also to be composed of more viscid materials than its suspensory lines,—a circumstance alleged to be proved by the former appearing under the microscrope studded with globules of gum[174]. “We have not been able,” says Mr. Rennie, “to verify this distinction, having seen the suspensory lines as often studded in this manner as those in the centre.”

At the commencement of the last century a method was discovered in France by Monsieur Bon, of procuring silk from spiders’ bags, and its use was attempted in the manufacture of several articles. Mr. Bon has, however, noticed only two kinds of silk-making spiders, and these he has distinguished from each other as having either long or short legs, the last variety producing the finest quality of raw silk. According to this ingenious observer, the silk formed by these insects is equally beautiful, strong, and glossy with that formed by the silk-worm. When first formed, the color of these spiders’ bags is gray, but, [Pg 159] by exposure to the air, they soon acquire a blackish hue. Other spider bags might probably be found of different colors, and affording silk of better quality, but their scarcity would render any experiment with them difficult of accomplishment; for which reason M. Bon confined his attention to the bags of the common sort of the short-legged kind.

These always form their bags in some place sheltered from the wind and rain, such as the hollow trunks of trees, the corners of windows or vaults, or under the eaves of houses. A quantity of the bags was collected from which a new kind of silk was made, said to be in no respect inferior to the produce of the silk-worm. It took readily all kinds of dyes, and might have been wrought into any description of silken fabric. Mr. Bon had stockings and gloves made from it, some of which he presented to the Royal Academy of Paris, and others he transmitted to the Royal Society of London.

This silk was prepared in the following manner:—Twelve or thirteen ounces of the bags were beaten with a stick, until they became entirely freed from dust. They were next washed in warm water, which was continually changed, until it no longer became clouded or discolored by the bags under process. After this they were steeped in a large quantity of water wherein soap, saltpetre, and gum-arabic had been dissolved. The whole was then gently boiled during three hours, after which the bags were rinsed in clear warm water to discharge the soap. They were finally set out to dry, previous to the operation of carding, which was then performed with cards differing from those usually employed with silk, being much finer. By these means silk of a peculiar ash color was obtained, which was spun without difficulty. Mr. Bon affirmed that the thread was both stronger and finer than common silk, and that therefore fabrics similar to those made with the latter material might be manufactured from this, there being no reason for doubting that it would stand any trials of the loom, after having undergone those of the stocking frame.

The only obstacle, therefore, which appeared to prevent the establishing of any considerable manufacture from these spider bags was the difficulty of obtaining them in sufficient abundance. [Pg 160] Mr. Bon fancied that this objection could soon be overcome, and that the art of domesticating and rearing spiders, as practised with silk-worms, was to be attained. Carried away by the enthusiasm of one who, having made a discovery, pursues it with ardor undismayed by difficulties, he met every objection by comparisons, which perhaps were not wholly and strictly founded on fact. Contrasted with the spider, and to favor his arguments, the silk-worm in his hands made a very despicable figure. He affirmed that the female spider produces 600 or 700 eggs; while of the 100, to which number he limited the silk-worm, not more than one-half were reared to produce balls. That the spiders hatched spontaneously, without any care, in the months of August and September; that the old spiders dying soon after they have laid their eggs, the young ones live for ten or twelve months without food, and continue in their bags without growing, until the hot weather, by putting their viscid juices in motion, induces them to come forth, spin, and run about in search of food.

Mr. Bon’s spider establishment, was managed in the following manner:—having ordered all the short-legged spiders which could be collected by persons employed for the purpose, to be brought to him, he inclosed them in paper coffins and pots; these were covered with papers, which, as well as the coffins, were pricked over their surface with pin-holes to admit air to the prisoners. The insects were duly fed with flies, and after some time it was found on inspection that the greater part of them had formed their bags. This advocate for the rearing of spiders contended that spiders’ bags afforded much more silk in proportion to their weight than those of the silk-worm; in proof of which he observed, that thirteen ounces yield nearly four ounces of pure silk, two ounces of which were sufficient to make a pair of stockings; whereas stockings made of common silk were said by him to weigh seven or eight ounces.

It was objected by some of Mr. Bon’s contemporaries, that spiders were venomous; and this is so far true that a bite from some of the species is very painful, producing as much swelling as the smart sting of a nettle. Mr. Bon, however, asserted that [Pg 161] he was several times bitten, without experiencing any inconvenience; if so, he was more fortunate or less sensitive than any of the spider-tamers with whom we have been acquainted. It was further asserted, that this venom extended itself to the silk which the spider produced; but this assertion was utterly absurd, as any one who has ever applied a cobweb to stop the bleeding from a cut ought to have known. Mr. Bon declared with perfect truth, that the silk, so far from being pernicious, was useful in staunching and healing wounds, its natural gluten acting as a kind of balsam.

The honest enthusiasm of the projector, and the singularity of a regular establishment being formed for rearing and working spiders, excited a considerable share of public attention. It was, indeed, an age of strange speculations, for nearly at the same time a German gentleman broached a scheme for turning tame squirrels and mice to account in spinning; and companies were formed in England, with large nominal capitals to carry out schemes still more preposterous. So important did Mr. Bon’s project appear to the French Academy, that they deputed the eminent naturalist, M. Réaumur, to investigate the merits of this new silk-filament.

After a long and patient examination M. Réaumur stated the following objections to Mr. Bon’s plan for raising spider-silk, which have ever since been regarded as insurmountable.

1. The natural fierceness of spiders renders them unfit to be bred together. On distributing four or five thousand of these insects into cells or companies of from fifty to one or two hundred, it was found that the larger spiders quickly killed and ate the smaller, so that in a short space of time the cells were depopulated, scarcely more than one or two being found in each cell.

2. The silk of the spider is inferior to that of the silk-worm both in lustre and strength; and produces less material in proportion, than can be made available for the purposes of the manufacture. The filament of the spider’s-bag can support a weight of only thirty-six grains, while that of the silk-worm will sustain a weight of one hundred and fifty grains. Thus four or five threads of the spider must be brought together to [Pg 162] equal one thread of the silk-worm, and as it is impossible that these should be applied so accurately over each other as not to leave little vacant spaces between them, the light is not equally reflected, and the lustre of the material is consequently inferior to that in which a solid thread is used.

3. A great disadvantage of the spider’s silk is, that it cannot be wound off the ball like that of the silk-worm, but must necessarily be carded. By this latter process, its evenness, which contributes so materially to its lustre, is destroyed.

The ferociousness and pugnacity of the spiders are not exaggerated; they fight like furies. Their voracity, too, is almost incredible, and it is very questionable whether the mere collection of flies sufficient to feed a large number of the spiders would not involve an amount of expense fatal to the project as a lucrative undertaking. The strength of the spiders’ filament is, if anything, overstated by Réaumur. Deficiency of lustre arising from the carding of the filaments is common to the spider-fabric and to spun silk; this objection would, perhaps, not be of very great weight but for the decisive calculation by which Réaumur showed the comparative amount of production between the spider and the silk-worm.

The largest cocoons weigh four, and the smaller three grains each; spider-bags do not weigh above one grain each; and, after being cleared of their dust, have lost two-thirds of this weight; therefore the work of twelve spiders equals that of only one silk-worm; and a pound of spider-silk would require for its production 27,648 insects. But as the bags are wholly the work of the females, who spin them as a deposit for their eggs, it follows that 55,296 spiders must be reared to yield one pound of silk: yet this will be obtained only from the best spiders; those large ones ordinarily seen in gardens, &c., yielding not more than a twelfth part of the silk of the others. The work of 280 of these would therefore not yield more silk than the produce of one industrious silk-worm, and 663,552 of them would furnish only one pound of silk!

Although Réaumur’s report completely extinguished Mr. Bon’s project in France, it was revived in England two or three times in the early part of the last century. Swift has [Pg 163] not neglected to make it a portion of his unrivalled satire against speculators and projectors, in his account of Gulliver’s visit to the Academy of Lagado:

The Ingenuity of Spiders.—Mr. Thomas Ewbank of New York, in a letter to the Editor of the Journal of the Franklin Institute, bearing date September 20th, 1842, gives us the following interesting description of the ingenuity of the Spider.

“The resources of the lower animals have often excited admiration, and though no comprehensive and systematic series of observations have yet been made upon them(?), the time is, I believe, not distant when the task will be undertaken—perhaps within the next century. But whenever and by whomsoever accomplished, the mechanism of animals will then form the subject of one of the most interesting and useful volumes in the archives of man.

“Among insects, spiders have repeatedly been observed to modify and change their contrivances for ensnaring their prey. Those that live in fields and gardens often fabricate their nets or webs vertically. This sometimes occurs in locations where there is no object sufficiently near to which the lower edge or extremity of the web can properly be braced; and unless this be done, light puffs or breezes of wind are apt to blow it into an entangled mass. Instead of being spread out, like the sail of a ship, to the wind, it would become clewed over the upper line, or edge, like a sail when furled up. Now how would a human engineer act under similar circumstances? But [Pg 164] ere the reader begins to reflect(!), he should bear in mind that it would not do to brace the web by running rigging from it to some fixed or immovable object below—by no means;—for were this done, it could not yield to impulses of wind; the rigging would be snapped by the first blast, and the whole structure probably destroyed.

“Whatever contrivances human sagacity might suggest, they could hardly excel those which these despised engineers sometimes adopt. Having formed a web, under circumstances similar to those to which we have referred, a spider has been known to descend from it to the ground by means of a thread spun for the purpose, and after selecting a minute pebble, or piece of stone, has coiled the end of the thread round it. Having done this, the ingenious artist ascended, and fixing himself on the lower part of the web, hoisted up the pebble until it swung several inches clear of the ground. The cord to which the weight was suspended was then secured by additional ones, running from it to different parts of the web, which thus acquired the requisite tension, and was allowed, at the same time, to yield to sudden puffs of wind without danger of being rent asunder.

“A similar instance came under my notice a few days ago. A large spider had constructed his web, in nearly a vertical position, about six feet from the ground, in a corner of my yard. The upper edge was formed by a strong thread, secured at one end to a vine leaf, and the other to a clothes line. One part of the lower edge was attached to a Penyan sun-flower, and another to a trellis fence, four or five feet distant. Between these there was no object nearer than the ground, to which an additional brace line could be carried; but two threads, a foot asunder, descended from this part of the web, and, eight or ten inches below it, were united at a point. From this point, a single line, four or five inches long, was suspended, and to its lower extremity was the weight, a living one, viz. a worm, three inches long, and one-eighth of an inch thick. The cord was fastened around the middle of the victim’s body, and as no object was within reach, all its writhings and efforts to escape were fruitless. Its weight answered the same purpose as a piece of inanimate matter, while its sufferings seemed not in the least to [Pg 165] disturb the unconcerned murderer, who lay waiting for his prey above.

“Whether the owner of the web found it a more easy task to capture this unlucky worm and raise it, than to elevate a stone of the same weight, may be a question(?). Perhaps in seeking for the latter, the former fell in his way, and was seized as the first suitable object that came to hand—like the human tyrant, (Domitian) who, to show his skill in archery, planted his arrows in the heads of men or cattle, in the absence of other targets. It may be, however, that a piece of stone, earth, or wood, of a suitable weight, was not in the vicinity of the web.

“To observe the effect of this weight, I separated, with a pair of scissors, the thread by which it was suspended, and instantly the web sunk to half its previous dimensions—the lower part became loose, and with the slightest current kept shaking like a sail shivering in the wind. A fresh weight was not supplied by the next morning; but instead of it two long brace lines extended from the lower part of the web to two vine tendrils, a considerable distance off. These I cut away to see what device would be next adopted, but on going to examine it the following day, I found the clothes line removed, and with it all relics of the insect’s labors had disappeared.”

Mason-Spiders.—A no less wonderful structure is composed by a sort of spiders, natives of the tropics and the south of Europe, which have been justly called mason-spiders by M. Latreille. One of these (Mygale nidulans, Walckn.), found in the West Indies, “digs a hole in the earth obliquely downwards, about three inches in length, and one in diameter. This cavity she lines with a tough thick web, which, when taken out, resembles a leathern purse; but what is most curious, this house has a door with hinges, like the operculum of some sea-shells, and herself and family, who tenant this nest, open and shut the door whenever they pass and repass. This history was told me,” says Darwin, “and the nest, with its door, shown me by the late Dr. Butt, of Bath, who was some years physician in Jamaica[175].”

[Pg 166] “The nest of a mason-spider, similar to this,” says Mr. Rennie, “has been obligingly put into our hands by Mr. Riddle of Blackheath. It came from the West Indies, and is probably that of Latreille’s clay-kneader (Mygale cratiens), and one of the smallest of the genus. We have since seen a pair of these spiders in possession of Mr. William Mello, of Blackheath. The nest is composed of very hard argillaceous clay, deeply tinged with brown oxide of iron. It is in form of a tube, about one inch in diameter, between six and seven inches long, and slightly bent towards the lower extremity—appearing to have been mined into the clay rather than built. The interior of the tube is lined with a uniform tapestry of silken web, of an orange-white color, with a texture intermediate between India paper and very fine glove leather. But the most wonderful part of this nest is its entrance, which we look upon as the perfection of insect architecture. A circular door, about the size of a crown piece, slightly concave on the outside and convex within, is formed of more than a dozen layers of the same web which lines the interior, closely laid upon one another, and shaped so that the inner layers are the broadest, the outer being gradually less in diameter, except towards the hinge, which is about an inch long; and in consequence of all the layers being united there, and prolonged into the tube, it becomes the thickest and strongest part of the structure. The elasticity of the materials, also, gives to this hinge the remarkable peculiarity of acting like a spring, and shutting the door of the nest spontaneously. It is, besides, made to fit so accurately to the aperture, which is composed of similar concentric layers of web, that it is almost impossible to distinguish the joining by the most careful inspection. To gratify curiosity, the door has been opened and shut hundreds of times, without in the least destroying the power of the spring. When the door is shut, it resembles some of the lichens (Lecidea), or the leathery fungi, such as Polyporus versicolor (Micheli), or, nearer still, the upper valve of a young oyster-shell. The door of the nest, the only part seen above ground, being of a blackish-brown color, it must be very difficult to discover.”

Another mason-spider (Mygale cœmentaria, Latr.), found [Pg 167] in the south of France, usually selects for her nest a place bare of grass, sloping in such a manner as to carry off the water, and of a firm soil, without rocks or small stones. She digs a gallery a foot or two in depth, and of a diameter (equal throughout) sufficient to admit of her easily passing. She lines this with a tapestry of silk glued to the walls. The door, which is circular, is constructed of many layers of earth kneaded, and bound together with silk. Externally, it is flat and rough, corresponding to the earth around the entrance, for the purpose, no doubt, of concealment: on the inside it is convex, and tapestried thickly with a web of fine silk. The threads of this door-tapestry are prolonged, and strongly attached to the upper side of the entrance, forming an excellent hinge, which, when pushed open by the spider, shuts again by its own weight, without the aid of spring hinges. When the spider is at home, and her door forcibly opened by an intruder, she pulls it strongly inwards, and even where half-opened often snatches it out of the hand; but when she is foiled in this, she retreats to the bottom of her den, as her last resource[176]. The nest of this spider (the mason spider) is represented in Plate IV. Fig. 14., and shows the nest shut. Fig. 15., represents it open. Fig. 16. the spider (Mygale cœmentaria). Fig. 17. the eyes magnified. Figures 18 and 19 parts of the foot and claw magnified. Rossi ascertained that the female of an allied species (Mygale sauvagesii, Latr.), found in Corsica, lived in one of these nests, with a numerous posterity. He destroyed one of the doors to observe whether a new one would be made, which it was; but it was fixed immoveably, without a hinge; the spider, no doubt, fortifying herself in this manner till she thought she might re-open it without danger[177].

“The Rev. Revett Shepherd has often noticed, in the fen ditches of Norfolk, a very large spider (the species not yet determined) which actually forms a raft for the purpose of obtaining its prey with more facility. Keeping its station upon a [Pg 168] ball of weeds about three inches in diameter, probably held together by slight silken cords, it is wafted along the surface of the water upon this floating island, which it quits the moment it sees a drowning insect. The booty thus seized it devours at leisure upon its raft, under which it retires when alarmed by any danger[178].” In the spring of 1830, Mr. Rennie found a spider on some reeds in the Croydon Canal, which agreed in appearance with Mr. Shepherd’s.

Among our native spiders there are several, which, not contented with a web like the rest of their congeners, take advantage of other materials to construct cells where, “hushed in grim repose,” they “expect their insect prey.” The most simple of those spider cells is constructed by a longish-bodied spider (Aranea holosericea, Linn.), which is a little larger than the common hunting spider. It rolls up a leaf of the lilac or poplar, precisely in the same manner as is done by the leaf-rolling caterpillars, upon whose cells it sometimes seizes to save itself trouble, having first expelled, or perhaps devoured, the rightful owner. The spider, however, is not satisfied with the tapestry of the caterpillar, but always weaves a fresh set of her own, more close and substantial.

Another spider, common in woods and copses (Epeira quadrata?) weaves together a great number of leaves to form a dwelling for herself, and in front of it she spreads her toils for entrapping the unwary insects which stray thither. These, as soon as caught, are dragged into her den, and stored up for a time of scarcity. Here also her eggs are deposited and hatched in safety. When the cold weather approaches, and the leaves of her edifice wither, she abandons it for the more secure shelter of a hollow tree, where she soon dies; but the continuation of the species depends upon eggs, deposited in the nest before winter, and remaining to be hatched with the warmth of the ensuing summer.

The spider’s den of united leaves, however, which has just been described, is not always useless when withered and deserted; for the dormouse usually selects it as a ready-made [Pg 169] roof for its nest of dried grass. That those old spiders’ dens are not accidentally chosen by the mouse, appears from the fact, that out of about a dozen mouse-nests of this sort found during winter in a copse between Lewisham and Bromley, Kent (England), every second or third one was furnished with such a roof.

The Water Spider.—We extract the following exquisitely beautiful and interesting fact in nature, connected with diving operations, from the Rev. Mr. Kirby’s Bridgewater Treatise:—

“The Water Spider is one of the most remarkable upon whom that office (diving) is developed by her Creator. To this end, her instinct instructs her to fabricate a kind of diving-bell in the bosom of that element. She usually selects still waters for this purpose. Her house is an oval cocoon, filled with air, and lined with silk, from which threads issue in every direction, and are fastened to the surrounding plants; in this cocoon, which is open below, she watches for her prey, and even appears to pass the winter, when she closes the opening. It is most commonly, yet not always, entirely under water; but its inhabitant has filled it with air for her respiration, which enables her to live in it. She conveys the air to it in the following manner: she usually swims upon her back, when her abdomen is enveloped in a bubble of air, and appears like a globe of quicksilver[179]; with this she enters her cocoon, and displacing an [Pg 170] equal mass of water, again ascends for a second lading, till she has sufficiently filled her house with it, so as to expel all the water.

“The males construct similar habitations by the same manœuvres. How these little animals can envelope their abdomen with an air-bubble, and retain it till they enter their cells, is still one of Nature’s mysteries that have not been explained.

“We, however, cannot help admiring, and adoring, the wisdom, power, and goodness manifested in this singular provision, enabling an animal that breathes the atmospheric air, to fill her house with it under water, and which has instructed her in a secret art, by which she can clothe part of her body with air as a garment, and which she can put off when it answers her purpose.

Thus it appears, that by the successive descents of the little water-spider under the impulsion of its instinct, produce effects in its subaqueous pavilion equivalent to those produced in the diving-bell, or diving helmet, by the successive strokes of the condensing air-pump of scientific man!

[Pg 171] In the language of the book of Psalms, this insect “LAYETH THE BEAMS OF” her “CHAMBERS IN THE WATERS,” and there secures her subaqueous chambers in the manner described.

Cleanliness of Spiders.—“When we look at the viscid material,” says Mr. Rennie, “with which spiders construct their lines and webs, and at the rough, hairy covering (with a few exceptions) of their bodies, we might conclude, that they would be always stuck over with fragments of the minute fibres which they produce. This, indeed, must often happen, did they not take careful precautions to avoid it; for we have observed that they seldom, if ever, leave a thread to float at random, except when they wish to form a bridge. When a spider drops along a line, for instance, in order to ascertain the strength of her web, or the nature of the place below her, she invariably, when she re-ascends, coils it up into a little ball, and throws it away. Her claws are admirably adapted for this purpose, as well as for walking along the lines, as may be readily seen by a magnifying glass. Fig. 13. Plate IV. shows the triple-clawed foot of a spider, magnified, the others being toothed like a comb, for gliding along the lines. This structure, however, unfits it to walk, as flies can do, upon any upright polished surface like glass; although the contrary[180] is erroneously asserted by the Abbé de la Pluche. Before she can do so, she is obliged to construct a ladder of ropes, as Mr. Blackwall remarks[181], by elevating her spinneret as high as she can, and laying down a step upon which she stands to form a second; and so on, as any one may try by placing a spider at the bottom of a very clean wine glass.

“The hairs of the legs, however, are always catching bits of web and particles of dust; but these are not suffered to remain long. Most people may have remarked that the house-fly is ever and anon brushing its feet upon one another to rub off the [Pg 172] dust, though we have not seen it remarked in authors that spiders are equally assiduous in keeping themselves clean. They have, besides, a very efficient instrument in their mandibles or jaws, which, like their claws, are furnished with teeth; and a spider which appears to a careless observer as resting idly, in nine cases out of ten will be found slowly combing her legs with her mandibles, beginning as high as possible on the thigh, and passing down to the claws. The flue which she thus combs off is regularly tossed away.

“With respect to the house-spider (A. domestica), we are told in books, that ‘she from time to time clears away the dust from her web, and sweeps the whole by giving it a shake with her paw, so nicely proportioning the force of her blow, that she never breaks any thing[182].’ That spiders may be seen shaking their webs in this manner, we readily admit; though it is not, we imagine, to clear them of dust, but to ascertain whether they are sufficiently sound and strong.

“We recently witnessed a more laborious process of cleaning a web than merely shaking it. On coming down the Maine by the steam-boat from Frankfort, in August 1829, we observed the geometric-net of a conic spider (Epeira conica, Walck.) on the framework of the deck, and as it was covered with flakes of soot from the smoke of the engine, we were surprised to see a spider at work on it; for, in order to be useful, this sort of net must be clean. Upon observing it a little closely, however, we perceived that she was not constructing a net, but dressing up an old one; though not, we must think, to save trouble, so much as an expenditure of material. Some of the lines she dexterously stripped of the flakes of soot adhering to them; but in the greater number, finding that she could not get them sufficiently clean, she broke them quite off, bundled them up, and tossed them over. We counted five of these packets of rubbish which she thus threw away, though there must have been many more, as it was some time before we discovered the manœuvre, the packets being so small as not to be readily perceived, except when placed between the eye and the [Pg 173] light. When she had cleared off all the sooted lines, she began to replace them in the usual way; but the arrival of the boat at Mentz put an end to our observations.” Bloomfield, the poet, having observed the disappearance of these bits of ravelled web, says that he observed a garden spider moisten the pellets before swallowing them! Dr. Lister, as we have already seen, thought the spider retracted the threads within the abdomen.

[Plate IV]

Plate IV.

Spiders, with the processes of Spinning and Weaving.

[Pg 174]

In the preceding chapter we have confined our remarks, principally, to the various attempts made to obtain a silken or filamentous material from the spider, and although those efforts have not been crowned with that degree of success which would render a speculation of the kind worthy of our attention in a pecuniary point of view, yet, it must be conceded, that the subject is scarcely the less interesting; and Mr. Bon, the gentleman who first undertook the training of spiders, has at least given us matter for further interesting speculation. It is now about 104 years since Mr. Bon commenced his experiments.

In this chapter, we shall proceed to describe the Pinna of the ancients, and upon which human ingenuity has been more successfully exercised in seeking, many feet below the surface of the Ocean, for the slender filaments, the produce of an animal in almost a vegetative state of existence.

[Pg 175] The Pinna is a bivalve[183] shell-fish, which, when full grown, is 18 inches long, and 6 wide at its broad end. It is found near the shores of South Italy, Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia; also in the Bay of Smyrna, and in the Indian Ocean. It does not fasten itself to rocks in the same position as the muscle, but sticks its sharp end into the mud or sand, while the rest of the shell is at liberty to open in the water. In common with the muscle, it has the power of spinning a viscid matter from its body, conformably with that of the spider and caterpillar. Although the pinna is vastly larger than the muscle, its shell being sometimes found two feet long, the threads which it produces are more delicate and slender than those of the muscle, being in fineness and beauty scarcely inferior to the single filament of the comparatively minute silk-worm. Threads so delicately thin, as may readily be imagined, do not singly possess much strength; but the little power of each is made up by the aggregate of the almost infinite number which each fish puts forth to secure itself in a fixed situation, and preserve it against the rolling of the waves. The threads are, however, similar in their nature to those of the muscle, differing only in their superior fineness and greater length. These fish have, therefore, been distinguished by some naturalists, the one as the silk-worm, the other as caterpillar of the sea.

It has been from a very remote period well known, that muscles have the power of affixing themselves either to rocks or the shells of one another, in a very firm manner; yet their method of effecting this was not understood until explained by the accurate observations of M. Réaumur, the first naturalist who ascertained that if, by any accident, the animals were torn from their hold, they possessed the power of substituting other threads for those which had been broken or injured. It was found by him, that if muscles, detached from each other, were placed in any kind of vessel and then plunged into the sea, they contrived in a very short time to fasten themselves both to the vessel’s side and one another’s shells: in this process, the extremity [Pg 176] of each thread seemed to perform the office of a hand in seizing upon the body to which it would attach itself.

The threads issue from the shell at that part where it naturally opens, and in affixing themselves to any substance, form numerous minute cables, by which the fish steadies itself in the water. Each animal is provided with an organ, which it is difficult to designate by any name, since it performs the office of so many members, and is the only indicator of the existence of vital powers in the creature. It is by turns a tongue, an arm, and sometimes a leg. Its shape resembles that of a tongue, and is, therefore, most frequently called by that name. Whenever the fish requires to change its place, this member serves to drag its body forward, together with its cumbrous habitation: in performing a journey, the extremity of this organ, which may then be styled a leg, is fixed to some solid body, and being then contracted in length, the whole fish is necessarily drawn towards the spot where it intends to station itself; and by a repetition of these movements, the animal arrives at its destination. It is not often that the organ is put to this use, as the pinna is but little addicted to locomotion: some naturalists indeed affirm that it is always stable. The purpose to which the tongue is most frequently applied, is that of spinning the threads. Although this body is flat, and in form similar to a tongue through the greater part of its length, it becomes cylindrical about the base or root, where it is much smaller than in any other part: at this lower end are several ligatures of a muscular nature, which keep the tongue firmly fixed against the middle of the shell; four of these cords are very apparent, and serve to move the tongue in any direction according to the wants of the fish. Through the entire length of this member there runs a slit, which pierces so deeply into its surface, as almost to divide it into two longitudinal sections; this performs the office of a canal for the liquor of which the threads are formed, and serves to mould them into their proper form: the canal appears externally like a small crack, being almost covered by the flesh from either side, but internally it is much wider, and surrounded by circular fibres. The channel thus formed extends regularly from the tip to the base of the tongue, where it partakes [Pg 177] of the form of the member and becomes cylindric, producing there a tube or pipe in which the canal terminates. The viscid substance is moulded in this tube into the shape of a cord, similar to the threads produced from it, though much thicker, and from which all the minute fibres issue and disperse. The internal surface of the tube, wherein the large cord is formed, is furnished with glands for the secretion of the peculiar substance employed in its production, and which is always in great abundance in this animal as well as in muscles.

Réaumur observed, “that although the workmanship of the land and sea animals when completed is alike, the manner of its production is very different. Spiders, caterpillars, &c., form threads of any required length, by making the viscous liquor of which the filament is formed pass through fine perforations in the organ appointed for spinning. But the way in which muscles form their thread is widely opposite; as the former resembles the work of the wire-drawer[184], so does the latter that of the founder who casts metals in a mould.” The canal of the organ destined for the muscle’s spinning is the mould in which its thread is cast, and gives to it its determinate length.

Réaumur learned the manner of the muscle performing the operation of swimming by actually placing some of these fish under his constant inspection. He kept them in his apartment in a vessel filled with sea water, and distinctly saw them open their shells and put forth their tongues. They extended and contracted this organ several times, obtruding it in every direction, as if seeking the fittest place whereon to fix their threads. After repeated trials of this kind, the tongue of one was observed to remain for some time on the spot chosen, and being then drawn back with great quickness, a thread was very [Pg 178] easily discerned, fastened to the place: this operation was again resumed, until all the threads were in sufficient number: one fibre being produced at each movement of the tongue.

The old threads were found to differ materially from those newly spun, the latter being whiter, more glossy, and transparent than the former, and it was thence discovered that it was not the office of the tongue to transfer the old threads one by one to the new spots where they were fixed, which course M. Réaumur had thought was pursued. The old threads once severed from the spot to which they had been originally fixed were seen to be useless, and that every fibre employed by the fish to secure itself in a new position was produced at the time required; and, in short, that nature had endowed some fish, as well as land insects, with the power of spinning threads, as their natural wants and instincts demanded. This fact was incontrovertibly established by cutting away, as close to the body as they could with safety be separated, the old threads, which were always replaced by others in a space of time as short as was employed by other muscles not so deprived.

“The pinna and its cancer friend” have on more than one occasion been made subjects for poetry. There is doubtless some foundation for the fact of the mutual alliance between these aquatic friends which has been thus celebrated; yet some slight coloring may have been borrowed from the regions of fancy wherewith to adorn the verse, and even the prose history of their attachment may be exposed to a similar objection.

The scuttle-fish, a native of the same seas with the pinna, is its deadly foe, and would quickly destroy it, were it not for its faithful ally. In common with all the same species, the pinna is destitute of the organs of sight, and could not, therefore, unassisted, be aware of the vicinity of its dangerous enemy. A small animal of the crab kind, itself deprived of a covering, but extremely quick-sighted, takes refuge in the shell of the pinna, whose strong calcareous valves affords a shelter to her guest, while he makes a return for this protection by going forth in search of prey. At these intervals the pinna opens her valves to afford him egress and ingress: if the watchful scuttle-fish now approach, the crab returns instanter with notice of the [Pg 179] danger to her hostess; who, timely warned, shuts her door and keeps out the enemy. When the crab has, unmolested, succeeded in loading itself with provisions, it gives a signal by a gentle noise at the opening of the shell, and when admitted, the two friends feast together on the fruit of its industry. It would appear an arduous, nay, a task almost impossible for the defenceless and diminutive crab, not merely to elude its enemies and return home, but likewise obtain a supply of provender sufficient to satisfy the wants of its larger companion. The following different account of the nature of this alliance is more credible:—

Whenever the pinna ventures to open its shell, it is immediately exposed to the attacks of various of the smaller kinds of fish, which, meeting with no resistance to their first assaults, acquire boldness and venture in. The vigilant guard, by a gentle bite, gives notice of this to his companion, who, upon such a hint, closes her shell, and having thus shut them in makes a prey of those who had come to prey upon her: when thus supplied with food, she never fails to share her booty with so useful an ally.

We are told that the sagacious observer, Dr. Hasselquist, in his voyage, (about the middle of the last century,) to Palestine, which he undertook for objects connected with the study of natural history, beheld this curious phenomenon, which, although well known to the ancients, had escaped the attention of the moderns.

It is related by Aristotle[185] that the pinna keeps a guard to watch for her, which grows to her mouth, and serves as her caterer: this he calls pinnophylax, and describes as a little fish with claws like a crab. Pliny observes[186], that the smallest species of crab is called the pinnotores, and being from its diminutive size liable to injury, has the prudence to conceal itself in the shells of oysters. In another place he describes the pinna as of the genus of shell-fish, with the further particulars that it is found in muddy waters, always erect, and never without a companion, called by some pinnatores, by others pinnophylax; [Pg 180] this being sometimes a small squill, and at others a crab, which remains with the pinna for the sake of food.

The description of the pinna by the Greek poet Oppianus, who flourished in the second century, has been thus given in English verse:—

It is said that the pinna fastens itself so strongly to the rocks, that the men employed in fishing for it are obliged to use considerable force to break the tuft of threads by which it is secured fifteen, twenty, and sometimes even thirty feet below the surface of the sea.

It is fished up in the Gulf of Tarentum by the Pernonico, which consists of two semicircular bars of iron fastened together at the ends, at one of which is a wooden pole, at the other a ring and cord. The fishermen conduct their boat over the place, where the pinna is seen through the clear water, let down the Pernonico, and, having loosened the pinna by embracing it with the iron bars and twisting it round, draw it up to the boat. The pinna is also obtained by diving. Poli, in his splendid work on the Sicilian Testacea (Parma, 1795, folio,) gives beautiful representations of the several species and especially of the Pinna Nobilis[187]. The following description of submarine scenery and operations, is so vivid and pleasing that we quote it at length.

The specimens of Pinna in the British Museum show not only the tuft, but also the pearls and the mother of pearl. Poli found in one specimen of the Pinna Nobilis no less than twenty pearls, of which he has given figures in his splendid work. Pliny (l. ix. c. 35.) mentions the practice of diving for the Pinna in the Mediterranean Sea in order to obtain pearls from it: and Athenæus (l. iii. p. 93 Casaub.) has preserved extracts from two historical writers, one of whom accompanied Alexander on his Indian expedition, and who informs us, that the Pinna was procured in the Indian seas, by diving and for the sake of the pearls.

[Pg 182] The Italians call the fibres Lana Pesce or Lana Penna, i. e. Fish Wool, or Pinna Wool. It is not equally good in all places. When the bottom of the sea is sandy, the shell with its bunch of fibres may be easily extracted, and they are silky and of a fine color. But in rushy and muddy bottoms so fast do they stick as to be generally broken in drawing up, and are of a blackish color without gloss.

The Lana Penna is twice washed in tepid water, once in soap and water, and again in tepid water, then spread on a table to dry: while yet moist, it is rubbed and separated with the hand, and again spread on the table. When quite dry, it is drawn through a wide comb of bone, and then through a narrow one. That which is destined for very fine works is also drawn through iron combs, called scarde (cards). It is then spun with a distaff and spindle.

As it is impossible to procure much of this material of a good quality, the manufacture is very limited, and the articles produced, stockings and gloves, are expensive. They are esteemed excellent preservatives against cold and damp, are soft and very warm, and the finest of a brown cinnamon, or glossy gold color. The manufacture is chiefly carried on at Taranto, the ancient Tarentum[188].

The Lana Penna, having been spun, is now almost universally knit. But, as it does not appear that the ancients were acquainted with this process prior to the second century, whatever garments they made of this material must have been woven.

The first proof we possess of its use among them is in Tertullian, who lived in the second century (De Pallio, iii. p. 115, Rigaltii). Speaking of the materials for weaving, he says,

Procopius informs us (De Edif. lib. iii. c. 1.), that Armenia was governed by five hereditary satraps, who received their insignia from the Roman Emperor. Among these was a Chlamys made of the fibres of the Pinna. (Χλαμὺς ἡ ἐξ ἐρίων πεποιημένη, οὐχ οἷα τῶν προβατίων ἐκπέφυκεν, ἀλλ’ ἐκ θαλάσσης συνειλεγμένων· πίννους τὰ ζῶα καλεῖν νενομίκασι, ἐν οἷς ἡ τῶν ἐρίων ἔκφυσις γίνεται.) This chlamys was fastened with a fibula of gold, in which a precious stone was set, and three hyacinths were suspended from it by golden chains (χρυσαῖς τε καὶ χαλαραῖς ἀλύσεσιν.) The chlamys was accompanied by a silken tunic, adorned with sprigs or “feathers” of gold. It is thus described:

With the chlamys and tunic were worn boots of red leather, such as only the emperors of Rome and Persia were allowed to wear.

St. Basil mentions with admiration “the golden fleece” of the Pinna, which no artificial dye could imitate. Πόθεν τὸ χρυσοῦν ἔριον αἱ πίνναι τρέφουσιν, ὅπερ οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀνθοβάφων ἐμιμήσατο.—Hexaem. vii.

Whether the tuft of the Pinna was used for weaving before the time of the authors, who have now been cited, seems doubtful. As the Pinna is frequently mentioned by earlier writers, both Greek and Latin[190], but without any reference to the use of its tuft, it may be regarded as probable, that this kind of cloth was not invented before the time of Tertullian.

It is a no less curious question, Whence did the ancients obtain the fibres of the Pinna, and where was the manufacture of them carried on?

[Pg 184] It has been commonly said at Tarentum, but apparently for no other reason than that the Pinna is obtained and the manufacture principally carried on at Taranto in modern times. By referring to the authorities above quoted, it will be seen that none of them makes any allusion to Tarentum. Consequently we have no direct evidence, that this was the seat of the ancient manufacture. On the contrary, we have testimony, that fine cloths of this substance were made in India, and thence imported into Greece and other countries.

The author of the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, a document of an age at least as late as the time of Tertullian, states that the business of diving for the wool of the Pinna was prosecuted near the city called Colchi in the south of India. Different species of Pinna with tufts of fine silk are now no less abundant in the Indian than the Mediterranean Sea. The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea presents a sufficient proof, that this beautiful substance was spun and woven by the Indians, whereas we can only suppose from analogy that the manufacture was carried on in ancient times by the Tarentines.

[Pg 185]

This plant, which has hitherto been valued solely as ministering to the luxuries of the table, has lately had a new interest attached to it from the discovery of a fibre contained in its leaves, possessing such valuable properties, that it will, in all probability, soon form a new and important article of commerce.

The fibres of the pine-apple plant are disposed in fasciculi, each apparent fibre being an assemblage of fibres adhering together, of such exceeding delicacy, as only to measure from 1/5000th to 1/7000th part of an inch in diameter; viewed under the microscope, they bear considerable resemblance to silk, from their glossy, even, and smooth texture. They appear altogether destitute of joints, or other irregularities, and are remarkably transparent, particularly when viewed in water: they are very elastic, of considerable strength, and readily receive the most delicate dyes. This last fact appears singular, when we bear in mind the resistance, if we may be allowed the expression, which flax offers to dyes. With much trouble, and by long processes, flax will receive a few dark dingy colors: all light and brilliant ones it wholly resists; they do not enter the fibre, but merely dry upon it externally, and afterwards easily peel, or rub off,—in short, it may be said to be painted, and not dyed.

The preparation of the pine-fibre is exceedingly simple. If [Pg 186] a leaf of this plant be examined, it will be found to consist of an assemblage of fibres running parallel from one extremity of the leaf to the other, embedded in the soft pabulum. All the process necessary is to pass the leaf under a “tilt hammer,” the rapid action of which, in a few seconds, completely crushes it, without in the slightest degree injuring the fibre, which remains in a large skein, and then requires to be rinsed out in soft water, to cleanse it from impurities, and be afterwards dried in the shade. So simple and rapid is the process, that a leaf, in a quarter of an hour after being cut from the plant, may be in a state fit for the purposes of the manufacturer, as a glossy, white fibre, with its strength unimpaired by any process of maceration, which, by inducing partial putrefaction, not only materially injures the strength of flax, but also renders it of a dingy color.

The pine-plant abounds both in the East and West Indies, and may be easily propagated from the crown; offsets from round the base of the fruit, which often amount to upwards of twenty in number; and from the young plants which spring from the parent stem; its cultivation requires but little care or expense, and is of such hardy growth, as to be almost independent of those casualties of weather, which often prove so detrimental to more delicate crops—it is one of those plants which Nature has scattered so profusely through tropical regions, whose leaves are thick and fleshy, to contain a large supply of nourishment, and covered by a thick, glazed cuticle; admitting of so little evaporation, that many of them will thrive upon a barren rock, where no other plant would live. Also from the large portion of oxalic acid which the leaves contain, no animal will touch them, and are, therefore, exempt from the trespasses of cattle, &c. Indeed no greater proof of the hardiness of the plant can be given, than the fact, that in many places where lands have been under tillage,—afterwards abandoned, and allowed to return to a state of nature, the pine-apple plant exhibits the only trace of former cultivation; every other cultivated plant has died away before the encroachments of the surrounding wood, while they alone remained increasing from year to year, and spread into large beds.

[Pg 187] Mr. Frederick Burt Zincke obtained a patent in England, bearing date December 9, 1836, for the following mode of preparing the filaments of this plant, the “Bromelia ananas.” We give the patentee’s own description (with slight emendations), as received from the patent office, London, and which is as follows.

“I (the said Frederick Burt Zincke) do hereby declare that the nature of my said invention consists—Firstly, in preparing or manufacturing the leaf of the plant, commonly called the pine-apple, by bruising, beating, washing, and drying the same, in such manner as to separate the long fibrous parts from the cuticle pabulum, and other matter comprising the said leaf. Secondly, in the application of the fibrous substance, so prepared to various manufactures and purposes, for which silk, flax, cotton, hemp, wool, and other fibrous materials are now used. And further, I describe the manner in which my said invention is to be performed by the following statement: For the purpose of preparing the fibre, I cut the leaves from the pine-apple plant, at any period from the time of their obtaining their full growth, till the ripening of the fruit, for I find that if the leaves are taken before they are full grown, the fibre is less strong, and if suffered to remain on the plant, after the ripening of the fruit, the fibre becomes harsh, and is more difficult to divest of the extraneous matter. The small thorns having been trimmed from the edge of the leaves, with a sharp knife, the leaves should be crushed, so as to disengage the fibre from the other matter composing the leaf, for which purpose the employment of a mallet upon a block of wood, will fully answer the intended purpose. This process of crushing is to be continued until the fibre appears in an assemblage of long silky filaments, with more or less of the pulpy and other matter of the leaf adhering to them; to cleanse them from which they are to be well rinsed in soft water, immediately after having been crushed or beaten, and then the water should forthwith be squeezed out of them, by drawing them between the edges of two pieces of wood, placed parallel to each other, so as to admit of the fibres being drawn out rather lightly between them, for if the green matter is allowed to dry on the fibre, it of course [Pg 188] becomes more difficult to cleanse. The washing must be carefully performed, so as to prevent the fibre from becoming tangled or knotted. The operation of washing or rinsing must be repeated until the fibre be thoroughly cleansed. If it be found difficult to clean the fibre from the extraneous matter, in consequence of not collecting the leaves from the plant sufficiently early, or from any other cause, the operation will be facilitated by boiling the fibre, after it has been beaten, and partially purified in a solution of soap in soft water. For this purpose the fibre must be regularly disposed in any suitable vessel, so as to prevent its becoming tangled, with sufficient water to cover it, in which soap has been dissolved, in the proportion of about 5 lbs. to 50 lbs. of fibre, a light weight being then placed upon it, to keep the fibre beneath the surface of the liquor; the whole is then to be boiled for the space of three or four hours, and after boiling, to be well rinsed out in soft water, and squeezed as before directed. The fibre having been cleansed by these processes, is to be gradually dried in the shade, and occasionally shaken out, so as to prevent the too close adhesion of the filament in drying, which would otherwise take place. The fibre may be obtained free from the extraneous matter of the leaf by other modes; but I prefer that which I have above described. As to the second part of my said invention, it is only necessary to observe that from the superiority of this fibre in several respects over those now in common use(?), it is adapted to a vast number of purposes, in which fibrous materials are now employed; it is of a glossy white color, it receives dyes with facility, it possesses great strength, and is divisible to an exceeding degree of fineness, for upon examination each filament that appears a single fibre, is, in fact, a bundle of very delicate fibres, adhering more or less strongly together. These qualities render it applicable to the manufacture of shawls, drills, damask-linens, plushes, carpets, rugs, lace, bonnets, paper; as a material for rope, twine, or thread, and a variety of other purposes to which silk, cotton, flax hemp, wool, and other fibrous materials are now applied. As a material for spinning in the ordinary method in which flax is now spun through hot water, this fibre requires to undergo the process generally in use for [Pg 189] bleaching flax. I find the period at which the bleaching can be most conveniently performed, is when the fibre is in the state called technically “a roving;” for the coarser yarns the first stages of the bleaching process will be sufficient, but this operation must be carried further, in proportion to the fineness of the yarn intended to be spun. The effect of the bleaching upon the fibre is, to disengage part of the adhesive matter, which connects the fine filaments together, and render the yarn susceptible of longation, between the receiving and delivering rollers in spinning, after it has passed through the hot water; I therefore claim as my invention, the preparing and manufacturing into the fibres hereinbefore particularly described; the leaf of the plant commonly called the pine-apple, by any mode or modes of preparation, and also the application of the said fibres, when prepared and manufactured, to the several purposes hereinbefore also particularly specified, the same being to the best of my knowledge (information, remembrance, and belief), now and not heretofore practised.”

M. de la Rouverie affirms, that he procured a beautiful vegetable silk from the Papyfera or paper mulberry; cutting the bark while the tree was in sap, beating it with mallets, and steeping it in water; he obtained a thread from the fibres, almost equal to silk in quality; and this was woven into a cloth the texture of which appeared as if formed of that material. The finest sort of cloth among the inhabitants of Otaheite, and other of the South Sea Islands, is made of the bark of this tree.

According to M. Chevremont, Engineer of Mines, “ropes made of aloes have four times the resistance of those of hemp of the same diameter, and made by the same process(?). The fibres of the aloe contain a resinous substance which protects the ropes from the action of moisture: even at sea, and renders the tarring of them unnecessary. They are lighter than hempen ropes, and lose nothing of their strength by being wet(?). When plunged into water, they are shortened only two per cent., so that they become less rigid than ropes made of hemp(?).”

There appears to be a good deal of exaggeration in regard [Pg 190] to the great superiority of the fibres of these plants over cotton, flax, &c. This is particularly the case in regard to Mr. Zincke, for although he succeeded in producing some very beautiful specimens of fabric, in conformity with the foregoing specification, yet, the manufacture does not appear to make much progress, chiefly on account of the inferiority in point of strength of the cloth, more especially when bleached.

[Pg 191]

The earliest mention of mallows is that given in the book of Job, in the following words: “For want and famine they were solitary: fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste. Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper-roots for their meat.”—Job xxx. 4.

We find in ancient authors of a more modern date, distinct mention of three species of malvaceous plants, which are still common in the South of Europe. These are, the Common Mallow, Malva Silvestris, Linn.; the Marsh Mallow, Althæa Officinalis, Linn.; and the Hempleaved Mallow, Althæa Cannabina, Linn.

The Common Mallow is called by the Latin writers Malva, by the Greek Μαλάχη, or Μολόχη.

This plant was used for food from the earliest times. Hesiod represents living on Mallows and asphodel as the sign of moderation, contentment, and simplicity of manners.

[Pg 192]

A dish of these vegetables was probably the cheapest of all kinds of food; they grew wild in the meadow and by the wayside, and were gathered and dressed without any labor or trouble.

Various authors however mention the cultivation of the Common Mallow in gardens. See Virgil, Moretum, 73. Pliny, Hist. Nat. l. xix. c. 22 and 31. Isidori Orig. l. xvii. c. 10. Papiæ Vocabular. v. Malva. Geoponica, xii. l. Palladuis, iii. 24. xi. ll.

Dioscorides (l. ii. c. III.) calls it the Garden Mallow. Aristophanes (Plutus 544.) mentions eating the shoots of mallows instead of bread, intending by this to represent a vile and destitute kind of living. Plutarch (Septem Sapientum Convivium) says, “The mallow is good for food, and the Anthericus is sweet.” According to Le Clerc ὁ ἀνθέρικος (Anthericus) means the scapus of the asphodel: if he is right, this plant was eaten as we now eat asparagus. It is also remarkable that on this supposition Plutarch mentions the same two plants, which are also mentioned together by Hesiod.

According to Theophrastus (Hist. Plant. vii. 7. 2.) the mallow was not eaten raw, as in a salad, but required to be cooked. Cicero (Epist. ad Fam. vii. 26.) mentions the highly-seasoned vegetables at a dinner given by his friend Lentulus. Having been made ill by them, he says, that he, “who easily abstained from oysters and lampreys, had been deceived by beet and mallows.” Probably the leaves of the mallow were on this occasion boiled, chopped, and seasoned, much in the same way as spinach is now prepared in France.

Moschus in the following well-known lines refers to the common mallow together with other culinary vegetables:

[Pg 193]This is accurately true of the common mallow, the root of which is perennial, so that the stems grow up and die down again every year. Accordingly Theophrastus brings it as an example of a plant with annual stems[191].

Horace in two passages signifies his partiality to mallows, calling them “leves,” light to digest.

Martial recommends this vegetable on account of its laxative effect:

Diphilus of Siphnos (as quoted by Athenæus, l. ii. p. 58. E. Casaub.), after enumerating the medical virtues of the Common Mallow, says, that “the wild was better than the cultivated kind.”

Without quoting other classical authorities, the ancient practice may be illustrated by the observations of modern travellers, who mention that the Common Mallow is still an article of consumption in the same parts of the world.

Biddulph, who visited Syria about the year 1600, says, he “saw near Aleppo many poor people gathering mallows, and three-leaved grass, and asked them what they did with it, and they answered, that it was all their food, and that they boiled it, and did eat it.” (Collection of Voyages and Travels from the Library of the E. of Oxford, p. 807.)

Dr. Sibthorp states, that the Malva Silvestris grows wild in Cyprus, and is called Μόλωχα. He also says, “The wild mallow is very common about Athens: the leaves are boiled and eaten as a pot-herb, and an ingredient in the Dolma.” (Memoirs relating to European and Asiatic Turkey, edited by Walpole, p. 245.) Dr. Holland mentions both Malva Silvestris [Pg 194] and Althæa Officinalis among the officinal plants, which he found in Cephalonia. (Travels in Greece, p. 543, 4to.).

The Althæa Officinalis, or Marsh Mallow, is called by the Greek authors Ἀλθαία, by the Latin, Hibiscus. Theophrastus says, that it went also under the name of wild mallow[192]. Whilst the Common Mallow, though highly esteemed for its medicinal virtues, was principally regarded as a substantial article of food; the Marsh Mallow, on the contrary, seems to have been rarely used except as an article of the Materia Medica[193]; and, as its peculiar properties were likely to be more matured in the wild than cultivated state, it does not appear to have been grown in gardens[194]. Theophrastus describes it by comparing it with the Common Mallow, and mentions its application, both internally and externally, as a medicine[195]. Dioscorides (l. iii. c. 139.) gives similar details. Besides mentioning the proper name of the plant in Greek and in Latin, he calls it, “a kind of wild mallow.” Palladius (l. xi. p. 184. Bip.) explains “Hibiscus” to be the same as “Althæa.” See also Pliny, l. xx. c. 14. ed. Bip. Virgil alludes to the use of it as fodder for goats, and as a material for weaving baskets[196].

The Hemp-leaved Mallow, Althæa Cannabina, is once mentioned by Dioscorides (lib. iii. c. 141.). Giving an account of hemp, he distinguishes between the cultivated and the wild. He says of the wild hemp, that the Romans called it Cannabis Terminalis[197]. After mentioning the medical properties of the plant, Dioscorides says, that its bark was useful for making ropes. The truth of this observation will be apparent to every botanist. The plants belonging to the natural order Malvaceæ [Pg 195] are all remarkable for the abundance of strong and beautiful fibres in their bark[198].

But of the European species there is none superior in the fineness, the strength, the whiteness, and lustre of its fibres, to the Common Mallow, the Malva Silvestris. We have seen that the ancients were familiarly acquainted with this plant; that it was commonly cultivated in their gardens; and that they gathered it, when growing wild, to be taken as food or medicine. In these circumstances they could scarcely fail to observe the aptitude of its bark for being spun into thread. More especially in places where they had no other native supply of fibrous materials; in Attica, for example, which probably produced neither hemp nor flax, it seems in the highest degree probable, that the fitness of the mallow to supply materials for weaving would not be overlooked.

In producing the evidence, which establishes this as a positive fact, we shall begin with the latest testimonies and proceed in a reverse order upward to the most ancient. According to this plan, the first authority is that of Papias, who wrote his Vocabulary about the year 1050. He gives the following explanations:

These passages clearly describe a kind of cloth made of the white fibres of the common mallow. Malbella, the same with Malvella, is a Latin adjective, in the form of a diminutive, from Malva: Molocina, the same with Μολόχινη, is a Greek adjective from Μολόχη, and signifies made of mallow.

Papias, who seems in compiling his dictionary to have made great use of Isidore, perhaps derived these explanations in part from the following passage of the latter author:

[Pg 196]

The passages of Papias cannot be taken as a proof, that mallow-cloth was woven in his day. But that it was in fashion as late as the age of Charlemagne appears from the following line, which is quoted by Du Cange (Glossar. Med. et Inf. Lat. v. Melocineus) from a poem in praise of that monarch, attributed to Alcuin:

The word “fulgescit” aptly describes the lustre of the material under consideration. From the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea[199] we learn, that cloths made of mallow, were among the articles of export from India, being brought from Ozene (Ugain) and Tagara in the interior of the country to the sea-port of Barygaza (Baroch). P. 146. 169, 170, 171.

The genus Hibiscus, Linn. is very abundant in India. The bark of a certain species of this genus, especially of H. Tiliaceus and H. Cannabinus, is now very extensively employed for making cordage, and might unquestionably have been used for making cloth[200].

H. Tiliaceus is also represented in Rheede’s Hort. Malabaricus (vol. i. fig. 30.). It grows about 15 feet high.

Dr. Wallich (Cat. of Indian Woods, p. 18.) mentions two other species as used for making cordage from the bark.

The late Mr. John Hare, who lived in India a long time, says, that a coarse kind of cloth, used for making sacks, &c., is now woven from Hibiscus bark.

As a further evidence, that the Molochina mentioned in the Periplus were made from the bark of the Hibiscus, we may [Pg 197] refer to that admirable specimen of Eastern taste and ingenuity, the Sacontăla of the great Indian dramatist Calidāsa. Several passages of this poem make mention of the Valcăla, which the Sanscrit Lexicons, themselves of great antiquity, explain as meaning either bark, or a vesture made from it. We learn from Dr. Wallich, a celebrated Indian botanist, that many kinds of Hibiscus had this quality in an eminent degree, and, as their bark was in common use for making all kinds of cordage, it might undoubtedly be employed for weaving.

The Sacontăla is of a date as ancient as the Periplus. Professor Von Bohlen (Das alte Indien, vol. ii. p. 477.) asserts, that the author Calidāsa certainly flourished as early as the first century B. C. Sir William Jones makes him older by several centuries. (Works, vol. vi. p. 206.) The place also agrees as well as the time. The Hibiscus Tiliaceus, according to Sir J. E. Smith, is “one of the most common trees in every part of the East Indies, thriving in all sorts of situations and soils, and cultivated for the sake of its shade even more than the beauty of its flowers, in towns and villages and by road-sides. A coarse cordage,” he adds, “is made of the bark; the wood is light and white, useful for small cabinet-work; the mucilage of the whole plant is applied to some medical purposes.” The Molochina, mentioned in the Periplus, were brought from Ozene and Tagara, and may have come from still further North. The hermitage, described in the drama, was at the foot of the Himalaya Mountains, and near the river Malina, and, according to the representations given by the poet, the Valcălas (translated by Sir W. Jones “mantles of woven bark,” and by Chézy, “vêtemens d’écorce”), were worn both by the hermits and by the beautiful Sacontăla, while she was their inmate[201].

“Valcălas” are mentioned in precisely the same manner in the Ramayana, one of the most noted of the heroic poems of ancient India. They are represented as coarse garments worn by ascetics.

[Pg 198] If the explanation now given be admitted as applicable to the Molochina of the Periplus, it may throw light upon some other passages of ancient authors.

Ctesias, in his Indica[202], mentions “sheets made from trees.”

Strabo’s account of the webs, which he calls Serica, an account derived from the writings of Nearchus, admiral of Alexander the Great, represents those webs as made from fibres, which were scraped from the bark of trees. This would apply exactly to the supposed use of the Hibiscus for making cloth. The bark must have been first stript from the tree, and the fibres then scraped from the inside of the bark.

To the same source we may, we think, trace the idea of Arethas (in Apoc. c. 57.), that the Byssus, Rev. xix. 8., was “the bark of an Indian tree made into flax.”

Although the date of the following inscription, found at Rome, is uncertain, it may be conveniently brought in here. It is published by Muratori, Novus Thesaurus Vet. Inscriptionum, tom. ii. p. 939.

P. AVCTIVS P. L. LYSANDER. VESTIARIVS. TENVIARIVS. MOLOCHINARIVS. VOT. SOL.

Muratori in his Note says, that “Vestiarius Tenuiarius” was the man who made thin garments, and “Molochinarius” the man who made such garments of a mallow color.

The authors, next in regard to antiquity, who make mention of Molochina, are the writers of the Latin Comedy, Statius Cæcilius, who died 169 B. C., and Plautus, who died 184 B. C.

Nonius Marcellus (l. xvi.) quotes the following line from the Pausimachus of the former dramatist:

The passage of Plautus is in the Aulularia (Act iii. Scene v. l. 40.), where we have a ludicrous enumeration, extending [Pg 199] through more than ten lines, of all the persons concerned in the manufacture or sale of garments.

All the lexicographers and commentators explain Molochinarius to be one who dyes cloth of the color of the mallow. Lanarius was a woollen-draper; Coactiliarius, a dealer in felts, a hatter; Lintearius a linen-draper; and Sericarius a silk-mercer. According to the same analogy, Molochinarius would mean a dealer in Molochina, i. e. in all kinds of cloth made from mallows.

The class of writers, which will now be produced as affording testimony respecting the use of the mallow for weaving, are Greek authors, and who instead of the common Greek terms employ the Attic term Ἀμοργὸς and its derivatives.

Ἀμοργὸς has been explained by some of the lexicographers to be a kind of flax (See Julius Pollux, L. vii. § 74.). Perhaps by this explanation nothing more was intended than that it was a plant, the fibres of which were used to spin and weave into cloth. It is highly probable that it was the Malva Silvestris or Common Mallow, and that it was called Ἀμοργὸς.

According to the Attic lexicons of Pausanias (apud Eustath. l. c.) and of Mœris, Ἀμοργὸς was an Attic term. We now find traces of it in seven Attic writers, four or five of whom wrote comedy. These are Aristophanes, Cratinus, Antiphanes, Eupolis, Clearchus, Æschines, and Plato.

I. We shall take first Aristophanes, whose comedy called Lysistrata is frequently quoted by Pausanias and Cratinus, and being still extant throws considerable light upon the subject. It was represented in the year 412. B. C. Lysistrata says (l. 150),

“And if we should present ourselves naked in shifts of amorgos;” showing that these shifts were transparent. Accordingly Mœris says, that the ἀμόργινον was λεπτὸν ὕφασμα, “a thin web.” Bisetus in his Greek commentary on this play, after quoting the explanations of Stephanus Byzantinus, Suidas, Eustathius, [Pg 200] and the Etymologicum Magnum, judiciously concludes as follows: “From all these it is manifest, that ἀμόργινοι χιτώνες, whether they took their name from a place, from their color, or from the raw material, were a kind of valuable robe, worn by the rich, fashionable, and luxurious women.”

A subsequent passage of the Lysistrata (v. 736-741) still further illustrates this subject. A woman laments, that she has left at home her ἀμοργις without being peeled (ἄλοπον), and she goes to peel it (ἀποδείρειν). The mallow no less than flax and hemp, would require the bark to be stript off, and doubtless the best time for stripping it is as soon as the plant is gathered.

II. Cratinus died about 420 B. C. The following line, from his comedy called Μαλθακοὶ, represents a person spinning Ἀμοργός.

III. Julius Pollux, speaking of garments made of Ἀμοργὸς (L. vii. c. 13.) quotes the Medea of Antiphanes thus: Ἦν χιτὼν ἁμόργινος. This author was contemporary with Aristophanes.

IV. Eupolis wrote about the same time, and his authority may be added to the rest as proving that garments of Amorgos were admired by luxurious persons at Athens[204].

V. Clearchus of Soli[205] mentions the use of a cover of Amorgos for inclosing a splendid purple blanket. This application of it is agreeable to the foregoing evidence, showing that the amorgine webs were transparent. The silky translucence of the lace-like web of mallow would have a very beautiful effect over the fine purple of the downy blanket.

VI. Æschines in an oration against Timarchus, the object of which is to hold up to contempt the extravagancies of this Athenian spendthrift, in his enumeration of them, he mentions (p. 118, ed. Reiskii.) that Timarchus took to his house a “woman skilled in making cloths of Amorgos.”

[Pg 201] VII. Plato in the 13th Epistle, addressed to Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, which, if not genuine, is at least ancient, proposes to give to the three daughters of Cebes three long shifts, not the valuable shifts made of Amorgos, but the linen shifts of Sicily.

The mention of amorgine garments by the writers, who have now been cited, seems to prove, that the fashion of making and wearing them first came in among the Greeks at Athens in the time of Aristophanes, who lived, as the reader will have observed, in the fifth century before Christ. From them the fashion may have extended itself into Sicily and Italy, which will account, if Amorgina were the same with Molochina, for the striking agreement in this respect between the writers of Greek and of Latin Comedy. In subsequent ages the manufacture seems to have declined, probably in consequence of the abundance of silk and other rich and beautiful goods imported from Asia. But the mention of these stuffs in the writings of Isidore and Alcuin renders it probable, that they were brought again into use in the fifth and following centuries of the Christian era.

[Pg 202]

Pliny says, that “in the part of Hispania Citerior about New Carthage whole mountains were covered with Spartum; that the natives made mattresses, shoes, and coarse garments of it, also fires and torches; and that its tender tops were eaten by animals[206].” He also says, that it grows spontaneously where nothing else will grow, and that it is “the rush of a dry soil.”

The question now arises, what plant Pliny intended to describe. Clusius, who travelled in Spain chiefly with a view to botany, supposed Pliny’s “Spartum” to be the tough grass, used in every part of Spain for making mats, baskets, &c., which Linnæus afterwards called Stipa Tenacissima[207]. It is not surprising, that the opinion of so eminent a botanist as Clusius has been generally adopted. It is, however, far more probable, that the plant, which Pliny intended to speak of, was the Spartium Junceum, Linn., so familiarly known under the name of Spanish Broom.

In the first place, the name Spartum should be considered as decisive of the question, unless some sufficient reason can be [Pg 203] shown for ascribing to it in this passage a sense different from that which it commonly bore. Spartus or Spartum, is admitted to be used by all authors, Greek and Latin, and even by Pliny himself in another passage[208], to denote the Spanish Broom. We learn from Sibthorp, that the Spanish Broom is still called Sparto by the Greeks, and that it grows on dry sandy hills throughout the islands of the Archipelago and the continent of Greece. Sparto was indeed properly the Greek name of this shrub, the Latin name being Genista, and the use of the Greek name in Hispania Citerior may have been owing to the Grecian settlements on that coast, colonized from Marseilles.

Besides the passages of Latin authors referred to by Schneider and Billerbeck, and which it is unnecessary to repeat, the following from Isidore of Seville appears decisive respecting the acceptation of the term.

“Spartus frutex virgosus sine foliis, ab asperitate vocatus; volumina enim funium, quæ ex eo fiunt, aspera sunt.” Originum L. xvii. c. 9.

This is the definition of a learned and observant author, who lived in Spain, and who must have been familiar with the facts. “Frutex virgosus sine foliis” is a clear and striking description of the Spanish Broom, the leaves of which are so small as easily to escape observation[209]. The Stipa Tenacissima, on the other hand, is not a shrub with twigs, but a grass, which grows in tufts, the long leaves being as abundant and useful as the stems or straws. Clusius himself (l. c.) in laying down the distinction between the Spartum of the Greeks, which he supposed to be the Spanish Broom, and the Spartum of Pliny, which he supposed to be the Stipa Tenacissima, asserts that the former is a shrub (frutex), the latter a herb with grassy leaves (herba graminacea folia proferens). It is clear, therefore, that the inhabitants of Spain in the time of Isidore [Pg 204] still used the term Spartus in its original acceptation, viz. to denote the Spartium Junceum of Linnæus.

When the Stipa Tenacissima was brought into use for making ropes and for other purposes, for which the Spanish Broom was employed, the name of the latter would naturally be extended to the former, and we may thus account for the fact that the Stipa Tenacissima is now universally known in Spain by the name Esparto. Indeed it is possible, that the employment of the Stipa Tenacissima for these purposes may have been as ancient as the time of Pliny; and his use of the word “herba” in describing it, as well as the locality which he assigns to it, the hilly country about Carthage, favors the common interpretation, and perhaps even authorizes the conclusion, that his account is the result of confounding the two plants together, so that he says of one supposed plant things, which were partly true of both, and partly applicable either to the Spanish Broom, or to the Stipa Tenacissima only. But, even if this be admitted, it is still possible that the plant, from whose fibres the “pastorum vestis” was manufactured, was not the grassy Stipa, but the shrub, the Spanish Broom.

In order to establish this point we now proceed to mention the evidence respecting the application of it to such uses. It has been employed for making cloth in Turkey, in Italy, and the South of France, but in circumstances, which were either specially favorable to the manufacture, or where flax could not be cultivated. It is manufactured into shirts in Albania according to Dr. Sibthorp[210]. Nearly a century ago, Pope Benedict XIV. brought a colony of Albanians to inhabit a barren and desolate portion of his territory on the sea-coast. Here they obtained a very fine, strong, durable thread from the Broom and the Nettle, and used it, when woven, in place of linen[211]. Trombelli, who relates this fact, also gives an account of the manufacture of broom-bark in the vicinity of Lucca, where the hills, called Monte Cascia, are covered with this plant[212]. “Formerly,” he [Pg 205] says, “the people derived no other advantage from the shrub than to feed sheep and goats with it, and to heat their stoves and furnaces. But their ingenuity and industry have now made it far more profitable. They steep the twigs for some days in the thermal waters of Bagno a Acqua near Lucca. After this process the bark is easily stript off, and it is then combed and otherwise treated like flax. It becomes finer than hemp could be made; it is easily dyed of any color, and may be used for garments of any kind[213].” In the vicinity of Pisa we find that the twigs of the Spanish Broom were in like manner soaked in the thermal waters, and that a coarse cloth was manufactured from the bark[214].

But the manufacture has been carried to a far greater extent in the South of France. In the Journal de Physique, Tom. 30. 4to. An. 1787. p. 294., is a paper by Broussonet Sur la culture et les usages économiques du Genêt d’Espagne. A minute and highly curious account is here given of the mode of preparing the fibres, which is practised by the inhabitants of all the villages in the vicinity of Lodêve in Bas Languedoc. The shrub abounds on the barren hills of that region, and all that the people do to favor its growth is to sow the seed in the driest places, where scarce any other plant can vegetate. After being cut, the twigs are dried in the sun, then beaten, macerated in water, and treated in the same way as flax or hemp (See Zincke’s process, Chapter XI.). The coarser thread is used to make bags for holding the legumes, corn, &c.; the finer for making sheets, napkins, and shirts. The peasants in this district use no other kind of linen, not being acquainted with the culture either of flax or hemp. The ground is too dry and unproductive to suit these plants. The linen made [Pg 206] of the Spanish Broom is as supple as that made from hemp; it might be even as beautiful as real linen, if more pains were taken with it. It becomes whiter, the oftener it is washed. It is rarely sold, each family making it for its own use. The stalks, after the rind has been separated from them, are tied in small bundles, and sold for lighting fires.

Let us now see how far Pliny’s account of the Spartum agrees with these representations of the mode of manufacturing Broom-bark. The Spartum, of which he speaks, is “the rush of a dry soil,” a description far more applicable to the young twigs of the Spanish Broom than to the grassy stems of the Stipa Tenacissima, or indeed to any other plant. His Spartum was used for making fires and for giving light (hinc ignes facesque), purposes for which the Stipa Tenacissima is not at all adapted, but to both of which the stems and twigs of the Spanish Broom are applied. The tender tops of Pliny’s Spartum served as food for animals. According to Trombelli sheep and goats feed upon the Spanish Broom in Italy; but we cannot find that this is the case with the Stipa Tenacissima. Pliny’s Spartum, after being steeped in water, was beaten in order to be made useful (Hoc autem tunditur, ut fiat utile); and this process was quite necessary in preparing the twigs of Spanish Broom, whereas the Stipa Tenacissima is most commonly manufactured without going through any such process. Clusius indeed states (l. c.) that by macerating it in water like flax, and then drying and beating it, the Spaniards of Valencia make a kind of shoes, which they call Alpergates, also cords, and other finer articles; but, at the same time, he says, that it is made into mats, baskets, ropes, and cables, merely by being dried, platted, and twisted, without any other operation. The same account is given by Townsend, who visited the country as late as 1787, and who further states, that “the esparto rush” had latterly “been spun into fine thread for the purpose of making cloth[215].” It seems, however, that this had only been done as an experiment, whereas the accounts which have been quoted show, that the manufacture of cloth [Pg 207] from broom-bark had been long established in Albania, Italy, and the South of France. In the latter district more especially, the entire dependence of the people on this material as a substitute for flax and hemp, and the primitive mode in which this domestic manufacture was carried on in a retired and mountainous region, seem to indicate the high antiquity of the practice. All the other authors, who mention the use of the Stipa Tenacissima, certainly give little countenance to the idea of its fitness to supply a thread for making cloth. Mr. Carter, adopting the common opinion that the Spartum of Pliny is the Stipa Tenacissima, observes, that “at present the meanest Spaniard would think clothing made from this grass very rough and uncomfortable[216].” We shall only quote one other authority, that of Löfling, the favorite pupil of Linnæus, who became botanist to the King of Spain, and whose Iter Hispanicum (Stockholm, 1758.) relates particularly to the plants of that country. He follows Clusius in supposing the Spartum of Pliny to be the Stipa Tenacissima of Linnæus. He mentions, that its stem is two or three feet high, with leaves so long, thin, tough, and convoluted, that they are admirably adapted for the purposes to which they are applied. He adds, “Hispanis nominatur Esparto. Usus hujus frequentissimus per universam Hispaniam ad storeas ob pavimenta lateritia per hyemem: ad funes crassiores pro navibus ad que corbes et alia utensilia pro transportandis fructibus.” (p. 119.)

Pliny’s remark, that the Spartum, of which he speaks, could not be sown (quæ non queat seri), is not true of the Spanish Broom; but this is of little importance in the present inquiry, because it is coupled with the remark, that nothing else could be sown in the same situation (nec aliud ibi seri aut nasci potest); a remark, which is totally unfounded in fact. The Spanish Broom would unquestionably be propagated by its seed, which is very abundant.

From these facts, the reader will have no difficulty in forming his decision. Notwithstanding the respect due to the authority of Clusius, into which that of all the subsequent writers [Pg 208] seems to resolve itself, it appears to us that the evidence preponderates against the use of Stipa Tenacissima for making cloth in ancient times, and points to the conclusion, that the coarse garments, to which Pliny alludes, were fabricated from the fibrous rind of Spartium Junceum.

One of the most interesting facts in the geography of plants is the frequent substitution in one country, of a plant of a certain natural order for another of the same natural order in another country. The Indians have a plant, bearing a very close and striking resemblance to the Spartium Junceum, which they employ just as the natives of Bas Languedoc employ that plant. We refer to the Crotalaria Juncea, called by the natives Goni, Danapu, or Shanapu, and by us the Sun-plant, or Indian Hemp. From the bark are made all kinds of ropes, packing-cloths, sacks, nets, &c. In order to improve the fibre, the plants are sown as close as possible and thus draw up to the height of about ten feet. According to Dr. Francis Buchanan, the plant thrives best on a poor sandy soil, and requires to be abundantly watered. After being cut down it is spread out to the sun and dried. The seed is beaten out by striking the pods with a stick. After this the stems are tied up in large bundles, about twelve feet in circumference, and are preserved in stacks or under sheds. When wanted, the stems are macerated during six or eight days. They are known to be ready, when the bark separates easily from the pith. “The plant is then taken out of the water, and a man, taking it up by handfuls, beats them on the ground, and occasionally washes them until they be clean; and at the same time picks out with his hand the remainder of the pith, until nothing except the bark be left. This is then dried, and being taken up by handfuls, is beaten with a stick to separate and clean the fibres. The hemp is then completely ready, and is spun into thread on a spindle, both by the men and women. The men alone weave it, and perform this labor in the open air with a very rude loom.” The fabric made from it is a coarse, but very strong sack-cloth.

“The fibres, when prepared,” says Ironside, “are so similar [Pg 209] to hemp, that Europeans generally suppose them to be the produce of the same plant[217].”

Theophrastus[218] (Hist. Pl. viii. 13.) gives the following account of a bulbous plant, called by him Βολβὸς ἐριοφόρος, the root of which supplied materials for weaving:—“It grows in bays, and has the wool under the first coats of the bulb so as to be between the inner eatable part and the outer. Socks and other garments are woven from it. Hence this kind is woolly, and not hairy, like that in India.”

It is difficult to determine what plant is meant, though the description seems accurate and scientific. Billerbeck absurdly supposes it to be cotton-grass[219]. By former botanists, men of great eminence, it was supposed to be Scilla Hyacinthoides. Sprengel objects, that this species does not grow in Greece[220]. Sir James Smith however (article Scilla in Rees’s Cyclop.) represents it as growing in Madeira, Portugal, and the Levant. If this account be true, Theophrastus may have been acquainted with it. In another article, Eriophorus, Sir J. Smith doubts whether either Scilla Hyacinthoides or any other bulb produces wool of such quality and in such quantity as to answer the description of Theophrastus. But, we learn from other well-informed [Pg 210] botanists, that various bulbs have under the outermost coats a copious tissue of tough fibres, fully sufficient to be employed in weaving. This is particularly the case with the genera Amaryllis, Crinum, and Pancratium, as well as Scilla. The fibrous coats serve as a protection to the interior and more vital parts of the bulb.

Hoffmansegg and Link, who travelled in Portugal, in the description of Scilla Hyacinthoides, say, “Bulbus tomento viscoso tectus[221].”

Sonnini says of the Scilla Maritima, “The Greeks of the Archipelago call it Kourvara-skilla, kourvara signifying properly a ‘tuft of thread’ (peloton de fil[222]).” Does this refer to the fibres mentioned by Theophrastus? The size of this bulb, which is the common squill, used in pharmacy, seems to favor this supposition. It is often as large as a man’s head[223]. Hoffmansegg and Link[224] say it grows abundantly on barren hills in Spain and Portugal; but add, “The name maritima is not quite proper: for the plant is seldom met with near the sea-shore, and sometimes very remote from it.” On the other hand, it must have been so called, because it was reported by others to grow on the sea-shore; and Sir James Smith (in Rees’s Cyclopedia) expressly states, that it grows on “sandy shores.” Redouté says the same.

From the account of Pancratium by Sir James Edward Smith (in Rees’s Cyclop.), we learn that two species grow in Greece, viz. P. Maritimum and Illyricum.

The remarks now offered appear to prove, that there certainly may have been a bulb, such as Theophrastus describes, though we have not sufficient information to decide its genus and species. It may have been the Scilla Maritima.

It is to be observed, that he refers also to an Indian bulb, having similar properties. Perhaps he alluded to some plant of [Pg 211] a kind similar to Agave Vivipara, the leaves of which are extensively used in India for making cordage[225].

We cannot better conclude this part of the subject, than by giving the following interesting communication of Dr. Daniel Stebbins, of Northampton, Mass., to the Hon. H. L. Ellsworth, a gentleman who has, in our opinion, rendered most valuable services, not only to the people of the United States, but to the world at large, since his appointment to the office of Commissioner of Patents.

[Pg 216] The amount of silk imported into the United States annually, nearly equals that of linen and woollen together, and is equal to one half of all other fabrics combined. Is it not then, an important consideration, that this expenditure be saved to the nation?

[Pg 217]

THE SHEPHERD BOY.

The inquiry into the origin and propagation of sheep, no less than of the silk-worm, may be justly regarded as a subject of the deepest interest. For the management and use of these [Pg 219] animals has, from the earliest dawn of human history, formed a striking feature in the condition of man. Of the materials employed by the ancients for making cloth, by far the most important was the wool of sheep. We are able to trace with great probability the process of sheep-breeding and of the use of wool for weaving. Among the bones of quadrupeds, found in ancient caves throughout Europe, we cannot find on consulting the works of Cuvier, Buckland, and De la Beche, that remains of sheep have ever been discovered. This fact affords some reason for presuming, that the sheep is not a native of Europe, but has been introduced there by man.

It appears to have been a general opinion among Zoologists, that the Argali, or Ovis Ammon of Linnæus, which inhabits in vast numbers the elevated regions of Central Asia, is the primitive stock of the whole race of domesticated sheep. Agreeably to this supposition we find, that from the earliest times the inhabitants of Tartary, Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, and the North of Arabia, have been addicted to pastoral employments. The tribes of wandering shepherds, which frequent those countries, are descended from progenitors, who led the same life thousands of years ago, and whose manners and habits are preserved to the present day with scarcely the slightest change.

As might be expected, we have little precise information respecting the Scythians, who inhabited the elevated plains of inner Asia. Some of their hordes are distinguished by Herodotus, Strabo, and others, under the name of Nomadic or pastoral Scythians; and that this denomination was understood to imply, that they tended sheep as well as larger cattle may be inferred from what Herodotus says of their use of felt (See Appendix B.). Strabo, moreover, says of a particular tribe of the Massagetæ, that they had “few sheep,” which implies that the rest were rich in flocks; and of another tribe he says, “They do not till the ground, but derive their sustenance from sheep and fish, after the manner of the Nomadic Scythians[227].” But a much more distinct account of the manners of this people [Pg 220] is given us by Justin, who says, that they were accustomed to wander through uncultivated solitudes, always employed in tending herds and flocks (armenta et pecora). He, however, adds, that they were strangers to the use of woollen garments, being clothed in skins and furs[228]. Hence it appears, that they were too rude and ignorant to have acquired the arts of spinning and weaving.

If we may trust to the authority of Strabo, the Medes did not tend sheep; for he says of them, “They eat the flesh of wild animals; they do not bring up tame cattle[229].” Nevertheless, their southern neighbors, the Persians, with whom they were united under one government, had sheep in abundance. These animals are strikingly represented in the bas-reliefs of Persepolis. In one of them, which represents a long procession sculptured on the wall of a splendid staircase, two rams, attended by keepers, are accompanied in the same train by horses, asses, camels, and oxen[230]. Herodotus, in his account of the manners and institutions of the Persians (L. i. cap. 133.), mentions all these animals together in the following passage: “Of all days they are accustomed to observe most that on which each individual was born. On this day they set before their guests a more abundant feast than on any other. The wealthy provide an ox, a horse, a camel, and an ass, roasted whole in furnaces; and the poor provide the smaller cattle.” By “the smaller cattle,” this author always means sheep and goats.

The superior excellence of the rich plains of Mesopotamia for the pasture of sheep as well as oxen, is attested by Dionysius Periegetes[231], and his account illustrates in an interesting manner the history of Jacob as contained in the book of Genesis, [Pg 221] the rapid multiplication of the flocks and herds showing how well the soil and climate were adapted to this pursuit, and how well the business of tending them was there understood from the earliest times. Seldom do we find in any ancient author so beautiful a picture as is presented to us, when Jacob arrives at Padan-aram, and sees the flocks of sheep and goats assembling from the neighboring pastures in the evening to be watered at the well. Rachel appears conducting the flock of her father Laban, which she tended, and Jacob rolls from the mouth of the well the stone, which was placed to preserve the water cool and fresh, and assists his relative and future bride in watering her sheep. (Gen. xxix. 1-10.) Also on Jacob’s departure his remonstrance with Laban presents to us an animated representation of the duties and difficulties of the shepherd’s life; “These twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she-goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it: of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.” (Gen. xxxi. 38-40.)

From Ezekiel we learn, that Damascus supplied the Tyrians with wool[232], and Jerome, who well knew the country, says in his comment on the passage, that this article was still produced there in his time (A. D. 378.)[233]. Aristotle, referring to the [Pg 222] sheep of Syria, mentions a variety with tails, which were a cubit broad[234]; and Pliny in addition to this circumstance asserts generally the abundance of the Syrian wool[235]. Probably the part of Syria appropriated more especially to the breeding of sheep, was the eastern part, which bordered on Arabia, and was distinguished by the same natural features.

In no part of the ancient world does sheep-breeding appear to have been more cultivated than in that which we are now approaching. Here were the Moabites, among whom it was a royal occupation, and, as it appears, the chief source of the revenues of the sovereign: for it is said in 2 Kings iii. 4. “Mesha, king of Moab, was a sheep-master, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs and an hundred thousand rams with the wool.” Here on occasion of a war, which the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, whose territory was to the east of Jordan, carried on against the Hagarites, they obtained as part of their booty 250,000 sheep. (I. Chron. v. 21.) Here was Idumæa, in a part of which Job is represented to have dwelt, being possessed of 7,000, and afterwards of 14,000 sheep (Job i. 3. xlii. 12.): and we have a beautiful allusion to the pastoral habits of the same country in the language of consolation employed by the prophet Micah (ii. 12.): “I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bosrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.” Here also were the Midianites, whose flocks were so vast, that the sheep taken from them by Moses after his victory amounted to 675,000. (Num. xxxi. 32.) Jethro, the priest of Midian, was himself the owner of a numerous flock, tended by his seven daughters, whom Moses assisted in watering them, when the neighboring shepherds rudely attempted to drive them from the well. He afterwards married one of them, and was employed by the father as his shepherd; and, having occasion according to the practice of [Pg 223] the country to conduct the flock from the plains to pasture upon the mountains of Horeb, he was thence called to undertake his extraordinary mission for the deliverance of his nation. (Exod. ii. 15-iii. 1.)

The Arabs appear from the earliest times to the present day to have bestowed no less attention upon sheep than upon horses. Isaiah also records the excellence of the sheep of Arabia in the following terms addressed by the Almighty to his people (Ch. lx. 7.): “All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.” The habits of the Nebatæi, or Arabs of Nebaioth, are depicted as follows by Diodorus Siculus: “They live in the open air, and call a land their country, which is destitute of habitations, and has neither rivers nor copious fountains, such as could satisfy an army of invaders. Their law forbids them on pain of death either to sow corn, to plant fruit-trees, to use wine, or to build houses. They submit to this law, because they think, that those who enjoy such conveniences may for the sake of them be readily compelled by the powerful to do what they command. Some of them rear camels, and others sheep, which they pasture in the wilderness[236].”

Various ancient authors mention that extraordinary variety of sheep among the Arabs, the tail of which grew to so great a size as to require to be supported on a wooden carriage, which was dragged after the wearer[237].

We have no reason to believe, that the Phœnicians employed themselves in the breeding and pasture of sheep. The narrow strip of territory, which they occupied at the eastern extremity of the Mediterranean Sea, was in general too densely peopled to be adapted for this purpose. Their activity, intelligence, [Pg 224] and enterprize were directed into other channels, and they supplied themselves from foreign countries with wool for their celebrated manufactures.

On the other hand, the Hebrews, who were the immediate neighbors of the Phœnicians, were altogether an agricultural and pastoral people. The history of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, presents to us beautiful images of the kind of life, which still continues with little variation among the Bedouins, or wandering Nomads of Arabia. Not only was David a shepherd boy; but, when he had ascended the throne, he had numerous herds and flocks superintended by distinct officers. “And over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite: and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai. Over the camels also was Obil the Ishmaelite: and over the asses was Jehdeiah the Meronothite: and over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagarite. All these were the rulers of the substance which was king David’s.” (I. Chron. xxvii. 29-31.) The reader cannot fail to call to mind David’s frequent allusions in the Psalms to those employments, which were no less familiar to his own mind than to the rest of his countrymen, and which supplied to them the most touching comparisons for the expression of their deepest religious convictions. The passage “The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod (or crook) and thy staff, they comfort me” (Psalm xxiii. 1, 2, 4.). “He shall feed (i. e. tend) his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young” (Is. xl. ii.). “The pastures are clothed with flocks,” an expression denoting the vast multitudes of sheep, which overspread the mountains and plains (Ps. lxv. 13.). “Be thou diligent,” says Solomon, “to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of thy field; and thou shalt have goat’s milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance of thy maidens” (Prov. [Pg 225] xxvii. 23. 26, 27.). We would particularly refer the reader to the thirty-fourth chapter of Ezekiel, where the prophet, reprimanding the rulers of Israel under the character of shepherds, makes some allusion to every circumstance connected with the care of sheep and goats. Language very similar is employed by our Saviour in John x. where he speaks of himself as “the good shepherd.” The whole system and history of the sacrifices both before and after the giving of the Mosaic law, might be produced to prove the pastoral habits of this people from the earliest times. The districts of Bashan and Carmel, seem to have attained the highest reputation in respect to the breeding of sheep. Bashan, which lay to the east of the Jordan in the country adjoining that of the Hagarites and Moabites, already mentioned, and Carmel, the mountainous range near the Dead Sea in the south of Judea. In the latter district Nabal kept his flocks, and as he is said to have been “very great,” and we are at the same time informed that “he had 3000 sheep and 1000 goats” (I. Sam. xxv. 2.), these numbers afford us a precise idea of the wealth of a considerable proprietor in this respect. That the “rams of the breed of Bashan,” were particularly celebrated, we learn from Deut. xxxii. 14; and Ezekiel mentions with distinction (ch. xxxix. 18.) a sacrifice “of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.”

It is impossible to conceive a more striking difference in manners and institutions, than that which must have presented itself to the traveller in very ancient times, when on crossing the Isthmus of Suez he passed from the deserts of Arabia and Idumæa to the richly cultivated and populous plains of Egypt. According to the statement already quoted from an ancient historian the wandering tribes of Nabaioth were forbidden by a positive law to till the ground or to construct settled habitations, and they lived on the produce of their flocks, which they continually led from place to place in pursuit of pasture adapted to the season of the year. The Egyptians, on the contrary, appear to have been originally under a prohibition of exactly the opposite kind, since they cultivated the ground with care, excelled most other nations in all the arts of life, and produced the most splendid [Pg 226] proofs of their architectural skill, but were not allowed to keep flocks of sheep and goats. That this was the case at the time, when Jacob took his family to sojourn in Egypt, is evident from their application to Pharaoh on arriving in the land of Goshen, which was on the eastern border of Egypt adjoining Palestine and Arabia, to be permitted to remain there on the ground, that from their youth they had been accustomed to tend flocks, whereas “every shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians[238].”

It appears that the Nabatæan law was far more effectual towards the attainment of its object than the Egyptian. For, whereas the pastoral tribes of Arabia have retained their independence and their national peculiarities even to the present day; the Egyptians, on the other hand, became a prey to foreign invasion, and among other changes in their customs we have to notice the introduction of the management of sheep. Even as early as the time of Moses the practice had commenced; for in the account of the effects of the murrain in Exodus ix. 3, we find mention of sheep, and indeed it is remarkable, that the domestic animals there enumerated, viz. horses, asses, camels, oxen, and sheep, are exactly the same, which, as we have before shown, were bred by the ancient Persians[239]. Later historians afford distinct testimony to the same fact. Thus Diodorus Siculus says, that “upon the subsidence of the waters after the inundation of the Nile the flocks were admitted to pasture, and the produce of the soil was so abundant, that the sheep were not only shorn twice, but also brought forth young twice in the year.” Herodotus also plainly supposes, that sheep and goats were bred in Egypt, when he contrasts the inhabitants of the Theban Nome, who worshipped Ammon, with the inhabitants of the Mendesian Nome, who worshipped Mendes. The former, he says, “all abstain from sheep, and sacrifice goats;” the latter “abstain from goats, which they hold in veneration, and sacrifice sheep.” He, however, mentions [Pg 227] that the Thebans slew a ram once a year on occasion of a particular ceremony, which he describes (ii. 42. 46.). The testimony of Strabo and Plutarch, though differing in some particulars from that of Herodotus, is to the same general effect. Aristotle (l. c.) mentions, that the sheep of Egypt were larger than those of Greece.

But, although these passages show, that sheep were bred in Egypt, we think it evident that their number was very limited. Egyptian wool cannot have been of the least importance as an article of commerce. What was produced must also have been consumed in the country. For, although the chief material for the clothing of the Egyptians was linen, and they were forbidden to be buried in woollen or to use it in the temples, yet Herodotus (ii. 81.) states, that on ordinary occasions they wore a garment of white wool over their linen shirt. They also used wool for embroidering. According to Pliny[240] the Egyptian wool was coarse and of a short staple. Tertullian records a saying of the Egyptians, that Mercury invented the spinning of wool in their country[241].

Strabo in an instructive manner contrasts the Ethiopians with the Egyptians. Having observed, that the boundary between the two nations was the smaller cataract above Syene and Elephantine, he says, that the Ethiopians led for the most part a pastoral life without resources, both on account of their intemperate climate and the poverty of their soil, and also because they were remote from the civilized world; whereas the Egyptians had always lived in a refined manner and under a regular government, settled in fixed habitations, and cultivating philosophy, agriculture, and the arts[242]. Thus do we find the nomad life recurring immediately to the south of Egypt. Strabo further states, that the Ethiopian sheep were small, and instead of being woolly were hairy like goats, on which account the people wore skins instead of woollen cloth[243]. That these [Pg 228] sheep were held in some estimation by the Egyptians is, however, manifest from the fact, that in the splendid procession exhibited at Alexandria by Ptolemy Philadelphus, there were 130 sheep from Ethiopia, 300 from Arabia, and 20 from Eubœa [244]. Also, that the pastoral habits of the Ethiopians were known to the Romans may be inferred from the allusion, which Virgil makes to them in his Tenth Eclogue (l. 64-68.):

We find, that the people of Libya had attained to some distinction in the management of flocks. What Diodorus says of the Egyptian sheep is asserted by Aristotle of those of Libya, viz. that they produced young twice in the year[245]. That sheep-breeding had extended hither in very early times appears from a passage in the Odyssey, which, however, in consequence of the remoteness of the situation and the imperfect knowledge of geography in the time of the writer, is mixed with fable, inasmuch as it represents, that the ewes brought forth not only twice, but even three times in the year, and that the lambs were immediately provided with horns[246].

Pindar (Pyth. ix. 11.) distinguishes Libya by the epithet πολύμηλος, “abounding in flocks.” To the same district of Africa, [Pg 229] Virgil alludes in the following passage of the Georgics, which is surpassed by few as a happy example of the art of the poet in describing the various modes of pastoral life.

It is to be observed, that, although the Libyan shepherd according to Virgil’s description led a migratory life, conducting his sheep from place to place in search of pasture, yet the scale, upon which he carried on his operations, was widely different from that which has always characterized the nomadic tribes of Asia. The poet represents the Libyan shepherd as a solitary wanderer, bearing with him all his arms and implements, just as a Roman soldier (l. 346.) carried his military accoutrements. On the other hand, as we have seen, the Syrian or Arabian shepherd goes in a kind of state, with camels and horses to carry his wife and children, his tents, and the rest of his equipage; and he is followed by thousands, instead of hundreds or perhaps scores, of sheep and goats.

Let us now pursue the progress of this employment in another direction, viz. towards the north-west, and across the Euxine Sea and the straits connected with it into Europe.

Near the eastern extremity of the Euxine Sea we meet with a very remarkable instance of the attention paid to the produce and manufacture of wool in a tribe called the Coraxi. Strabo alludes to the value of their fleeces in a passage which we shall produce in speaking of the wool of Spain, to which it more directly refers. At present we shall only consider the following evidence preserved by Joannes Tzetzes.

[Pg 230]

Hipponax, who is here cited by Tzetzes, was a satirical poet of Ephesus, and flourished about 540 B. C. In confirmation of his testimony it may be proved, that his countrymen and contemporaries had constant intercourse with a port in the vicinity of the Coraxi. We learn from Pliny (l. vi. cap. 5.)[249], that the Coraxi were situated near Dioscurias, which, though deserted in his time, had been formerly so illustrious that 300 nations, speaking different languages, resorted to it. As we learn from other authorities, Dioscurias was a colony of Miletus and one of its chief settlements. Miletus also in the time of Hipponax had risen to the summit of its prosperity, and was the greatest commercial city in the world next to Tyre and Carthage[250]. Its chief trade was towards the north and as far as the extremity of the Euxine Sea. Among the numerous Asiatic tribes, which were accustomed to bring their productions to Dioscurias and exchange them for Grecian merchandise, the Coraxi were, as we may conclude from the evidence now produced, a nation of superior enterprize and intelligence, who sent to the shores of the Ægean in the vessels of Miletus their fine wool, as well as the carpets and shawls, which they made from it.

If we had no more exact information than that which has been already cited, we might infer, that the Coraxi occupied part of the modern Circassia, a mountainous region admirably adapted to the breeding of sheep. The Circassians of the present day have numerous herds of cattle and vast flocks of sheep and goats. Their vallies are distinguished by beauty and fertility. A late traveller says, that from whatever country you [Pg 231] enter Circassia, “you are at once agreeably impressed with the decided improvement in the appearance of the population, the agriculture, and the beauty of their flocks and herds[251].” With respect to Dioscurias, we are informed, that “the memory of its ancient name is still preserved in the present appellation of Iskouriah[252].” Sir John Chardin, who visited it and calls it Isgaour, commends its safety in summer as a road for ships, but says that it is a complete desert, where he could obtain no provisions, the traders who anchor there being obliged to construct temporary huts and booths of the boughs of trees for their accommodation, whilst awaiting the arrival of the natives of Mingrelia and Caucasus[253].

But, besides the general inference that the Coraxi occupied part of the modern Circassia, we are able to determine their abode with still greater precision, and even obtain some insight into their distinctive characters as a nation.

At the south-eastern extremity of Chirkess, or Circassia, on the northern declivity of Mount Elborus, and about the sources of the Kuban, the ancient Hypanis, we find a mountain clan, consisting of rather more than 250 families, which appears to retain not only the manners and habits, but even the very name of the Coraxi. Julius von Klaproth, to whom we are principally indebted for our knowledge of them, calls them the Caratshai[254]. From him we learn the following particulars respecting their appearance, manners, and employments. They [Pg 232] are among the most beautiful of the inhabitants of Caucasus, and more like the Georgians than the wandering Tartars of the Steppe. They are well formed, and have fine features, which are set off by large black eyes and a white skin. Their language resembles that of the Nogay-Tartars. They live in very neat houses, built of pine. Their children are strictly and well educated; and in general it may be said of them, that they are the most cultivated nation in Caucasus, surpassing all their neighbors in refinement of manners. They are very industrious, and subsist chiefly by agriculture. Their soil is productive, and, besides various kinds of grain, yields abundance of grass for pasture. The country around them is covered with woods, which abound with wild animals, such as bears, wolves, wild goats, hares, and wild cats, whose skins are much prized, and martins. Their dress is chiefly made of woollen cloth, which they weave themselves from the produce of their flocks, and which is admired throughout the whole of Caucasus. They sell their cloth, called by them Shal[255], their felt for carpeting, and their furs, partly to the Nogay-Tartars and Circassians, from whom they purchase articles of metal, and partly at Souchom-Kalé, a Turkish fort on the Black Sea, which contains shops and ware-houses, and carries on a considerable trade with the Western Caucasus. They receive here in return goods of cotton and silk, tobacco and tobacco-pipes, needles, thimbles, and otter-skins. While the men are employed out of doors, the women stay at home, make gold and silver thread, and sew the clothes of their fathers and brothers.

Such is the account given by a recent and most competent witness of the actual condition of this interesting nation, who, though now perhaps reduced in number, occupy probably after the lapse of 2500 years their original seat at the distance of from forty to eighty miles to the north-east of the same coast, to which they have always resorted for commercial purposes[256].

[Pg 233] We cannot survey the now deserted Iscuria without observing, what a mournful contrast the Euxine presents under the sway of both Russia and Turkey to the useful energy, which more than 2000 years ago promoted life and the arts of life, and brought into close and peaceful contact the most refined and the most uncultivated nations, under the direction of the Ionians of Miletus. The beauty, the bravery, the activity, and the independence of a highland clan still represent the skill and enterprize of the ancient Coraxi; but the commerce, which rewarded their industry, and extended their reputation through the civilized world, has sunk into insignificance.

Besides the above notices of the Coraxi in Strabo and Tzetzes we find little said concerning the breeding of sheep in this part of Asia. Aristotle, however, mentions the sheep of “Pontus near Scythia,” and says that they were without horns[257]. The Melanchlæni also, who are mentioned by Herodotus in his account of the Scythian tribes, and who lived to the north of the Coraxi, were so called, because they wore black palls.

There can be no doubt, that the use and management of sheep were known from the earliest times throughout nearly the whole of Asia Minor, and that some nations in this region had attained to a superiority in the art before the settlement in it of the Grecian colonists.

The imagery of the Homeric poems (supposed to be written about 900 B. C.) affords abundant evidence of these facts. They continually mention shepherds, who had the care of sheep, as well as goat-herds, who managed goats. They speak of the folds, in which the flocks were secured at night to preserve them from the attacks of wild beasts. The dangers to which the flocks were exposed from both wolves and lions, are in accordance with similar expressions and incidents in the Scriptures of the Old Testament, arising from the existence of the same ravenous and destructive quadrupeds in Palestine. Also, the language both of the Scriptures and of the Homeric poems is precisely the same, in which the king, ruling his people is compared to the shepherd tending his flock, or to the [Pg 234] strong and large ram, which leads the sheep[258]. It is to be observed, that the geographical knowledge expressed in the Homeric poems extended as far as the promontory of Carambis on the south coast of the Euxine Sea, and included all Phrygia, Ionia, and the western half of Asia Minor.

The Greek mythology affords similar evidence. The well-known story of Paris, adjudging the golden apple, is founded on the pastoral scenes of Ida. Marsyas also was a shepherd on mount Ida[259]: the river Marsyas, famed for his contest with Apollo, was among the Phrygian mountains[260].

The historical evidence to which we now proceed, though referring to times much posterior to the mythological, is more exact as well as more entitled to absolute credit.

According to Strabo the branches of Mount Taurus in Pisidia were rich in pastures “for all kinds of cattle[261].” The chief town of this region was Selge, a very flourishing city, and hence Tertullian, in a passage, mentions “oves Selgicæ,” Selgic sheep, among those of the greatest celebrity. The superior whiteness of the fleeces of Pamphylia is mentioned by Philostratus.

We have reason to believe, that the Lydians and Carians bestowed the greatest attention on sheep-breeding and on the woollen manufacture before the arrival of the Greek colonists among them. The new settlers adopted the employments of the ancient inhabitants, and made those employments subservient to a very extensive and lucrative trade. Pliny (viii. 73. [Pg 235] ed. Bip.) mentions the wool of Laodicea (See Appendix A.) in Caria; and Strabo (xii. c. 7. p. 578. Casaub.) observes, that the country about this city and Colossæ, which was not far from it, produced sheep highly valued on account of the fineness and the color of their fleeces.

Aristophanes mentions a pall, made of “Phrygian fleeces[262]:” and Varro asserts, that in his time there were many flocks of wild sheep in Phrygia[263].

The passages above quoted from Strabo and Joannes Tzetzes allude to the very great celebrity of the wool of Miletus and of the articles woven from it.

The passages, which will now be produced from both Greek and Latin authors of various ages, conspire to prove the distinguished excellence of the wool of Miletus, although in many of them the epithet Milesian may be employed only in a proverbial acceptation to denote wool of the finest quality. The animals, which yielded this wool, must have been bred in the interior of Ionia not far from Miletus.

Ctesias describes the softness of camels’-hair by comparing it to Milesian fleeces[264]. A woman in Aristophanes (Lysist. 732.) says, she must go home to spread her Milesian fleeces on the couch, because the worms were gnawing them. In a fragment of a Greek comedy, called Procris, of a somewhat later age (ap. Athen. l. xii. p. 553), a favorite lap-dog is described, lying on Milesian fleeces:

The Sybarites wore shawls of Milesian wool[265]. Palæphatus explains the fable of the Hesperides by saying, that their father Hesperus was a Milesian, and that they had beautiful sheep, such as those which were still kept at Miletus[266]. Eustathius says, the “Milesian carpets[267]” had become proverbial. Virgil [Pg 236] represents the nymphs of Cyrene spinning Milesian fleeces, dyed of a deep sea-green color:

He also alludes to the high price of Milesian fleeces in the following passage:

The comment of Servius on the latter passage is as follows:

The ancient Greek version of Ezekiel (xxvii. 18.) enumerates Milesian fleeces among the articles of Tyrian importation.

Columella (vii. 2.) and Pliny (viii. 48.) assert the celebrity of the flocks of Miletus in former times, although in their time they were surpassed by the sheep of some other countries.

We may now notice Samos, as being near the Ionic coast. Athenæus (xii. p. 540. D.) cites two ancient authors who assert that, when Polycrates was introducing into Samos the most excellent of the different breeds of animals, he chose the dogs of Laconia and Molossis, the goats of Scyros and Naxos, and the sheep of Miletus and Attica.

Respecting the breeding of sheep in Samos it may be proper to quote the remark of Ælian (Hist. Anim. xii. 40.), that the [Pg 237] Samians gave some religious honor to this animal, because a consecrated utensil of gold, which had been stolen from one of their temples, was discovered by a sheep.

It appears probable, that the shepherd life was established in Thrace as early as in any part of Europe; for in the Homeric poems it is called “the mother of flocks” (Il. v. 222.). In a much later age the sheep of Thrace are mentioned by Nicander (Nicand. Ther. 50.). We learn from Plato (De Legibus, l. vii. p. 36. ed. Bekker) that in Thrace the flocks were entrusted to the care of the women, who were there compelled like slaves to work out of doors.

Aristotle speaks of the sheep of Magnesia, and says that they brought forth young twice a year[268].

A little further south we find sheep from the earliest times in Thessaly near the river Amphrysus. Here was Iton, which Homer also calls “the mother of flocks[269].” It was celebrated for a temple of Minerva, who was called from it Itonis, or Itonia[270], and whose worship was transferred from hence to Bœotia.

That Eubœa was famous for sheep we know from the testimony of two different authors cited by Athenæus. That of Callixenus Rhodius has been already produced; and that of Hermippus occurs in his metrical enumeration of the most excellent and characteristic productions of different countries[271].

Bœotia appears from very early times to have been rich in flocks. The tragic history of Œdipus supposes, that his father Laius, the king of Thebes, had flocks on Mount Cithæron. According to Sophocles (Œd. Tyr. 1026-1140.) Œdipus was delivered to one of the royal shepherds to be there exposed, and this shepherd through pity committed him to another, and thus saved his life[272]. Seneca in his free version of Sophocles (Œd. Act. iv. v. 815-850.) has added a circumstance, as it appears, from the [Pg 238] practice established in other cases. He says, that the shepherd of Laius, whom he calls Phorbas, had many others under him. But, although it may be doubted whether the flocks of Laius were so numerous as to require a head shepherd placed over many others, we learn that his possessions of this description excited contest and warfare among his descendants. Their countryman, Hesiod, represents them fighting at the gates of Thebes “for the flocks of Œdipus” (Op. et Dies, 163.), an expression, which must at least be understood to imply, that sheep constituted a principal part of the king’s wealth.

Among the Elgin marbles in the British Museum we have an interesting inscription relating to a contract made between the city of Orchomenos in Bœotia and Eubulus of Elatea in Phocis, according to which Eubulus was to have for four years the right of pasturage for 4 cows, 200 mares, 20 sheep, and 1000 goats. In the opinion of Professors Böckh[273] and Ottfried Müller[274] this inscription may be referred to the time of the Peloponnesian war. The supposed effect of the waters of the Melas and Cephisos on the fleeces of sheep is a testimony of a much later date, but proves that sheep, both black and white, were bred in that country[275]. Varro (De Re Rust. ii. 2.) mentions the practice of covering sheep with skins in order to improve and preserve their fleeces. The Attic sheep, thus clothed with skins, are mentioned by Demosthenes under the name of “soft sheep[276].” The hilly part of Attica was of course particularly adapted for sheep as well as goats; and accordingly a letter of Alciphron (iii. 41.) describes flocks of them at Decelia near Mount Parnes about fifteen miles to the north of Athens. The fame of the Attic wool is also alluded to by Plutarch (De audiendo, [Pg 239] p. 73. ed. Steph.), and by the Roman poet Laberius, who died in the year 43 B. C.

We learn from Theocritus, that the shepherds of Acharnæ, one of the Attic demi, excelled in playing on the pipe[278].

In the adjoining country of Megaris was a temple of great antiquity in honor of Δήμητηρ Μαλοφόρος. It was said, that Ceres was worshipped under that title, The bringer of flocks, by those who first kept sheep in the country[279]. Theognis (v. 55.) mentions, that the people of Megaris used before his time to wear goat-skins, which shows the late introduction of the growth and manufacture of wool. Here, as in Attica, it was usual to protect the sheep with skins; and, as the boys were sometimes seen naked after the Doric fashion, Diogenes, the cynic, said in reference to these practices, he would rather be the ram of a Megarensian than his son[280].

In the Peloponnesus, Arcadia was always remarkable for the attention paid to sheep.

Arcadia claims our especial consideration, because in it the shepherd life assumed that peculiar form, which has been the subject of so much admiration both in ancient and modern times. Here the lively genius and imaginative disposition common to the Greek nation were directed to the daily contemplation of the most beautiful and romantic varieties of mountain and woodland scenery, and hence their employments, their pleasures, and their religion, all acquired a rustic character, highly picturesque and tasteful, and, as it appears to us, generally favorable to the development of the domestic and social virtues. To attempt a full investigation of this subject, and to show in what degree the want of higher attainments in religious knowledge and moral cultivation was supplied by the peculiar rites, ideas, and customs of Arcadia, would lead us too far from our proper subject. We only wish to bring forward [Pg 240] the principal facts and authorities, and to give a succint account of the genuine Arcadian system of religion and manners without attempting to refute at length the opposite views, which have been adopted by ancient and modern writers.

The peculiar Divinity of Arcadia, whose worship had a constant and manifest reference to the principal employments of the inhabitants, was Pan. Hence he is called by Virgil and Propertius “the God of Arcadia[281].” According to Herodotus (ii. 145.), Pan, the son of Mercury (who was born at Cyllene in Arcadia, where Mercury was previously worshipped,) first saw the light after the Trojan war, and about 800 years before his own time. Thus we are able to refer the supposed birth of Pan, and consequently the commencement of his worship to about the year 1260 B. C.[282].

The circumstances of the birth of this divinity, with his habits and employments, are described as follows in the most ancient document which we have relating to him, viz. Homer’s Hymn to Pan. Mercury tended rough flocks at Cyllene in the service of a mortal man, being enamored of a beautiful nymph. In the course of time she bore him a son, having the feet of a goat, two horns upon his forehead, a long shaggy beard, and a bewitching smile. This was Pan, who became the god of the shepherds, and the companion of the mountain nymphs, penetrating through the densest thickets, and inhabiting the most wild, rough, and lofty summits of the sylvan Arcadia. There it is his business to destroy the wild beasts; and when, having returned from hunting, he drives his sheep into a cave, he plays upon his reeds a tune sweet as the song of any bird in spring. The nymphs, delighting in melody, listen to him when they go to the dark fountain, and the god sometimes appears among them, wearing on his back the hide of a lynx, which he has lately killed, and he joins with them in the choral song and dance upon a meadow variegated with the crocus and the hyacinth. He is beloved by Bacchus, [Pg 241] and is the delight of his father Mercury, and he celebrates their worship beyond that of all the other gods.

Callimachus (Hymn. in Dianam, 88.) represents Pan at his fold in Arcadia, feeding his dogs with the flesh of a lynx, which he has caught on Mænalus. It is to be observed, that the care of dogs to guard the flock was an indispensable part of the pastoral office. Philostratus, in his Second Book of Pictures[283], supposes the nymphs to have been reproving Pan for his want of grace in dancing, telling him that he leapt too high and like a goat, and offering to teach him a more gentle method. He pays no attention to them, but tries to catch hold of them. Upon this they surprise him sleeping at noon after the toils of the chase; and he is represented in the picture with his arms tied behind him, and enraged and struggling against them, while they are cutting off his beard and trying to transform his legs and to humanize him.

In the Bucolics and Georgics of Virgil we find frequent invocations to Pan as the god of shepherds, the guardian of flocks, and the inventor of the syrinx, or Pandean pipes.

Besides the four places in Arcadia, which are referred to in the above-cited passages of Virgil, Pausanias informs us of several others, in which he saw temples and altars erected to Pan. He says[284], that Mount Mænalus was especially sacred to this deity, so that those who dwelt in its vicinity asserted, that they sometimes heard him playing on the syrinx. A continual fire burnt there near his temple.

Herodotus gives a very curious account of the introduction of the worship of Pan into Attica[285]. He says, that before the battle of Marathon the Athenian generals sent Philippides as a herald to Sparta. “On his return Philippides asserted, that Pan had appeared to him near Mount Parthenius above Tegea, had addressed him by name and with a loud voice, and commanded him to ask the Athenians why they did not pay any regard to him, a god, who was kind to them, who had been often useful to them and would be so in future. The Athenians, believing the statement of Philippides, when they found themselves prosperous, erected a temple to Pan below the Acropolis, and continued to propitiate him by annual sacrifices and by carrying the torch.” From various authorities we know, that this temple was in the cave on the northern side of the Acropolis below the Propylæa[286].

[Pg 243] In later times a cave near Marathon was dedicated to Pan, the stalactitio incrustations within it being compared to goats, and to their stalls and drinking-troughs[287].

Chandler and Dodwell in their Travels describe another cave larger than that at Marathon and containing more varied stalagmitic concretions. It is near the summit of Mount Rapsāna between Athens and Sunium. ΠΑΝΟϹ is inscribed on the rock near the entrance, proving that it was considered sacred to Pan. It is no doubt the Panīon mentioned by Strabo[288].

The Corycian cave on Mount Parnassus was dedicated by the surrounding inhabitants to Pan and to the Nymphs[289]. Theocritus also (Idyll. viii. v. 103.) speaks of Homole, a mountainous tract in the south of Thessaly, as belonging to Pan. Altars were dedicated to Pan on the race-course at Olympia in Elis[290], as we may presume, out of respect to the Arcadians, who resorted to the Olympic games. Pindar states[291], that he had near his door a statue of Pan. Here, as his able commentators Heyne and Böckh observe, his daughters with other Theban virgins sung hymns in honor of the god.

[Pg 244] Time has spared the traces of hymns performed on such occasions, of which the following Scholion is the most entire specimen.

[Pg 282]

According to Tacitus[351], the ancient Germans had abundance of cattle, although we have no reason to suppose that they had acquired any of that skill in sheep-breeding, by which their successors in Silesia and Saxony are now distinguished. On the contrary, we are informed by the same author that the only woollen garment, which they commonly wore, was the Sagum, a term implying the coarseness of the material[352].

We find almost as little in any ancient author in favor of the wool of Gallia Transalpina, the modern France. Pliny mentions a coarse kind, more like hair than wool, which was produced in the neighborhood of Pezenas in Provence[353]. Martial’s account of the Endromis Sequanica, coarse, but useful to keep off the cold and wet, bears upon the same point;

In the following epigram of Martial (vi. 11.), addressed to his friend Marcus, we observe a similar opposition between the fine and fashionable cloth of Tyre, and the thick coarse “sagum” produced in Gaul.

Juvenal gives exactly the same account of the woollen manufactures of Gaul. In the following passage the needy dependant of a rich man is speaking of the lacernas from that country, which were sometimes presented to him by his patron.

To the same effect are several passages in the Epistles of Sidonius Apollinaris, who was Bishop of Clermont in Auvergne in the fifth century. He mentions, for example, that the attendants on Prince Sigismer at his marriage wore green Saga with red borders, and he describes a friend of his own as wearing the Endromis[354]. Also in an account of his own villa he speaks of the pipe with seven holes, as the instrument of the shepherds and herdsmen, who used to entertain themselves during the night with musical contests, while their cattle were grazing with bells upon their necks.

All these passages are confirmed and illustrated by the testimony of Strabo. According to him Gaul produced cattle of all kinds[355]. The Belgæ, who occupied the most northern part, opposite to Britain, excelled the rest of the Gauls in their manufactures. Nevertheless their wool was coarse, and was spun and woven by them into the thick Saga, which were both worn by the natives of the country and exported in great quantities to Rome and other parts of Italy. The Roman settlers, indeed, [Pg 284] in the most northern parts had flocks of covered sheep, and their wool was consequently very fine[356].

Here also may be produced the evidence of Eumenius, who in his Oration, which will be quoted more fully hereafter, intimates the abundance of the sheep on the western banks of the Rhine by saying, that the flocks of the Romans were washed in every part of the stream[357].

Cæsar informs us, that the ancient inhabitants of Britain had abundance of cattle (pecoris magnus numerus); under the word (pecus) “cattle,” sheep must no doubt be understood to be included. It also appears, that in his time the Celts, or proper Britons, lived to the North of the Thames, the Belgians having expelled them and taken possession of the part to the South, called Cantium or Kent. These last were by far the most civilized inhabitants of the island, not much differing in their customs from the Gauls. With respect to the others, Cæsar says, that for the most part they did not sow any kind of grain, but lived upon milk and flesh, and clothed themselves with skins[358].

It appears therefore, that before our æra, sheep, and probably goats, were bred extensively in England, their milk and flesh being used for food, and their skins with the wool or hair upon them for clothing; and that the people of Kent, who were of Belgic origin, and more refined than the original Britons, had attained to the arts of spinning and weaving, although their productions were only of the coarsest description.

Eumenius, the Rhetorician, who was a native of Augustodunum, now called Autun, delivered his Panegyric in praise of the Emperors Constantius and Constantine in the city of Treves about A. D. 310. In the following passage he congratulates Britain on its various productions, and also on the [Pg 285] circumstance, that Constantine had been recently declared Emperor at York on the death of his father:

The improvements in sheep-breeding which were first introduced into England by the Belgians, appear to have been advanced still further by the Saxons.

The only country, which now remains to be surveyed in relation to the production of sheep’s wool, is Spain; and, as this kingdom retains its pre-eminence at the present day,[360] so we find none, in which sheep-breeding was carried to a greater extent in ancient times.

Of all the countries in Europe, says Mr. Low, Spain has been the longest distinguished for the excellence of its wool. This fine country, more varied in its surface and natural productions than any other region of the like extent in Europe, produces a great variety of breeds of sheep, from the larger animals of the richer plains, to the smaller races of the higher mountains and arid country. Besides the difference produced in the sheep of Spain by varieties of climate and natural productions; the diversity of character in the animals may be supposed to have been increased by the different races introduced into it:—first, from Asia, by the early Phœnician colonies; secondly, from Africa by the Carthaginians, during their brief possession; thirdly, from Italy by the Romans, during their dominion of six hundred years; and fourthly, again from Africa, by the Moors, who maintained a footing in the country for nearly eight centuries. The large sheep of the plains have long wool, often [Pg 286] colored brown or black. The sheep of the mountains, downs, and arid plains have short wool, of different degrees of fineness, and different colors. The most important of these latter breeds is the merino, now the most esteemed and widely diffused of all the fine-wooled breeds of Europe.

Pliny not only refers in general terms to the various natural colors of the Spanish wool, but mentions more particularly the red wool produced in the district adjoining the river Bætis, or Guadalquiver[361].

Among the natural colors of the Bætic wool, Columella, a native of Cadiz, (vii. 2.) mentions, as has been already stated, gray and brown. The latter is what we call drab, and the Spaniards fusco. It is now commonly worn by the shepherds and peasants of Spain, the wool being made into clothes without dyeing.

Nonius Marcellus (cap. 16. n. 13), explaining the word pullus, which was called a native color, because it was the natural color of the fleece, also shows, that this was a common quality of the Spanish wool. Another testimony is that of Tertullian.

The sheep of Tarentum were imported into this part of Spain, and there also their fleeces were protected by clothing. Columella (L. vii. 2.) gives a very interesting account of the experiments made by his uncle, a great agriculturalist of Bætica, in crossing his Tarentine breed with some wild rams of an extraordinary color, which had been brought from Africa to Cadiz. (See latter part of next chapter.)

We have a further evidence of the pains taken to improve the Spanish breed in the circumstance, that Italian shepherds passed into Spain, just as we have formerly seen, that they migrated into Italy from Arcadia. In the following lines of Calpurnius (Ecl. iv. 37-49.), Corydon, a young shepherd, tells his friend and patron, Melibœus, that he should have been transported into Bætica, had not the times improved, and his master’s favor enabled him to remain in Italy.

Juvenal in his Twelfth Satire (l. 37-42.) describes a merchant overtaken by a dreadful storm, and to save the ship throwing his most valuable goods into the sea. It will be observed, that the poet attributes the excellence and fine natural color of the woollen cloth of Bætica to three causes, the rich herbage, the occult properties of the water, and those of the air.

Strabo (iii. 144. p. 385. ed. Sieb.) gives the following account of the wool of Turdetania.

The reader will please to remark, that this is the passage of Strabo, formerly referred to as containing evidence respecting the Coraxi.

Martial, a Spaniard by birth, frequently alludes to the sheep of Bætica and especially to the various natural colors of their wool, which were so much admired, that it was manufactured without dyeing. Two of his epigrams (iv. 28. and viii. 28.) [Pg 288] have been already quoted, as they refer also to the sheep of Tarentum: to these the seven following may be added.

Lacernas from Bætica.

The numerous passages, which have now been produced relative to the native colors of the Spanish wool, explain the following line of Virgil, in which he describes the clothing of a warrior;

[Pg 289] The poet probably intended to describe an outer garment, a chlamys, made of undyed Spanish wool of a clear brown or yellowish color, resembling that of rust; and afterwards enriched with embroidery.

Ramirez de Prado, the Spanish commentator on Martial (4to. Paris, 1607.), says, that two native colors were common in Spain in his time, the one a golden yellow, the other more brown or ferruginous.

In the North of Spain the Celtiberi wore saga made of a coarse wool like goats’-hair (Diod. Sic. v. 33. tom. i. p. 356. Wesseling.), and woven double according to Appian[362].

At Salacia in Lusitania, according to Pliny, a chequered pattern was employed in the manufacture of the coarse wool. This was in all probability the same as the shepherd’s plaid of the Scotch, the weaver taking advantage of the natural difference of the white and black wool to produce this variety of appearance. (See Appendix A.)

Estremadura, a part of the ancient Bætica, is still famous for its wool. There the Spanish flocks hybernate, and under the direction of a peculiar code of laws, called La Mesta, are conducted every spring to pasture in the mountains of Leon and Asturias. Other flocks are led in the same season from great distances to the heights of the Sierra Morena, lying to the east of the ancient Bætica, where the vegetation is remarkably favorable to the improvement of their wool.

As bearing directly upon the present inquiry it may be observed, that sheep have always been bred principally for the weaver, not for the butcher, and that this has been more especially the case in ancient times and in eastern countries.

If we may judge from the following epigram of Martial, the Romans regarded with feelings little short of aversion the act of killing a sheep for food except on solemn or extraordinary occasions.

The Ram’s head.

[Pg 290] The customs of the shepherd tribes in the East are in this respect remarkably like those of the ancients.

“The Arabs rarely diminish their flocks by using them for food, but live chiefly upon bread, dates, milk, butter, or what they receive in exchange for their wool. They however sell their sheep to the people in the towns. A lamb or kid roasted whole is a favorite dish at Aleppo, but seldom eaten except by the rich[363].” When the Arabs have a sheep-shearing, they perhaps kill a lamb, and treat their relations and friends with it together with new cheese and milk, but nothing more. Among the Mohammedans sheep are sacrificed on certain days as a festive and at the same time a religious ceremony; these ceremonies are of great antiquity and derived from Arab heathenism. On the pilgrimage to Mecca every one is required to sacrifice a sheep at a certain place near Mecca[364].

By the Law of Moses the sheep was a clean animal, and might consequently be eaten or sacrificed. A lamb or kid, roasted whole, was the principal and characteristic dish at the feast of the passover. The rich man kills a lamb to entertain his guest in the beautiful parable of Nathan. (2 Sam. xii. 4.) Sheep were killed on the festive occasion of shearing the very numerous flocks of Nabal. (1 Sam. xxv. 2. 11. 18.) An ox and six choice sheep were sacrificed daily for the numerous guests of Nehemiah, while he was building the wall of Jerusalem. (Neh. v. 17, 18.) Immense numbers of sheep and oxen were sacrificed at the dedication of Solomon’s temple. (1 Kings, viii. 5. 63.) The prophet Ezekiel (xxxiv. 3.) describes the bad shepherd as selfishly eating the flesh and clothing himself with the wool of the sheep, without tending them with due care and labor.

In the Suovetaurilia among the Romans a hog, a sheep, and a bull, their principal domestic animals, were sacrificed. A sheep was killed every day for the guards, who watched the tomb of Cyrus. (Arrian, vol. i. p. 438, Blancardi.) In the [Pg 291] Odyssey (ρ. 180-182.) a sacrifice is made and a feast prepared of sheep, goats, hogs, and a cow. Also in Od. v. 3. 250. sheep are sacrificed and furnish part of a feast. In order to ratify a treaty between the Greeks and Trojans, the former sacrificed a lamb of the male sex to Jupiter; the latter one of the male sex and white to the Sun, and another of the female sex and black to the Earth. (Il. γ. 103, 104.) Sheep are sacrificed to Apollo at Delphi in Euripides, Ion, l. 230. 380. The rare instances of the use of sheep for food or sacrifice by the Egyptians have been already noticed.

But, although sheep, both old and young, male and female, were sacrificed to the objects of religious worship and on other festive occasions were eaten, especially by the rich and great, yet their chief use was to supply clothing, and the nourishment they yielded consisted in their milk and the cheese made from it, rather than in their flesh.

This fact is illustrated by the words of Solomon, formerly quoted, and in which he speaks of lambs for clothing and goat’s milk for food. In like manner St. Paul says (1 Cor. ix. 7.), “Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?”

Varro thinks, that sheep were employed for the use of man before any other animal on account of their usefulness and placidity, and he represents their use to consist in supplying cheese and milk for food, fleeces and skins for clothing[365]. In like manner Columella in his account of the use of sheep (vii. 2.) says, they afforded the chief materials for clothing. In treating of their use for food, he mentions only their milk and cheese. Pliny refers to the employment of sheep both for sacrifices and for clothing. He also remarks, that as the ox is principally useful in obtaining food, to wit, by ploughing and other agricultural processes, the sheep, on the other hand, supplies materials for clothing[366].

The fact, that wool was among the ancients by far the most common material for making clothes, accounts for the various [Pg 292] expressions in scripture respecting the destructiveness of the moth.

“Your garments are moth-eaten.” James v. 2. “He, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth-eaten.”—Job xiii. 28. “They all shall wax old as a garment, the moth shall eat them up.”—Is. l. 9. “The moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worms shall eat them like wool.” Is. li. 8. “From garments cometh a moth.” Eccles. xlii. 13. “Treasures, where moth and rust corrupt.” Matt. vi. 19.

But it is to be observed, that the sacred writers mention not the moth, but the minute worm, which changes into a moth, and which alone gnaws the garments. In the passages which have been quoted, the word “moth” must be understood to signify the larva[367] of the clothes-moth (Phalæna Vestianella, Linn.), or of some insect of the same kind.

[Pg 293]

The inquiry into the origin and propagation of the Goat, no less than that of the sheep, may justly be considered a subject for interesting investigation. Goats were no less highly prized by the ancient inhabitants of Greece and Italy than by the modern. We have seen, that the great value of sheep always consisted in its fleece. The goat, on the contrary, was more valued for the excellence and abundance of its milk, and for its suitableness to higher and more rugged and unproductive land [368].

We observe a clear allusion to this distinction between the principal uses of sheep and of goats in the twenty-seventh chapter of the book of Proverbs[369]. The management and use [Pg 294] of goats has from time immemorial formed a striking feature in the condition of man, and especially of those nations which belong to the Caucasian, or, as Dr. Prichard more properly denominates it, the Iranian or Indo-Atlantic variety of our race [370]. Their habits of sheep-breeding seem no less characteristic than the form of their countenances, a no less essential part of their manner of life than any other custom, by which they are distinguished: and, as all the circumstances, which throw any light upon the question, conspire to render it probable, that the above-mentioned variety of the human race first inhabited part of the high land of central Asia, so it is remarkable, that our domestic sheep and goats may with the greatest probability be referred to the same stock with certain wild animals, which now overspread those regions. The sheep, as has been already observed in chapter I., is regarded as specifically the same with [Pg 295] the Argali; and in the opinion of Pallas, which has been very generally adopted by zoologists, the goat is the same with the Ægagrus, a gregarious quadruped, which occupies the loftiest parts of the mountains extending from the Caucasus to the South of the Caspian Sea, and thence to the North of India [371]. Indeed the history of these animals is so interwoven with the history of man, that those naturalists have not reasoned quite correctly, who have thought it necessary to refer the first origin of either of them to any wild stock at all. They assume, that these quadrupeds first existed in an undomesticated state, that is, entirely apart from man and independent of him; that, as he advanced in civilization, as his wants multiplied, and he became more ingenious and active in inventing methods of supplying them, the thought struck him, that he might obtain from these wild beasts the materials of his food and clothing; and that he therefore caught and confined some of them and in the course of time rendered them by cultivation more and more suitable to his purposes.

We have no reason to assume, that man and the two lesser kinds of horned cattle were originally independent of one another. So far as geology supplies any evidence, it is in favor of the supposition, that these quadrupeds and man belong to the same epoch. No properly fossil bones either of the sheep or goat have yet been found, and we have no reason to believe, that these animals were produced until the creation of man. But, as we must suppose, that man was created perfect and full-grown, and with those means of subsistence around him, which his nature and constitution require, there is no reason why the sheep and the goat may not have been created in such a state as to be adapted immediately both for clothing and for food, or why it should be considered more probable that they were at first entirely wild. They may have been produced originally in the same abode, which was occupied by that variety of the human race, to whose habits and mode of life the use of them has always been so essential; and, if we assume, [Pg 296] that this abode was somewhere in the elevated land of central Asia, in the region, for example, of Armenia, we adopt an hypothesis, which explains in the most simple and satisfactory manner the apparent fact of the propagation not only of men, but of these quadrupeds with them, from that centre over immense regions of the globe.

With regard to historical evidence, it is certainly very defective. No express testimony assures us of the facts included in the above-named hypothesis. One thing, however, is certain, and it appears very deserving of attention, viz. that the sheep and the goat have always been propagated together. We find great nations, which had no acquaintance with either of these quadrupeds, but depended for their subsistence upon either oxen or horses. We find others, on the contrary, to whose mode of life the larger quadrupeds were of much less importance than the smaller; but we find none, which were accustomed to breed sheep without goats, or goats without sheep.

The reader will find numerous illustrations of this fact on reviewing the evidence contained in the preceding chapters. General terms were employed in the ancient world to include both sheep and goats[372]. Where more specific terms are used, we still find “rams and goats,” “ewes and she-goats” mentioned together. Sheep and goats were offered together in sacrifice, and the instances are too numerous to mention, in which the same flock, or the wealth of a single individual, included both these animals.

In consequence of this prevailing association of sheep and goats, they are often represented together in ancient bas-reliefs and other works of art. Of this we have a beautiful example in the Rev. Robert Walpole’s collection of “Travels in various countries of the East.” At the end of the volume is a plate taken from a votive tablet of Pentelic marble dedicated to Pan, and representing five goats, two sheep, and a lamb. As the goats are in one group, and the sheep and lamb in another, the artist probably designed to represent a flock of each. For, [Pg 297] though sometimes mixed in the same flock, the two kinds of animals were generally kept apart; and to this circumstance our Savior alludes in his image of the shepherd dividing the sheep from the goats[373].

A sheep and a goat are seen reposing together in a Roman bas-relief in the Monumenta Matthæiana, vol. iii. tab. 37. fig. 1.

Rosselini gives two paintings from Egyptian tombs, which exhibit both sheep and goats[374]; and he mentions an inscription on the tomb of Ranni, according to which that person had 120 goats, 300 rams, 1500 hogs, and 122 oxen.

In the account given in chapter II. of the Sicilian Daphnis, an epigram by Callimachus on Astacides, who was a goatherd in Crete, was partially quoted, probably remarkable for his beauty and his immature death. The translation of the passage will now be given.

Theocritus (Idyll. vii. 12-20.) describes a goatherd of Cydon in Crete, named Lycidas; and from the account which he gives of his attire, we may judge of that commonly used in ancient Greece by the same description of persons. He wore on his shoulders the dun-colored hide of a shaggy goat, and an old shawl was fastened about his breast with a broad girdle. In his right hand he held a crook of wild olive.

The same author (Idyll. iii. 5.) mentions a fine strong [Pg 298] he-goat, which was brought from Lybia to Sicily. The design of its transportation was, no doubt, to improve the breed. Probably Chromis, the Lybian (Idyll. i. 24.), who resided in Sicily, had migrated there to undertake the management of goats and to improve their quality.

Maximus Tyrius (Diss. xxvii.) seems to suppose, that a flock of goats could not even exist without the music of the syrinx. “If you take away,” says he, “the goatherd and his syrinx, you dissolve the flock of goats; in like manner, if you take away reason from the society of men, thus depriving them of their leader and guide, you destroy the flock, which by nature is tame, but may be injured by a bad superintendence.”

The he-goat was employed to lead the flock as the ram was among sheep. The following passages of scripture allude to this custom. “Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he-goats before the flocks.” Jer. l. 8. “Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats.” Zech. x. 3. In Proverbs xxx. 31., according to the Septuagint version, we read of “the goat which leads the flock.” Julius Pollux (Lib. i. cap. 12. sect. 19.) says, that “The he-goat leads the goats[375].”

On a cameo in the Florentine Museum there is a representation of an ancient goatherd[376]. The goatherd holds the syrinx in his left hand, and a young kid in his right. A goat stands beside him, and his dog appears partially concealed within a kennel formed in the rock, upon which the goatherd is seated. The herdsman is represented sitting under an aged ilex. At least this supposition accords with the language of Tibullus already quoted.

A modern authoress, who spent some of the summer months in the year 1819 among the mountains east of Rome, notices goats in the following terms as part of the stock of the farmers in that country.

“We frequently walked to one of these little farms, to meet the goats coming in at night from the mountain. As the [Pg 299] flock crowded down the broken road leading to the fold, followed by their grotesque-looking shepherd and his rough dogs, the pet-kids crowding round their master and answering to his call, we could not help thinking of the antique manners described by the poets, and represented in the pictures of Herculaneum and Pompeii.

“The goats are the most useful domestic animals. Here no other cheese or milk is tasted. Besides, the ricotta, a kind of curd, and junkets, are made of goats’-milk, and, with bread serve many of the country people for food[377].”

From Athenæus[378] we learn the superior excellence of the goats of Scyros and Naxos.

Virgil (l. c.), after mentioning the use of goats for food, goes on to show their contributions to the weaver.

The last line of this passage of Virgil is quoted by Columella (L. vii. 6.) in speaking of the utility of the he-goat;

Virgil, moreover, has here followed Varro, who writes thus;

The language of Varro in this passage indicates, that the female goat was shorn as well as the male; and that the excellence of goats’-hair, which was used only for coarse articles, consisted in its length. Columella mentions the long bristly hair of the Cilician goats[379].

Aristotle says, “In Lycia goats are shorn, as sheep are in other countries.” Hist. Anim. viii. 28. This testimony of Aristotle agrees with that of his nephew and pupil, Callisthenes, who says (ap. Ælian. de Nat. Anim. xvi. 30.), “that in Lycia goats are shorn just as sheep are everywhere else; for that they have a very thick coat of excellent hair, hanging from them in locks or curls; and that this hair is twisted so as to make ropes, which are used in navigation instead of cables.”

Pliny, in his account of goats[380], says, “In Cilicia and about the Syrtes they are covered with hair, which admits of being shorn.” From this it may be inferred, in conformity with the testimonies already cited from Varro and Virgil, that the longest and best goats’-hair was obtained in Cilicia, and on the coast of Africa opposite to Sicily and Malta, the modern Tripoli. It is remarkable, that Virgil, in order to designate the latter district, refers to the romantic river Cinyps, which flowed through it, observing the same practice, which we have seen to be so common with the poets in regard to the countries noted for the produce of the most excellent wool. In the interior and more hilly portion of this district of Africa both sheep and goats are still reared[381].

The geographer Avienus asserts that goats’-hair was obtained for the purpose of being woven in the country of the Cynetæ in Spain[382]. Isidore of Seville, in his enumeration of the different kinds of cloth (Orig. xix. 22.), uses the following expressions: [Pg 301] “Fibrini (vestis est) tramam de fibri lanâ habens: caprina.” Thus the text now stands, evidently defective. The writer no doubt alluded to a kind of cloth called caprina, because goats’-hair was used in the manufacture of it. Beckmann (History of Inventions, Eng. Trans., vol. iv. p. 224.) proposes to read, “tramam de fibri lanâ habens, stamen de caprinâ,” i. e. “having the woof of beaver-wool, the warp of goats’-wool.” But the ancients were unacquainted with the fine wool of certain goats, and it is highly improbable, that they used goats’-hair in the case referred to, since the “Vestes Fibrinæ” were of great value, as will soon be shown, and not made in any part of coarse materials.

The cloth of goats’-hair would be suitable for sailors, both on account of their hardy mode of life, and because it was better adapted than any other kind to bear exposure to water.

Its use as clothing to express mourning and mortification will be noticed presently.

The employment of goats’-hair for military and naval purposes was far more extensive, and is proved by the following passage from the Geoponica (xviii. 9.) in addition to the former testimonies.

Cicero (in Verrem, Act i.) mentions Cilicia together with hides and sacks, and Asconius Pedianus in his Commentary on the passage (p. 95. ed. Crenii.) gives the following explanation: “Cilicia texta de pilis in castrorum usum atque nautarum.” Servius on Virgil, Georg. iii. 313. says, that these Cilicia, or cloths of goats’-hair, were used to cover the towers in sieges, because they could not be set on fire.

The reader is referred to the Poliorcetica of Lipsius, L. iii. Dial. 3. p. 158. for evidence respecting the use of hair ropes for [Pg 302] military engines, and to L. v. Dial. ix. for passages from Thucydides, Arrian, Ammianus, Suidas, Vegetius, Curtius, and others, proving, that the besieged in cities hung Cilicia over their towers and walls to obviate the force of the various weapons hurled against them, and especially of the arrows, which carried fire.

From Exodus we learn[383], that the Israelites in the wilderness among their contributions to the Tabernacle gave goats’-hair, and that it was spun by women. The spun goats’-hair was probably used in part to make cords for the tent; but part of it at least was woven into the large pieces, called in the Septuagint “curtains of goats’-hair.” Such curtains, or Saga, of spun goats’-hair seem to have been commonly used for the covering of tents[384].

Cloths of the same kind were used for rubbing horses[385]. The term for goats’-hair cloth in Hebrew, Chaldee, and Syraic, is שק or סק, i. e. Shac, or Sac, translated ΣΑΚΚΟΣ in the Septuagint, and Saccus in the Vulgate version of the Scriptures. The Latin Sagum, appears to have had the same origin. In English we have Sack and Shag, scarcely differing from the oriental and ancient terms either in sound or sense.

[Pg 303]

Cilice, the modern French term for a hair-shirt, is immediately derived from Cilicium, the origin of which has been explained[386].

This kind of cloth, which was black or dark brown, the goats of Syria and Palestine being chiefly of that color even to the present day, is alluded to in the sixth chapter of Revelations[387], and in Is. l. 3. “I clothe the heavens with blackness and make sack-cloth their covering.” It was worn to express mourning and mortification. In Jonah we have a very remarkable case, for on this occasion blankets of goats’-hair were put on the bodies both of men and beasts, and one was worn even by the king of Nineveh himself[388]. When Herod Agrippa was seized at Cæsarea with the mortal distemper mentioned in Acts xii. (See chap. vi. p. 93.), the common people sat down on hair-cloth according to the custom of their country, beseeching God on his behalf.—Josephus, Ant. Jud. l. xix. cap. 8. p. 872. Hudson. So according to Josephus (Ant. Jud. l. vii. cap. 7. p. 299.), David fell down upon sack-cloth of the same description and lay on the ground praying for the restoration of his son.

Hence the use of the hair-shirt by devotees in more recent times. St. Basil, Bishop of Cæsarea in the fourth century, in answer to the question, Whether a monk ought to have besides his night-shirt (post nocturnam tunicam) a Cilicium or any other, says, “Cilicii quidem usus habet proprium tempus. Non enim propter usus corporis, sed propter afflictionem carnis inventum est hujuscemodi indumentum, et propter humilitatem animae[389].” He then adds, that as the word of God forbids us to [Pg 304] have two shirts, we ought not to have a second except for the purpose here mentioned. From this it is clear, that the Cilicium was not commonly worn by the monks, but only at particular times for the sake of humiliation.

Dr. Sibthorp (in Memoirs, edited by Walpole,) informs us, that in the present day the shepherds of Attica “shear the goats at the same time with the sheep, about April or May,” and that the hair is made into sacks, bags, and carpets, of which a considerable quantity is exported. In modern as in ancient times, the inhabitants of Greece subsist in a great measure upon goats’-milk and the cheese made from it[390].

The wives of the Arabian shepherds still weave goats’-hair for their tents. This hair-cloth is nearly black, and resembles that of which our modern coal-sacks are made[391]. The Arabs also hang bags of the same cloth, containing barley, about the heads of their horses to supply them with food[392].

The goat, as is the case with some other quadrupeds, if confined to a country, which is hot in summer and very cold in winter, is always protected in the latter season by an additional covering of fine wool beneath its long hair. A specimen of the Syrian goat in the Hunterian Museum at Glasgow shows both the hair and the wool. In Kerman and Cashmere this very fine wool is obtained by combing the goats in the spring, when it becomes loose; and, having been spun into yarn, it is used to make the beautiful shawls brought from those countries.

We will now conclude this chapter with the following interesting communication from Mr. E. Riley, being the substance of a paper lately read before the Society of Arts, London.

Mr. Riley “in 1825 and 1828 transported to that territory two flocks of the finest sheep procurable throughout Germany, [Pg 305] my father had also long contemplated introducing there the celebrated Cashmere goat, anticipating that the fulfilment of his views would, in proving advantageous to himself, become also of ultimate benefit to the colony; in which expectation, he has been encouraged from the results that have attended the importation of the Saxon breed of sheep into their favored climates, the wools of New South Wales, and in proportion to their improvement, those also of Van Dieman’s Land being now eagerly purchased by the most intelligent manufacturers in preference to those of equal prices imported from any part of Europe.

“With this object in view, he subsequently, during an agricultural tour on the Continent, directed my attention to the Cashmere flocks of Mons. Ternaux, and in October 1828, I met this distinguished man at his seat at St. Onen (Mons. Ternaux is a great shawl manufacturer and a Peer of France,) where he preserved the elite of his herds; the animals were a mixture of various sizes and colors, from a perfect white to brown, with scarcely any stamped features as if belonging to one race exclusively; they were covered with long coarse hair, under which so small a quantity of soft short down was concealed, that the average produce of the whole collection did not exceed three ounces each; therefore, under these unfavorable circumstances, my father deferred for a time his intention of sending any of them to Australia.

“I was then advised by the Viscomte Perrault de Jotemps, to see the stock of M. Polonceau at Versailles, he having, by a happily selected cross, succeeded in increasing the quantity and value of the qualities of the Cashmere goat beyond the most sanguine anticipations, and in consequence of his enlightened taste for agricultural pursuits, was also honored with the directorship of the model farm at Grignon. He became among the first to purchase a chosen selection of the original importation of the Cashmere goat from M. Ternaux, and some time after seeing, at one of the estates of the Duchesse de Beri, an Angora buck with an extraordinary silkiness of hair, having more the character of long coarse but very soft down, he solicited permission to try the effects of a union with this fine animal and his own [Pg 306] pure Cashmeres. The improvement even in the first drop was so rapid that it induced him to persevere, and when I first saw his small herd they were in the third generation from the males produced solely by the first cross; the unwillingness however of M. Polonceau to part with any number of them at this period (the only alienation he has made from the favorite products of his solicitude being two males and two females to the King of Wirtemberg, for the sum of 3400 francs,) caused my father again to postpone his intentions until my return from the Australasian Colonies, judging that M. Polonceau would then probably be enabled to dispose of a sufficient number, and that the constancy and properties of the race would by that time be more decidedly determined.

“On my arrival in England at the close of 1831, he again recurred to his favorite project of introducing these animals into our colonies, for which purpose I went to France with the intention of purchasing a small flock of M. Polonceau, should I find all his expectations of the Cashmere Angora breed verified, which having perfectly ascertained, I at length succeeded in persuading M. Polonceau to cede to me ten females in kid, and three males, and I fortunately was able to convey the whole in health to London, with the intention of proceeding as speedily as possible with them to Port Jackson, looking sanguinely forward not only to their rapid increase but also to crossing the common goats of the country with this valuable breed, in full expectation that they may, exclusive of their own pure down, become thus the means of forming a desirable addition to the already much prized importations from New South Wales and Van Dieman’s Land. I am led to the conclusion that the latter result may be accomplished, as M. Polonceau, who has tried the experiment with the native goat of France, has obtained animals of the second cross very little inferior to the breed that has rendered his name so distinguished. He has also crossed the common goat with the pure Cashmere, but only obtained so tardy an amelioration, that it required eight or ten generations to produce a down simply equal to their inferior quantity and quality when compared to the produce of the Cashmere Angora.”

[Pg 307] Mr. Polonceau has unremittingly persevered in the improvement so immediately effected, and has proved during the several years which have elapsed since the first experiment in the year 1822, that an entire satisfactory result in the union of the most essential qualities of down, abundance, length, fineness, lustre, and softness, was accomplished by the first cross, without any return having ensued to the individual characters of either of the primitive races, and in consequence, he has since constantly propagated the produce of that cross among themselves, careful only of preserving animals entirely white and of employing for propagation those bucks which had the down in the greatest quantity and of the finest quality with the smallest proportion of hair.

In 1826; the “Societie Royale et Centrale d’Agriculture de Paris” acquainted with the interesting result of M. Polonceau’s flock, being at that time in the third generation, and considering that the down of this new race was more valuable than that of the East, and that it was the most beautiful of filaceous materials known, as it combines the softness of Cashmere with the lustre of silk, awarded him their large gold medal at their session, 4th April, 1826, and nominated him a member of their society in the following year.

In 1827, at the exhibition of the produce of National Industry, the jury appointed to judge the merits of the objects exposed, also awarded him their medal.

At present the animals are in the twelfth generation, their health and vigor, the constancy of their qualities, and abundance of their down without any degeneration, prove that this new race may be regarded as one entirely fixed and established, requiring solely the care that is generally observed with valuable breeds; that is to say, a judicious choice of those employed for their reproduction, and in such a climate as New South Wales it may be reasonably expected that the brilliant qualities of their down may yet be improved as has been so eminently the case with the wool of the merino and Saxon sheep imported there.

M. Polonceau has goats that have yielded as many as thirty ounces of the down, in one season, and he states that the whole [Pg 308] of his herd produce from twelve to twenty ounces; thus showing the astonishing advantages this new breed has over the uncrossed Cashmere, which never yield more than four ounces and seldom exceed two ounces each.

This gentleman also states, that, the Cashmere Angora goats, are more robust and more easily nourished than the common goat, and that they are less capricious and more easily managed in a flock; and from the experience he has already had, he finds them much more docile than even sheep. They prefer the leaves of trees, as do all other goats, but they thrive either on hay or straw, or green fodder, or in meadows; they also feed with equal facility on heaths, and on the most abrupt declivities, where the sheep would perish; they do not fear the cold, and are allowed to remain all the winter in open sheds. For the first year or two of M. P.’s experiments he thought it prudent to give them aromatic herbs, from time to time, but during the last six years he has not found it necessary. He knows not of any particular disease to which they are subject, his flock never having had any. M. P. arranges they should kid in March, but occasionally he takes two falls from those of sufficient strength during the year.

The down commences to grow in September, and developes itself progressively until the end of March, when it ceases to grow and detaches itself, unless artificially removed.

To collect the down, he waits the period when it begins to detach itself, and then the locks of down which separate from the skin with little force are taken off by hand; the down is removed from the animals every three or four days; in general it first begins to fall from the neck and shoulders, and in the following four or five days from the rest of the body; the collection is completed in the space of eight or ten days. Sometimes the entire down can be taken from the animal at one shearing, and almost in an unbroken fleece, when it begins to loosen. The shearing has the advantage of preserving more perfectly the parallelisms of the individual filaments, which much increase the facility of combing and preparing the down for manufacturing purposes.

[Pg 309]

The passage quoted from Isidore of Seville, in the last chapter, shows that the ancients made a cloth, the woof of which was of Beavers’-wool (de fibri lanâ), and which was therefore called Vestis Fibrina. By lana he must have meant the very fine wool, which, agreeably to the observation in the last paragraph, grows under the long hair of the beaver. Isidore in the same Book, observes, “Fibrinum lana est animalium, quæ fibros vocant: ipsos et castores existimant.”

The following Epigram of Claudian seems intended, as Beckmann (iv. p. 223.) supposes, to describe “a worn-out beaver dress, which had nothing more left of that valuable fur but the name.”

ON A BEAVER MANTLE.

Sidonius Apollinaris calls those who used this costly apparel castorinati. Lib. v. Epist. 7. p. 313. Paris, 1599, 4to.

Gerbert, or Gilbert, surnamed the Philosopher, and afterwards Pope Silvester II., commenting on the qualities of a good Bishop according to 1 Timothy iii. 1., says in reference to the word “ornatum:”

[Pg 310] “An upper garment of this cloth was worn by the Emperor Nicephorus II. at his coronation in the year 936.”—Beckmann, l. c. § 31.

“This method of manufacturing beavers’-hair,” observes Beckmann, “seems not to have been known in the time of Pliny; for, though he speaks much of the castor, and mentions pellis fibrina three times, he says nothing in regard to manufacturing the hair, or to beaver-fur.”

It seems probable, that the Greeks and Romans did not use cloth of beavers’-wool until the 4th century. In an earlier age the furs and drugs supplied by beavers were obtained from the countries to the North of the Euxine Sea. But in the period now under consideration the intercourse of the Romans with the West of Europe would open a much more extended sphere for procuring the Vestes Fibrinæ, since we have traces of the existence of beavers in almost all parts of Europe. Their appearance in Wales, Scotland, Germany, and the North of Europe generally, is attested by Giraldus Cambrensis[393].

Dr. Patrick Neill, in a valuable paper on this subject,[394] has given an account of the bones of recent beavers found in Perthshire and Berwickshire. They have also been found in Cambridgeshire[395]. We learn from the life of Wulstan[396], that beaver-furs, as well as those of sables, foxes, and other quadrupeds, were used by the Anglo-Saxons in very early times for lining their garments. Other modern authors speak of their occurrence in Austria, Hungary, and the North of Italy[397]. They are still found in Sweden[398]. Strabo informs us, that in his time they frequented the rivers of Spain[399].

Buffon says (Hist. Nat. tome 26. p. 98.), “There are beavers in Languedoc in the islands of the Rhone, and great numbers [Pg 311] of them in the North of Europe.” “But as human population extends,” he observes, “beavers, like other animals, are dispersed, become solitary, fugitive, or conceal themselves in the ground: they cease to unite in bands, to engage in building or other undertakings.”

“We have been unable to ascertain,” says Cuvier[400], “after the most scrupulous comparisons, if the Castors or Beavers, which burrow along the Rhone, the Danube, and the Weser, are different in species from those of North America, or if they are prevented from building by the vicinity of man.” The same distinguished author in his work on Fossil Bones says, “The greater part of our European rivers having formerly supported beavers, and some of them doing so still, viz. the Gardon and the Rhone in France, the Danube in Bavaria and Austria, and several small rivers in Westphalia and Saxony, we cannot be surprised to find their hones preserved in our mosses, or turbaries.” He then mentions instances of the heads and teeth of beavers, in the valley of the Somme in Picardy, in the valley of Tonnis-stein near Andermach, and at Urdingen on the Rhine in Rhenish Prussia[401].

[Pg 312]

We are informed by Ctesias, in a fragment of the 10th Book of his Persic History, that there were camels in a part of Persia, whose hair, soft as Milesian fleeces, was used to make garments for the priests and the other potentates[402].

John the Baptist wore a garment of camels’-hair; but this must be supposed to have been coarse. (Matt. iii. 4., Mark i. 6.)[403]. This passage of scripture is illustrated by Harmer in the following observation[404]:

“This hair, Sir J. Chardin tells us (in his MS. note on 1 Sam. xxv. 4.) is not shorn from the camels like wool from sheep, but they pull off this woolly hair, which the camels are disposed to cast off; as many other creatures, it is well known, change their coats yearly. This hair is made into cloth now. Chardin assures us the modern dervishes wear such garments.”

Campbell, the poet, mentions a tent of camels’-hair cloth, which he saw at an Arab encampment between Oran and Mascara in the kingdom of Algiers. It was 25 feet in diameter and very lofty. (Letters from the South, 1837, vol. ii. p. [Pg 313] 212.) He also mentions (vol. i. p. 161.) that the Kabyles or Berbers, who live in the vicinity of Algiers, and are descended from the original occupants of the country, dwell in “tents of camels’-hair.” We are informed that the Chinese make carpets of the same material[405]. Coverlets of goats’ or camels’-hair are used by the soldiers in Turkey to sleep under[406]. “The Circassians, when marching, or on a journey, always add to their other garments a cloak made from camel or goats’-hair, with a hood, which completely envelopes the whole person. It is impenetrable by rain; and it forms their bed at night, and protects them from the scorching sun by day[407].”

Fortunatus, in his life of St. Martin (l. iv.), describes a garment of such cloth; but it may be doubted whether he took his description from actual knowledge of the use of it, or only from the account in Matthew of the dress of John the Baptist already quoted.

Camels’-hair of annual growth would vary in fineness according to circumstances, and might be used either for the coarse raiment of prophets and dervises, or for the costly shawls, to which Ctesias alludes. Fine wool, adapted to the latter purpose, might also grow, as in the goat and beaver, beneath the long hair of the camel. It has been doubted whether cloth so fine and beautiful as Ctesias asserts, could possibly be obtained from camels. The following accounts by modern travellers illustrate and justify the statement of the suspected ancient.

Marco Polo, who travelled in the 13th century, in his account of the city of Kalaka, which was in the province of Tangut and subject to the Great Kahn, says[408], “In this city they manufacture beautiful camelots, the finest known in the world, of the hair of camels and likewise of fine wool.” According to Pallas, (Travels, vol. ii. § 8.,) “From the hair of the camel the Tartar women in the plains of the Crimea manufacture a narrow [Pg 314] cloth, which is used in its natural color, and is extremely warm, soft, and light.” According to Prosper Alpinus, (Hist. Nat. Ægypti, l. iv. c. 7. p. 225.) the Egyptians manufactured from the hair of their camels not only coarse cloth for their tents, but other kinds so fine as to be worn not only by princes but even by the senators of Venice.

Elphinstone, in his account of Cabul (p. 295.), mentions, that “Oormuck, a fine cloth made of camels’-wool,” is among the articles imported into Cabul from the Bokhara country. This country lies North of the Oxus, and East of the Southern extremity of the Caspian Sea, and is probably the country, to which Ctesias more especially referred. A still more recent authority is that of Moorcroft, who informs us, that “Cloth is now made from the wool of the wild camels of Khoten in Chinese Tartary,” and that “at Astrakhan a fine cloth is manufactured from the wool of the camel foal of the first year[409].”

[Plate V]

Plate V.

Drawn from the life.

INDIAN LOOM with the process of Winding off the THREAD.

[Pg 315]

Among all the materials which the skill of man converts into comfortable and elegant clothing, that which appears likely to be the most extensively useful, though it was the last to be generally diffused, is the beautiful produce of the cotton-plant.

The properties of cotton strongly recommend it for clothing, especially in comparison with linen, both in hot and cold countries. Linen has, indeed, in some respects the advantage; it forms a smooth, firm, and beautiful cloth, and is very agreeable wear in temperate climates; but it is less comfortable than cotton, [Pg 316] and less conducive to health, either in heat or in cold. Cotton, being a bad conductor of heat, as compared with linen, preserves the body at a more equable temperature. The functions of the skin, through the medium of perspiration, are the great means of maintaining the body at an equable temperature amidst the vicissitudes of the atmosphere. But linen, like all good conductors of heat, freely condenses the vapor of perspiration, and accumulates moisture upon the skin: the wetted linen becomes cold, chills the body, and checks perspiration, thus not only producing discomfort, but endangering health. Calico, on the other hand, like all bad conductors of heat, condenses little of the perspiration, but allows it to pass off in the form of vapor. Moreover, when the perspiration is so copious as to accumulate moisture, calico will absorb a greater quantity of that moisture than linen. It has therefore a double advantage,—it accumulates less moisture, and absorbs more.

From the above considerations, it is evident that in cold climates, or in the nocturnal cold of tropical climates, cotton clothing is much better calculated to preserve the warmth of the body than linen. In hot climates, also, it is more conducive to health and comfort, by admitting of freer perspiration[410].

Wool, as we have seen, was principally used for weaving in Palestine and Syria, in Asia Minor, Greece, Italy and Spain; hemp in the Northern countries of Europe; flax in Egypt (The history of the two last, hemp and flax, is given in Part IV. to which the reader is referred.); silk in the central regions of Asia[411]. In like manner cotton has always been characteristic of India. We find this circumstance distinctly noticed by Herodotus[412]. Among the valuable products, for which India was remarkable, he states, that “the wild trees in that country bear fleeces as their fruit, surpassing those of sheep in beauty and excellence; and the Indians use cloth made from these [Pg 317] trees.” In the same book (c. 47.) Herodotus says, that the thorax or cuirass sent by Amasis, king of Egypt, to Sparta, was “adorned with gold and with fleeces from trees.” These substances were perhaps used in the weft to form the figures (ζῶα), which were woven into the thorax; but it appears equally probable that the gold only was thus employed, the cotton being used as an inside lining or stuffing: and in this case it is possible, that the down of the Bombax Ceiba, a tree allied to the Cotton-plant (Gossypium), may have been used, since, though not fitted for spinning or weaving, it has long been used in India for the stuffing of pillows and similar purposes, and would be included under the phrase employed by Herodotus, “wool” or “fleeces from trees.” The thorax may have been made in Egypt; but the materials, used to enrich it, were probably imported: for we have no proof, that either gold or cotton of any kind was found in that country as a native product in the time of Amasis.

Ctesias, the contemporary of Herodotus, seems also to have known the fact of the use of a kind of wool, the produce of trees, for spinning and weaving among the Indians. It is evident that Ctesias referred exclusively to cotton cloths, as may be inferred from the testimony of Varro, as we find it in Servius (Comm. in Virgilii Æn. i. 649.). “Ctesias ait in Indiâ esse arbores, quæ lanam ferant.”

The expedition of Alexander the Great into India contributed to make the Greeks better acquainted than before with cotton. Hence it is distinctly mentioned by Theophrastus, the disciple of Aristotle. He says, “The trees, from which the Indians make cloths, have a leaf like that of the Black Mulberry; but the whole plant resembles the dog-rose. They set them in the plains arranged in rows, so as to look like vines at a distance[413].” In a succeeding part of the same book (c. 7. p. 143, 144. ed. Schneider) he notices the growth of cotton, not only in India, but in Arabia, and in the island called Tylos, which he places in the Arabian Gulf, although it was probably [Pg 318] in the Persian Gulf, near the Arabian coast[414]. According to his account in the latter passage, “The wool-bearing trees, which grew abundantly in this island, had a leaf like that of the vine, but smaller; they bore no fruit, but the capsule containing the wool, was, when closed, about the size of a quince, when ripe, it expanded so as to emit the wool, which was woven into cloths, either cheap, or of great value.”

Sprengel in his German translation (p. 150. vol. ii.) supposes the Broussonetia Papyrifera to be meant in the former passage. But he gives no good reason for this supposition, and he admits, that the Broussonetia Papyrifera grows in China, not in India. The expression of Theophrastus, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη, which he employs in the latter passage (c. 9. p. 144. ed. Schneider), clearly proves, that he is speaking of the same plant in both passages, and Sprengel himself (p. 164.) supposes the Gossypium Arboreum of Linnæus, the Cotton Tree, to be meant in the latter, though not in the former. The description of Theophrastus is remarkably exact, if we consider it as applying, not to the Cotton Tree (Gossypium Arboreum), but to the Cotton Plant (G. Herbaceum), from which the chief supply of cotton for spinning and weaving into cloth has always been obtained.

Aristobulus, one of Alexander’s generals, made mention of the cotton-plant under the name of the Wool-bearing Tree, and stated that its capsule contained seeds, which were taken out, and that what remained was combed like wool[415].

The testimony of Nearchus, who was the admiral of Alexander, is also preserved to the following effect; “that there were in India trees bearing, as it were, flocks or bunches of wool; that the natives made linen garments of it, wearing a shirt, which reached to the middle of the leg, a sheet folded about the shoulders, and a turban rolled round the head; and that the linen made by them from this substance was fine and whiter than any other.” It is to be observed, that Nearchus, or [Pg 319] rather the two later authors who quote him, viz. Arrian and Strabo, use the terms for linen in a general sense, as including all fine light cloths made of vegetable substances[416].

We read in the account of India by Pomponius Mela (L. iii. c. 7.), that the woods produced wool, used by the natives for clothing. He distinctly mentions the use of flax likewise. It has been conjectured, that he may have taken his account from Nearchus, or some other Greek writer, and that he may have intended to speak only of the use of cotton. But in reply to this it is to be observed, that Pomponius Mela here mentions flax in opposition to cotton, and that his assertion, so understood, was probably true, since we have other evidence to show that flax grows in India as well as cotton. (See Part IV.) Nevertheless it seems necessary to understand other authors of the same period as meaning cotton by the term λίνον, or linum. Thus Dyonisius Periegetes (l. 1116), speaking of the employments of the Indians, says, Οἱ δὲ ἱστοὺς ὑφόωσι λινεργέας, which probably meant “some weave muslins”. In the same manner we must interpret the assertion of Quintus Curtius, “Terra lini ferax, unde plerisque sunt vestes” i. e., The land produces flax, from which the greater part obtain garments. Soon after this Curtius says in terms more strictly proper,

Again, speaking of the dress of the King, he says,

In like manner, Lucan, describing the Indian nations, says,

Strabo says, (L. xv. c. 1. vol. vi. p. 153. ed. Sieb.)

[Pg 320]

Also the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea states, that the region about the Gulf of Barygaza in India was productive “of Carpasus and of the fine Indian cloths made of it[417].” These were what we now call India muslins. These muslins we are informed by Dr. Vincent, were imported into Egypt, and accordingly Pacatus[418] represents Antony’s army as wearing cotton in that country.

The term Carbasus, is evidently used by the five last-cited authors to signify cotton; for they employ it in describing the common dress of the Indians. As the Greeks and Romans became acquainted with cotton much earlier than with silk, we find that Carpas, the proper Oriental name for cotton, was also in use among them at a comparatively early period; and we shall now endeavor to trace the progress of this term from India, Westward. With little variation it is found in the same sense in the Sanscrit, Arabic, and Persic languages[419].

This word occurs once in the Hebrew Scriptures, viz. Esther, i. 6., and there evidently as a foreign term. The hangings, used to decorate the court of the royal palace at Susa on occasion of the great feast given by Ahasuerus, are thus described in the common version of the Scriptures:—

The word, corresponding to “green” in the original is Carpas (כרפס). It has been translated “green” by the authors of the common version on the authority of the Chaldee Paraphrase.

The earliest instance of the use of the oriental name in any classical author is the line from Statius Cæcilius, who died 169 B. C. as quoted by Nonius Marcellus (l. xvi.) from the Pausimachus of Statius:

[Pg 321] As these words are all three Greek, and the play, in which the verse occurred, was also called by a Greek name, we cannot doubt, that Statius translated it according to his usual custom from one of the writers of the New Comedy. We may therefore infer with some confidence from this expression, that the Greeks made use of muslins or calicoes, or at least of cotton cloths of some kind, which were brought from India as early as 200 years B. C.

After some time the oriental custom of using cotton as a protection from the sun’s rays was adopted also by the Romans. Cotton was not only a cheaper and commoner article than silk, but it was particularly adapted for this purpose on account of its lightness, as well as its beauty and fineness; and, besides the instance already cited from the book of Esther, we may observe also, that where the Latin authors mention the use of “Carbasa,” it is sometimes for purposes of this kind. “Tabernacula carbaseis intenta velis,” i. e. “Tents with coverings of cotton,” were among the expensive novelties which contributed to the luxury of Verres, when Prætor in Sicily[421]. The same species of ornament was first displayed at Rome in the magnificent ædileship of P. Lentulus Spinther, at the Apollinarian games and in the year 63 B. C.

Lucretius apparently refers to the introduction by Lentulus Spinther of the cotton awnings above mentioned (vi. 108.), when he is theorising on the cause of thunder, and compares the clouds spread over the sky to the awnings of calico, which veiled the theatres and sheltered the spectators from the sun:

We now find frequent mention of cotton by the poets of the Augustan age and by many subsequent writers. As in the case of silk, these authors introduce cotton, not only historically, but for the purpose of embellishment; and, considering Carbasus as a poetical term, they often by a catachresis employ it where they mean to speak of linen. Also as was before observed in regard to silk (Part I. chapter II.), it may likewise be noticed here, that the wars against Mithridates and the Parthians may have contributed to make the Romans familiar with the use of cotton, although their chief supply of it was more probably through Egypt, than through Persia and Babylonia.

[Pg 323] Catullus (64.), speaking of the black sail which Ægeus furnished for the ships of his son Theseus, calls it “Carbasus Ibera,” “an Iberian sail.” As, on the one hand, he here uses the proper term for cotton, without intending to describe the sail as cotton, so on the other hand he calls the sail Iberian merely because Iberia was a country adjoining Colchis, and from Colchis (as will be shown in Part IV.) the Greeks and Romans obtained a great supply of flax and sail-cloth.

Tibullus, or Lygdamus, entreats (iii. 2. 17.), in the contemplation of his death and funeral, that after his bones have been washed, first with wine, and then with milk, they may be dried “carbaseis veils,” with linen napkins. Although he uses the proper term for cotton, he probably did not intend to denote any preference for cotton rather than linen. His bones, after being wiped, were to be deposited in a marble urn.

Propertius seems to have aimed at a display of knowledge on these subjects (see Part First, chapter II.); and in the following passage (iv. 3.) he probably used Carbasa in its proper sense, as he is referring to Eastern habits:

In the last Elegy of the same Book he refers to the story of the young Vestal virgin, who, when the flame was extinguished upon the altar committed to her care, and when the scourge appeared to await her for her neglect, threw upon the ashes a fillet of muslin from her head, and saved her life by its ignition, which was supposed to be effected by the favor of the goddess:

The story is related by Valerius Maximus (i. 7.). Although we are not informed of the date of the event, it appears from his language that the fillet was of fine muslin: “Cum carbasum, quam optimum habebat, foculo imposuisset, subito ignis emicuit.” This description is well suited to the nature of cotton, than which nothing was more easily ignited.

The passage in Virgil’s Georgics, which mentions cotton, has [Pg 324] been already quoted (See Part I. chapter II. p. 24.). By the Æthiopians, whose groves were “white with soft wool,” he probably intended those of Arabia; and we may suppose him to have referred to accounts, not so much of the Gossypium Herbaceum, to which the word “groves” (nemora) would not apply, as to groves of Gossypium Arboreum and Bombyx Ceiba. In the following passages of Æneid he mentions cotton under its proper name, though probably not intending to distinguish accurately between cotton and linen, and only using the term for the sake of ornament:—

This last passage is part of the description of the attire of Chloreus, the Phrygian, whose muslin chlamys may have rustled in consequence of being interwoven with gold.

OVID.

[Pg 325]

In all these passages Ovid uses carbasa in the improper sense: it was an easy transition from the idea of a cotton awning, with which the Romans had become familiar, to apply the term to the sail of a ship. To these examples we may add the following:

Statius also mentions “Carbasei sinus,” the folds of cotton in the chlamys of a Bacchanal (Theb. vii. 658.).

Valerius Flaccus also introduces muslin among the elegances in the dress of a Phrygian from the river Rhyndacus.

[Pg 326]

Also Prudentius, the Christian poet (See Part 1, chap. iii. p. 59.), in an elaborate account of Pride, depicts her in a garment of the same kind:

Apuleius mentions carbasina in conjunction with bombycina and other kinds of cloth[423]. He may consequently be presumed to use the word in its proper sense, to wit, as denoting calico or muslin. In the same manner cotton is distinguished from silk by Sidonius Apollinaris[424]. Also we may presume that cotton and not linen sails are to be understood in the following line of Avienus:

Here the writer not only professes to give geographical information, but he is describing the Indian seas and islands; and as in the present day, so also in ancient times, the sails used in the navigation of those seas were probably made of cotton.

Strabo uses the word καρπασίναι in describing the official dress of a certain class of priestesses among the Cimbri[425]. Although it [Pg 327] is possible, that muslin may have been conveyed to them to be used on solemn occasions, it appears more probable that fine linen or cambric, which was manufactured at no great distance among the Atrebates, ought here to be understood.

Pliny mentions cotton in four different passages of his Natural History. Two of them are translated with some inaccuracies from the passages of Theophrastus. To his translation of one of these passages Pliny annexes the remark, derived perhaps from some other source, that the inhabitants of Tylos called their Cotton Trees gossympins, and that an island which was called the smaller Tylos, distant ten miles, was still more fertile in cotton than the larger island of the same name.

The third passage introduces cotton under its proper name, Carbasa. It would imply that cotton was first grown or manufactured at Tarraco in Spain, than which assertion nothing can be more inaccurate and groundless.

The fourth passage is also contrary to all previous evidence, inasmuch as it represents cotton to be the native growth of Egypt. It calls the Cotton Plant gossypion, and hence the name has been given to it by modern botanists. Supposing this last passage to be genuine, still we know not on what authority Pliny depended, or from what source he derived his information, nor can we tell to what extent he allowed himself to be inaccurate in transcribing or translating. Taken by itself, therefore, it appears to us that this passage is no better proof of the growth of cotton anciently in Egypt than the third passage is of its first discovery in Spain.

This passage seems however deserving of more consideration, when taken in conjunction with the following from the Onomastícon of Julius Pollux, who wrote 100 years later than Pliny:—

[Pg 328]

The description here given of the Cotton Tree or Cotton Plant, whichever was meant, is remarkably correct; indeed more correct than any account obtained since the time of the expedition of Alexander. The circumstance of the pericarp being three-cleft is agreeable to the fact, and is not noticed by any earlier writer. The comparison of it to a walnut in regard to size and form is also accurate. From this account, and from those of Theophrastus, Aristobulus, and Nearchus, we gather the following particulars, which are agreeable to the fact: that the cotton-plants are set in the plains, and in rows like vines; that the plant is three or four feet high, and is branched, spreading, and flexible, like a dog-rose; that the leaf is palmated like that of the vine; that the capsule is three-valved, about the size of a walnut, and, when it bursts, emits the cotton, resembling flocks of wool, in which the seeds are imbedded.

On the other hand, we have had no previous evidence respecting the use of cotton in the manufacture of cloth for the woof only, and it is doubtful whether this piece of information is correct, because we have no reason to suppose that cotton was used for weaving in any country in which flax was also spun and woven.

Tertullian in the third Chapter of his treatise De Pallio, enumerates nearly all the raw materials which were spun for weaving. He mentions the class of vegetable substances (cotton and flax) in the following terms:

Philostratus, who wrote in the third century, makes distinct mention of cotton in two passages[427].

[Pg 329] Martianus Capella (l. ii. § 4. p. 99. ed. Goetz.) makes distinct reference to a tunic and shawl white as milk, and made either of cotton or fine linen.

Theophilus Presbyter, who wrote probably about A. D. 800, describes the use of cotton-paper for making gold-leaf. He calls it Greek parchment, made of tree-wool, Pergamena, or Parcamena Græca, quæ fit ex lanâ ligni[428].

From the travels of the two Arabians who visited China in the ninth century, we learn that at that time the ordinary dress of their countrymen was cotton: for they remark, that “the Chinese dressed, not in cotton, as the Arabians did, but in silk[429].” Probably the use of imported cotton might by this time have become not uncommon in Egypt, Syria, and other oriental countries; but we apprehend, that it was never generally employed in Europe either for clothing, or for any other purpose, until very lately.

It is unnecessary to further discuss the question as to whether cotton was or was not cultivated in Egypt in ancient times. This vexed question having been lately set at rest, by a discovery which reduces a great deal of the learning that has been expended upon it to the character of old lumber. The difficulty of ascertaining whether the mummy-cloths (of which the specimens are exceedingly numerous) were made of linen or cotton, has at length been overcome; and though no chemical test could be found out to settle the question, it has been decided by that important aid to scientific scrutiny, the microscope. (See Chapters I. and II. Part IV.)

The following observations of Dr. Robertson in his “Historical Disquisition concerning the knowledge which the Ancients had of India[430],” appear very just and important.

[Pg 330] In confirmation of these remarks it may be observed, that the passages collected in this chapter represent cotton cloth as an expensive and curious production rather than as an article of common use among the Greeks and Romans. Among the ancients linen must have been far cheaper than cotton, whereas the improvements in navigation, the discovery of the passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope, and still more the discovery of America, have now made cotton the cheaper article among us, and have thus brought it into general use.

India produces several varieties of cotton, both of the herbaceous and the tree kinds. Marco Polo mentions that “cotton is produced in Guzerat in large quantities from a tree that is about six yards in height, and bears during twenty years; but the cotton taken from trees of this age is not adapted for spinning, but only quilting. Such, on the contrary, as is taken from trees of twelve years old, is suitable for muslins and other manufactures of extraordinary fineness[431].” Sir John Mandeville, on the other hand, who travelled in the fourteenth century, fifty years later than Polo, mentions the annual herbaceous cotton as cultivated in India: he says—“In many places the seed of the cotton, (cothon,) which we call tree-wool, is sown every year, and there springs up from its copses of low shrubs, on which this wool grows[432].” Forbes also, in his Oriental Memoirs, thus describes the herbaceous cotton of Guzerat:—“The cotton shrub, which grows to the height of three or four feet, and in verdure resembles the currant bush, requires a longer time than rice (which grows up and is reaped in three months) to bring its delicate produce to perfection. The shrubs are planted between the rows of rice, but do not impede its growth, or prevent its being reaped. Soon after the rice harvest is over, the cotton bushes put forth a beautiful yellow flower, with a crimson eye in each petal; this is succeeded by a green pod, filled with a white stringy pulp; the pod turns brown and hard as it ripens, and then separates into two or three divisions [Pg 331] containing the cotton. A luxuriant field, exhibiting at the same time the expanding blossom, the bursting capsule, and the snowy flakes of ripe cotton, is one of the most beautiful objects in the agriculture of Hindostan[433].”

The following general statement concerning the cotton of India, is from the geographical work of Malte Brun:—“The cotton-tree grows on all the Indian mountains, but its produce is coarse in quality: the herbaceous cotton prospers chiefly in Bengal and on the Coromandel coast, and there the best cotton goods are manufactured. Next to these two provinces, Maduré, Marawar, Pescaria, and the coast of Malabar, produce the finest cotton[434].” He elsewhere says—“Cotton is cultivated in every part of India: the finest grows in the light rocky soil of Guzerat, Bengal, Dude, and Agra. The cultivation of this plant is very lucrative, an acre producing about nine quintals of cotton in the year[435].”

On the discovery of this continent by Columbus, Cotton formed the principal article of clothing among the Mexicans.

We are informed by the Abbé Clavigero that “of cotton the Mexicans made large webs, and as delicate and fine as those of Holland, which were, with much reason, highly esteemed in Europe. They wove their cloths of different figures and colors, representing different animals and flowers. Of feathers interwoven with cotton, they made mantles and bed-curtains, carpets, gowns, and other things, not less soft than beautiful. With cotton also they interwove the finest hair of the belly of rabbits and hares, after having spun it into thread: of this they made most beautiful cloths, and in particular winter waistcoats for their lords[436].” Among the presents sent by Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico, to Charles V., were “cotton mantles, some all white, others mixed with white and black, or red, green, yellow, and blue; waistcoats, handkerchiefs, counterpanes, tapestries, and carpets of cotton; and the [Pg 332] colors of the cotton were extremely fine[437].” That the Mexicans should have understood the art of dyeing those beautiful colors referred to in the above extract, is not to be wondered at when we consider that they had both indigo and cochineal among their native productions.

Columbus also found the cotton plant growing wild, and in great abundance, in Hispaniola, and other West India islands, and on the continent of South America, where the inhabitants wore cotton dresses, and made their fishing nets of the same material[438]; and when Magellan went on his circumnavigation of the globe, in 1519, the Brazilians were accustomed to make their beds of this vegetable down[439].

[Pg 333]

The antiquity of the cotton manufacture in India having been noticed in the last chapter, the present one will give some account of the remarkable excellence of the Indian fabrics,—the processes and machines by which they are wrought,—the condition of the population engaged in this department of industry,—the extensive commerce formerly carried on in these productions to every quarter of the globe, and the causes that have tended to destroy it.

The Indians have in all ages maintained an unapproached [Pg 334] and almost incredible perfection in their fabrics of cotton. Indeed some of their muslins might be thought the work of fairies or insects, rather than of men; but these are produced in small quantities, and have seldom been exported. In the same province from which the ancient Greeks obtained the finest muslins then known, namely, the province of Bengal, these astonishing fabrics are manufactured to the present day[440].

We learn from two Arabian travellers of the ninth century, that “in this country (India) they make garments of such extraordinary perfection, that nowhere else are the like to be seen. These garments are for the most part round, and wove to that degree of fineness that they may be drawn through a ring of moderate size[441].” Marco Polo, in the thirteenth century, mentions the coast of Coromandel, and especially Masulipatam, as producing “the finest and most beautiful cottons that are to be found in any part of the world[442];” and this is still the case as to the flowered and glazed cottons, called chintzes, though the muslins of the Coromandel coast are inferior to those of Bengal.

Odoardo Barbosa, one of the Portuguese adventurers who visited India immediately after the discovery of the passage by the Cape of Good Hope, celebrates “the great quantities of cotton cloths admirably painted, also some white and some striped, held in the highest estimation,” which were made in Bengal[443]. Cæsar Frederick, a Venetian merchant, who travelled in India in 1563, and whose narrative is translated by Hakluyt, describes the extensive traffic carried on between St. Thomé (a port 150 miles from Negapatam) and Pegu, in “bumbast (cotton) cloth of every sort, painted, which is a rare thing, because this kind of cloths show as if they were gilded with divers colors, and the more they are washed, the livelier the colors will become; and there is made such account of this kind of cloth, that a small bale of it will cost 1000 or 2000 ducats[444].”

[Pg 335] Tavernier, who, like Marco Polo, Barbosa, and Frederick, was a merchant as well as a traveller, and therefore accustomed to judge of the qualities of goods, and who travelled in the middle of the seventeenth century, says—“The white calicuts,” (calicoes, or rather muslins, so called from the great commercial city of Calicut, whence the Portuguese and Dutch first brought them) “are woven in several places in Bengal and Mogulistan, and are carried to Raioxsary and Baroche[445] to be whitened, because of the large meadows and plenty of lemons that grow thereabouts, for they are never so white as they should be till they are dipped in lemon-water. Some calicuts are made so fine, you can hardly feel them in your hand, and the thread, when spun, is scarce discernible[446].” The same writer says, “There is made at Seconge (in the province of Malwa) a sort of calicut so fine that when a man puts it on, his skin shall appear as plainly through it, as if he was quite naked; but the merchants are not permitted to transport it, for the governor is obliged to send it all to the Great Mogul’s seraglio and the principal lords of the court, to make the sultanesses and noblemen’s wives shifts and garments for the hot weather; and the king and the lords take great pleasure to behold them in these shifts, and see them dance with nothing else upon them[447].” Speaking of the turbans of the Mohammedan Indians, Tavernier says, “The rich have them of so fine cloth, that twenty-five [Pg 336] or thirty ells of it put into a turban will not weigh four ounces[448].”

An English writer, at the end of the seventeenth century, in a remonstrance against the admission of India muslins, for which, he says, the high price of thirty shillings a yard was paid, unintentionally compliments the delicacy of the fabric by stigmatizing it as “only the shadow of a commodity[449].”

The late Rev. William Ward, a missionary at Serampore, informs us that “at Shantee-pooru and Dhaka, muslins are made which sell at a hundred rupees a piece. The ingenuity of the Hindoos in this branch of manufacture is wonderful. Persons with whom I have conversed on this subject say, that at two places in Bengal, Sonar-ga and Vilkrum-pooru, muslins are made by a few families so exceedingly fine, that four months are required to weave one piece, which sells at five hundred rupees. When this muslin is laid on the grass, and the dew has fallen upon it, it is no longer discernible[450].”

After such statements as the above, from sober and creditable witnesses, the Oriental hyperbole which designates the Dacca muslins as “webs of woven wind,” seems only moderately poetical.

Sir Charles Wilkins brought a specimen of Dacca muslin from India in the year 1786, which was presented to him by the principal of the East India Company’s factory at Dacca, as the finest then made there. Like all Indian muslins, it has a yellowish hue, caused by imperfect bleaching. Though the worse for many years’ exposure in a glass case, and the handling of visitors, it is of exquisite delicacy, softness, and transparency; yet the yarn of which it is woven, and of which Mr. Wilkins also brought a specimen, is not so fine as some which has been spun by machinery in England. The following minute, made by Sir Joseph Banks on a portion of this yarn, thirty or forty years since, appears at the India House in his own writing, together with a specimen of the muslin:—

[Pg 337] “The portion of skein which Mr. Wilkins gave to me weighed 34³⁄₁₀ grains: its length was 5 yards 7 inches, and it consisted of 196 threads. Consequently, its whole length was 1018 yards and 7 inches. This, with a small allowance for fractions, gives 29 yards to a grain, 203,000 to a pound avoirdupoise of 7000 grains; that is, 115 miles, 2 furlongs, and 60 yards.”

Cotton yarn has been spun in England, making three hundred and fifty hanks to the lb. weight, each hank measuring 840 yards, and the whole forming a thread of 167 miles in length[451]. This, however, must be regarded merely as showing how fine the cotton can possibly be spun by machinery, since no such yarn is or could be used in the making of muslins, or for any other purpose. The extreme of fineness to which yarns for muslins are ever spun in Great Britain is 250 hanks to the lb., which would form a thread measuring 119⅓ miles; but it is very rarely indeed that finer yarn is used than 220 hanks to the lb., which is less fine than the specimen of Dacca muslin above mentioned. The Indian hand-spun yarn is softer than mule-yarn, and the muslins made of the former are much more durable than those made of the latter. In point of appearance, however, the book-muslin of Glasgow is very superior to the Indian muslin, not only because it is better bleached, but because it is more evenly woven, and from yarn of uniform thickness, whereas the threads in the Indian fabric vary considerably.

It is probable that the specimens brought by Wilkins, though the finest then made at the city of Dacca, is not equal to the most delicate muslins made in that neighborhood in former times, or even in the present. The place called by the Rev. Mr. Ward Sonar-ga, and, by Mr. Walter Hamilton, Sooner-gong, a decayed city near Dacca, has been said to be unrivalled in its muslins. Mr. Ward’s testimony has been quoted above. [Pg 338] Mr. Ralph Fitch, an English traveller, in 1583, spoke of the same place when he said—“Sinnergan is a town six leagues from Serrapore, where there is the best and finest cloth made of cotton that is in all India[452].” Mr. Hamilton says—“Soonergong is now dwindled down to an inconsiderable village. By Abul Fazel, in 1582, it is celebrated for the manufacture of a beautiful cloth, named cassas (cossaes,) and the fabrics it still produces justify to the present generation its ancient renown[453]”. But it seems that there has been a great decline in the manufacture of the finest muslins, which is both stated and accounted for by Mr. Hamilton in the following passage on the district of Dacca Jelulpoor:—

“Plain muslins, are distinguished by different names, according to the fineness or closeness of the texture, as well as flowered, striped, or chequered muslins, are fabricated chiefly in this district, where a species of cotton named the banga grows, necessary, although not of a very superior quality, to form the stripes of the finest muslins, for which the city of Dacca has been so long celebrated. The northern parts of Benares furnish both plain and flowered muslins, which are not ill adapted for common use, though incapable of sustaining any competition with the beautiful and inimitable fabrics of Dacca.

“The export of the above staple articles has much decreased, and the art of manufacturing some of the finest species of muslins is in danger of being lost, the orders for them being so few that many of the families who possess by hereditary instruction the art of fabricating them have desisted, on account of the difficulty they afterwards experience in disposing of them. This decline may partly be accounted for from the utter stagnation of demand in the upper provinces since the downfall of the imperial government, prior to which these delicate and beautiful fabrics were in such estimation, not only at the court of Delhi, but among all classes of the high nobility in India, as to render it difficult to supply the demand. Among more recent [Pg 339] causes also may be adduced the French revolution, the degree of perfection to which this peculiar manufacture has lately been brought in Great Britain, the great diminution in the Company’s investment, and the advance in the price of cotton.”

With respect to the peculiar species of cotton of which the Dacca muslins are made, the following statement was given to a committee of the House of Commons, in 1830-31, by Mr. John Crawfurd, for many years in the service of the East India Company, and author of the “History of the Indian Archipelago:”

“There is a fine variety of cotton in the neighborhood of Dacca, from which I have reason to believe the fine muslins of Dacca are produced, and probably to the accidental discovery of it is to be attributed the rise of this singular manufacture; it is cultivated by the natives alone, not at all known in the English market, nor, as far as I am aware, in that of Calcutta. Its growth extends about forty miles along the banks of the Megna, and about three miles inland. I consulted Mr. Colebrook respecting the Dacca cotton, and had an opportunity of perusing the manuscripts of the late Dr. Roxburgh, which contain an account of it; he calls it a variety of the common herbaceous annual cotton of India, and states that it is longer in the staple, and affords the material from which the Dacca muslins have been always made.”

The cotton manufacture in India is not carried on in a few large towns, or in one or two districts; it is universal. The growth of cotton is nearly as general as the growth of food; everywhere the women spend a portion of their time in spinning; and almost every village contains its weavers, and supplies its own inhabitants with the scanty clothing they require[454]. Being a domestic manufacture, and carried on with the rudest and cheapest apparatus, it requires neither capital, mills, or an [Pg 340] assemblage of various trades. The cotton is separated from the seeds by a small rude hand-mill, or gin, turned by women.

The mill consists of two rollers of teak wood, fluted longitudinally with five or six grooves, and revolving nearly in contact. The upper roller is turned by a handle, the lower being carried along with it by means of a perpetual screw at the axis. The cotton is put in at one side, and drawn through by the revolving rollers; but the seeds, being too large to pass through the opening, are torn off and fall down on the opposite side from the cotton[455].

[Pg 341] The next operation is that of bowing the cotton, to clear it from dirt and knots. A large bow, made elastic by a complication of strings, is used; this being put in contact with a heap of cotton, the workman strikes the string with a heavy wooden mallet, and its vibrations open the knots of the cotton, shake from it the dust and dirt, and raise it to a downy fleece. The hand-mill and bow have been used immemorially throughout all the countries of Asia, and have their appropriate names in the Arabic and other languages: they were formerly used in America, whence the term, still applied in commerce, “bowed Georgia cotton.” The hatters of Great Britain still raise their wool by the bow. The cotton being thus prepared, without any carding, it is spun by the women; the coarse yarn is spun on a one-thread wheel, and very much resembling those used at the present day by the peasantry in the west of Ireland.

The finer yarn is spun with a metallic spindle, and sometimes without a distaff; a bit of clay is attached as a weight to one end of the spindle, which is turned round with the left hand, whilst the cotton is supplied with the right; the thread is wound upon a small piece of wood. The spinster keeps her [Pg 342] fingers dry by the use of a chalky powder. (See Part First, Chapter I, pp. 17 and 18.)