“The worms, which spin this silk, are of two kinds: the first, much larger and blacker than the common silk-worms, are called _Tsouen-kien_; the second, being smaller, are named _Tiao-kien_. The silk of the former is of a reddish gray, that of the latter darker. The stuff made of these materials is between both colors, it is very close, does not _fret_, is very lasting, washes like linen, and, when it is good, receives no damage by spots, even though oil were to be shed on it. “This stuff is much valued by the Chinese, and it is sometimes as dear as satin or the finest silks. As the Chinese are very skilful at counterfeiting, they make a false sort of _Kien-tcheou_ with the waste of the Tche-kiang silk, which without due inspection might easily be taken for the genuine article.” 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._ “The wild silk-worms are found in the hottest provinces of China, especially near Canton. They live indifferently on all sorts of leaves, particularly on those of the ash, the oak, and the fagara, and spin a greyish and rarely white silk. The coarse cloth manufactured from it is called _Kien-tcheou_, will bear washing, and on that account persons of quality do not disdain to wear clothes of it. With this silk also the strings of musical instruments are made, because it is stronger and more sonorous. “Entomologists treat but very superficially of the habits of the wild silk-worms, while they dwell in minute detail on the method of rearing them in Provence. “It is between the nineteenth and twenty-second day of their existence, that they undertake the great work of spinning their cocoon. They curve a leaf into a kind of cup, and then form a cocoon as large and nearly as hard as a hen’s egg! This cocoon has one end open like a reversed funnel; it is a passage for the butterfly, which is to come out. “The oak-worms are slower in making their cocoon than those of the fagara and ash, and they set about it differently. Instead of bending a single leaf, they roll themselves in two or three and spin their cocoon. It is larger, but the silk is inferior in quality, and of course not so valuable.