[46] The Saturnia mylitta is the caterpillar from which the Tusseh-silk is obtained; the cocoon is of an oval shape when suspended upon the tree, and of exceedingly firm texture; it is figured in Sir Wm. Jardine’s Naturalist’s Library (Edinb. 1841), Entomology, vol. vii. pl. xiv. 2, pp. 146-53. The Eriodendron anfractuosum, D.C., is an Indian Bombax. The woolly cotton which envelops the seed is remarkable for its softness, and is much and deservedly esteemed for making cushions and bedding, owing to its freedom from any tendency to become lumpy and uneven by getting impacted into hard knots. Various attempts have been made to fabricate it into cloth, but hitherto without success, except as a very loose material, fit only for quilting muffs, for which it is superior to cotton or woollen stuffs, the looseness of its texture rendering it an excellent non-conductor, whilst at the same time it is extremely light.—Wight, Illustrations of Indian Botany (Madras, 1840), vol. i. p. 68; Roxburgh, Flora Indica (Serampore, 1832), vol. iii. p. 165 (= Bombax pentandrum). Both the caterpillar and the plant are found in the jungle in the neighbourhood of Seringapatam. For the identification of the vegetable substance, I am indebted to W. Carruthers, Esq., F.L.S., British Museum.
[47] Schoolcraft, Information concerning the History, &c., of the Indian Tribes of the U. S. A. (Philadelphia, 1851-9), part iii. p. 69.
[48] Meyrick, l. c., vol. i. Introduction.
[49] Denham and Clapperton, Travels in Northern and Central Africa (London, 1826), p. 328 (Denham).
[50] See Critical Enquiry into Ancient Armour, by Sir Samuel R. Meyrick, vol. iii. p. 21, and pl. lxviii.
[51] Bollaert, ‘Observations on the Indian Tribes of Texas,’ Journ. Ethno. Soc., vol. ii. pp. 262-83.
[52] Du Chaillu, Explorations and Adventures in Equatorial Africa (London, 1861), p. 80.
[53] Homer, Iliad, vii. 244-8.
[54] Casalis, The Basutos (London, 1861), pp. 135-6.
[55] Barth, l. c., vol. i. p. 355.