It is not certain at what precise period the silk manufacture was first introduced into England. But, in the year 1242, we are told that part of the streets of London were covered or shaded with silk, for the reception of Richard, the brother of Henry the Third, on his return from the Holy Land. In 1454 the silk manufactures of England are said to have been confined to ribbons, laces, and other trifling articles. Queen Elizabeth, in the third year of her reign, was furnished by her silk-woman with a pair of black knit silk stockings, which she is stated to have admired as "marvellous delicate wear;" and after the using of which she no longer had cloth ones, as before. James the First, whilst king of Scotland, requested of the Earl of Mar the loan of a pair of silk stockings to appear in before the English ambassador, enforcing his request with this cogent appeal, "For ye would not, sure, that your King should appear as a scrub before strangers."
China may be said to be the country of silk; indeed it furnishes large quantities of raw silk to all the neighbouring nations, and to Europe; and also for clothing the greatest part of its own inhabitants. There are in China very few, except the lowest orders, who are not clad in silk garments. The best Chinese silk is that which is imported from Nankin.
The principal silk manufacture in England is carried on in Spitalfields, London.
Although the whole of the silk which is produced in Europe, and the greatest proportion of that manufactured in China, is obtained from the common silkworm; yet considerable quantities are procured, in India, from the caterpillars of other moths. Of these the most important are the TUSSEH and ARRINDY silk worms (Phalæna paphia and cinthia), both of which are natives of Bengal and the adjacent provinces. The silk from these kinds of worms has long been used by the natives. The former, which is commonly called tusseh silk, is woven into a coarse and dark-coloured kind of cloth, called tusseh dooties, much worn by the Brahmins and other sects of Hindoos. Of the arrindy silk is manufactured a coarse kind of white cloth, of seemingly loose texture, but of almost incredible durability. It is employed as clothing both for men and women; and may be used for more than twenty years without decay. In the washing of it, however, care must be taken to use only cold water, as, if put into boiling water, it will become rotten, and will tear like old and decayed cloth. This kind of silk is not only employed for clothing, but, by merchants, as packing cloths, for silks, shawls, and other fine goods. Some manufacturers in England, to whom the silk was shown, were of opinion that it might be made into shawls, equal in quality to any that we receive from India.
262. The HIVE-BEE (Apis mellifica) is a well-known, hymenopterous insect ([12]), of uniform brown colour, and with somewhat hairy body.
Bees live in extremely numerous societies, either in decayed trees, or in habitations prepared for them by mankind, called hives. Each hive contains, 1, a single female which has the name of queen-bee; 2, about 1600 males, called drones; and, 3, about 20,000 individuals of neither sex, called working-bees. It is upon the latter that the whole trouble devolves of constructing combs, or cells, for the honey and for the eggs deposited by the female; collecting and forming the honey, and feeding the grubs which proceed from the eggs, and which afterwards change into bees.
Bees' wax is the substance of the combs after the honey has been extracted from them. The best kind is hard, compact, of clear yellow colour, and an agreeable odour, nearly similar to that of honey. It is melted, and cast in moulds of different sizes and shapes. White wax is prepared from common bees' wax by melting it into water, and exposing it, for a considerable time, to the action of the sun, air, and water. When sufficiently bleached, it is cast into thin cakes. The purposes for which wax is applicable are very numerous. Great quantities of white wax are annually consumed in the manufacture of candles; and in making cerates, plasters, and ointments.
Honey is a sweet and fluid substance, which is collected from flowers, and deposited in the combs for support of the bees and their offspring. The honey made by young bees is purer than any other, and is thence called virgin honey. Before the discovery of sugar, honey was of much greater importance than it is at present. Yet both as a delicious article of food, and as the basis of a wholesome fermented liquor called mead, it is of no mean value even in this country; but in many parts of the Continent, where sugar is much dearer than with us, few articles of rural economy, not of primary importance, would be dispensed with more reluctantly than honey. In the Ukraine some of the peasants have each 400 or 500 bee-hives, and make more profit of their bees than of corn. And in Spain the number of hives is almost incredible: a single parish priest is stated to have possessed 5000.
Bee-hives that are made of straw are usually preferred to any others, as they are not liable to be overheated by the sun; they keep out the cold better than wood, and are cheaper than those formed of any other material. The profit arising from bees, when properly attended to, is very considerable; and, to obtain the greatest possible advantage from them, they should be supplied with every convenience for the support of themselves and their offspring. They should be kept in a good situation; that is, in a country abounding with flowers; at a distance from brew-houses, smelting-works, &c. and in well-constructed hives. In France floating bee-hives are very common. One barge contains from sixty to a hundred hives well defended from the inclemency of the weather. With these the owners float gently down the stream, whilst the insects gather honey from the flowers along the banks.
Many of the bee-masters in France have an ingenious mode of transporting the loaded bee-hives from one part of the country to another. They are fastened together by laths placed on pack-cloth, which is drawn up on each side, and then tied by a piece of pack-thread several times round the top. In this state they are laid in a cart, and can be carried in safety to very considerable distances.