r it envelopes itself in the beautiful ball, the silken threads of
which form the elegant texture which is so much worn.

_Texture_, a web or substance woven.

What are the habits of this insect, and on what does it feed?

After bursting from the egg, it becomes a large worm or caterpillar of
a yellowish white color, (which is its first state;) this caterpillar
feeds on the leaves of the mulberry tree, till, arriving at maturity,
it winds itself up in a silken bag or case, called a cocoon, about the
size and shape of a pigeon's egg, and becomes a chrysalis; in which
state it lies without signs of life; in about ten days it eats its way
out of its case, a perfect butterfly, which lays a number of eggs and
then dies. In the warmth of the summer weather, these eggs are
hatched, and become worms, as their parents did at first.

_Maturity_, ripeness, perfection

How much silk is each ball said to contain?

Each ball consists of a very fine, soft, bright, delicate thread,
which being wound off, extends in length six miles.

What is meant by Chrysalis?

The second state into which the insect passes before it comes to be a
butterfly. The maggot or worm having ceased to eat, fixes itself in
some place till its skin separates, and discovers a horny, oblong
body, which is the chrysalis.

Where was Silk first made?

The culture and manufacture of silk was originally confined to China.
The Greeks, under Alexander the Great, brought home, among other
Eastern luxuries, wrought silks from Persia, about 323, B.C.
It was not long unknown to the Romans, although it was so rare, that
it was even sold weight for weight with gold. The Emperor Aurelian,
who died in 275, B.C. refused the Empress, his wife, a suit
of silk which she solicited with much earnestness, merely on account
of its dearness. Heliogabalus, the Emperor, who died half a century
before Aurelian, was the first who wore a _holosericum_ or garment all
of silk.

Who introduced the Silk Worm itself into Europe?

Two monks, engaged as missionaries in China, obtained a quantity of
silk worms' eggs, which they concealed in a hollow cane, and conveyed
in safety to Constantinople in 552; the eggs were hatched in the
proper season by the warmth of manure, and the worms fed with the
leaves of the wild mulberry tree. These worms in due time spun their
silk, and propagated under the care of the monks, who also instructed
the Romans in the whole process o