The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-12
Little Empress Originator
 Of Silk


 which has afflicted emperors and em- presses since the world first began ennui. Presently the attention of the little empress was attracted to cater pillar, which was building for himself beautiful little house with threads which he spun from his own body. Fi- nally. she told herself. if she could only unravel the little golden thread with which he euveloped his tiny body she would get one long thread. If l could only unwind it." cried the empress "what an exquisite fabric 1t would make"
 So she asked the emperor to give her grove of choice mulberry trees. and there she worked. and cultivated the tiny worms which finally spun elab- crate, beautiful threads with which they enveloped their bodies. and she took each little cocoon, carefully unraveled the long thread, and one happy day she succeeded in twisting together the strands from several of the little silk balls into many long threads. Hun dreds of yards she wound off. and from them she wove wonderful shimmering fabric more wonderful than any that had ever been seen before, says the Milwaukee Journal.
 How the Name Developed
 And ever since that eventful day, when the bored Chinese empress con- ceived the idea of making cloth from the cocoon of a caterpillar, the world has clothed itself more and more with the passing centuries. in silk. And to this day the world has honored the lit tic Chinese empress by calling the mag ic cloth she discovered by her name. In China it is known as "si,' in France as "soie" and in English-speaking lands as silk" after the clever empress. whose name was Si-LingShi, or as the Chinese call her. ''the goddess of the silkworms" And every year, when the mulberry leaves open, there is a great feast in her honor.
 While this is only legend. still it indicates that silk culture began in China in very early times. The em- press Si-Ling-Shi died more than 4.50O years ago, and for more than 2,OOo years after her death the manufacture of silk remained a scret with the royal family of China. Much of the royal cloth was exported to Japan, and then to India, but the secret of its manu- facture remained within he walls of the royal garden of the Chinese en- perors. /
 When Alexander the Great swept through the orient with his victoriou us legions he brought back with him some bales of raw silk. But he could not get the great secret of silk culture. That remained in China until three centuries after the beginning of the Christian ra. At that time, it is said, Chinese princess married an Indian prince, and when she left the country she took with her some silkworm eggs, carefully hidden in her headdress.
 Justinian's Monopoly
 But through the centuries that fol lowed the downfall of the Roman em- pire silk continued to come over the caravan routes from the orient into Flu rope and the monarchs of western Flu | rope longed for this ''cloth of kings whic hwas expensive even for the rich est of them. The knowledge of silk worm culture spread very slowly. But in Justinian's reign that sturdy emperor persuaded two Persian priests, who had lived in China for many years, to go back and bring some silkworms with them. They went, in peril of theil f! lives. for the penalty for smuggling eggs of the silkworm out of China was death. The monks returned with the precious eggs concealed in the hollow of their pilgrims staffs. It was these eggs that supplied the western world with silk for twelve centuries, for the over land trade with China fell off, and Chi nese silk become more and more rare
 But Justinian was a progressive em- peror and even in his simple age he understood the advantages of monopo- lies. Under his manipulation silk went up to eight times it's former price. But this monopoly did not last long, for with the death of Justinian the secrets &b, aacnnnd and the culture spread over all of Southern Eu- rope.
 American Silk Culture
 Few know of the unsuccessful at temp that was made to raise silk worms in the United States. When James I was King of England he or dered the establishment of a silkreeling house in Virginia He offered five pounds of tobacco to every Virginia farmed who would raise pound of silk cocoons. Martha Washington wore a gown made of native silk at the inaugu- ration of America's first president.
 Some native silk was used in trim ming the carriage of Thomas Jefferson At the time he was President the French Revolution was raging in France, and there was much feeling in America against France. But President Jefferson sympathized with the French, and so, one day, a mob attacked his carriage, and tore all the silk lining from it, thinking it had been made in France.
 Silk culture in America languished soon after, and except for sporadic. un successful attempts has never been re vived.
 More than 95 per cent of the sill used in the world today is raised 1T Japan and China, where cheap labor l: available for the raising and care of tho worms.
 Miady wears silk today iS many forms, and in many ways. And now with the aid of searching science, man has risen to the level of the worm, ano has learned to make silk by artificial means.
 nTAr RDnXVNV HE