The Lake Charles echo., 1894-05-11
a slLK WORMS THREAD.
Rha wonderful Creation Of stiil More
Wonderful Hnseet.

she wonderful Creation Of q still More
Wonderful insect.
Sikh What wonderful product It is
and what i marvellous trade has sprung
out Of Ill One Of the astonishing facts
In the history Of the human race is the
way in which great results are attained
for II out Of little causes 1T eonceiya-
BILE that the food of man might have
been derived from some Of the largest
fruits or nuts or roots which grow upon
theearth, The bulk Of the bread Of man
kind--''th the staff Of hfen--is, however,
drawn, as al know, not from the heavy
bread fruit or big tuhers, but from the
comparatively minute grains Of wheat,
barley and rye, millet and rice In like
manner the larger portion Of the gar
ments of human beings Ia obtained from
the abort wool on the backs Of sheep and
goats or from the small pod Of the cot
tom plant, which hides its seeds In ball
Of white fluff from which we spin the
cotton, Silk is an especially notable in
stance of the way N which our race
makes much out Of little for its needs
Here Is an insignificant worm which
feeds upon the glutinoua leaves Of the
mulberry and gradually fills itself with
a sticky compound which has for its di-
rect purpose TO compose the COCOON
When the time comes for the worm TO
undergo that strange metamuFphosis
into the chrysalis, 1t ceases to cat and
slowly weayes round itself casing
composed entirely of one long thread.
Its spinning finished, tho attenuated
creature takes the intermediate form
preparatory TO its winged state as q
moth, nor ID anything In nature more
full of creative mystery aud design
What the worm does for its own lonely
ends man undoes for Objects Of beauty,
fashion and comfort The silk grower
patiently unwinds the lustTous thread
from the point whore the silkworm be-
gan TO that where its tilny house was
finished, and from this tiny plundeT
springs the whole vast editice Of the silk
industry, To the small pale worm beau
ty owes her most lovely and glittoring
raiment nor has art anything more OK
auisite to fashion, to embroider, to be-
stow in splendid folds or TO initiate iu
painting than the soft shining wet
which is made from the poor worms
patient labor
Extraordinary ia the difference be
tween the minute cocoon and the great
bale of Lyons or china satin--the un
conscious toll Of the caterpillar and TIN
looms that in thousand factories ant
workshops interlaoe the thin tiber int
such superb and dazzling patterns
Nothing can initiate, nothing excel tn
charm Of that fine microscopic tissu
drawn by the worms magic from th
mulberry leaf. 1t possesses q nature
glitter which is shared by nothing els
In the world and which makes it resem
bio under the microscope waving wire
of gold. Manufactured into cloth, !
gives US substance at once light an'
warm, durable and freely taking al
sorts of dyes, each creature contributing
in his cocoon about !, 600 feet Of tn
thin thread. The west knew nothing 0
silk at all before the reign Of Augustus
though the Chinese had woven 1t eve
since a700 b. O. Some Persian monk
first brought eggs of tho silkwurm In
hollow cane to Constantinople, A. D
6bs, Tho Emperor Justinian took th
business up, and so ii spread TO Italy
Spain and southern France, althoug
China was still the chief source of SUI
ply, London Telegraph.