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(bSESsySSB Ed©@Sfl'So SW P,,< v <3 t / v^o\/ t f X THE HISTORY OF SILK, COTTON, LINEN, WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES ; INCLUDING OBSERVATIONS ON SPINNING, DYEING AND WEAVING. ALSO AN ACCOUNT OF THE PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS, THEIR SOCIAL STATE AND ATTAINMENTS IN THE DOMESTIC ARTS. WITH APPENDICES ON PLINY'S NATUEAL HISTORY ; ON THE ORIGIN AND MANUFACTURE OF LINEN AND COTTON PAPEE J ON FELTING, NETTING, &C. DEDUCED FROM COPIOUS AND AUTHENTIC SOURCES, f ILLUSTRATED BY STEEL ENGRAVINGS. NEW YORK: HARPER & BROTHERS, 82 CLIFF STREET. 1845. (3-134- Entered, according 1 to Act of Congress, in the year 1845, BY HARPER & BROTHERS, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York. TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED. PREFACE. History, until a recent period, was mainly a record of gi- gantic crimes and their consequent miseries. The dazzliug glow of its narrations lighted never the path of the peaceful Husbandman, as his noiseless, incessant exertions transformed the howling wilderness into a blooming and fruitful garden, but gleamed and danced on the armor of the Warrior as he rode forth to devastate and destroy. One year of his labors sufficed to ULdo what the former had patiently achieved through cen- turies: and the campaign was duly chronicled while the labors it blighted were left to oblivion. The written annals of a na- tion trace vividly the course of its corruption and downfall, but are silent or meagre with regard to the ultimate causes of its growth and eminence. The long periods of peace and prosper- ity in which the Useful Arts were elaborated or perfected are passed over with the bare remark that they afford little of in- terest to the reader, when in fact their true history, could it now be written, would prove of the deepest and most substantial value. The world might well afford to lose all record of a hun- dred ancient battles or sieges if it could thereby regain the knowledge of one lost art, and even the Pyramids bequeathed to us by Egypt in her glory would be well exchanged for a few of her humble workshops and manufactories, as they stood in the days of the Pharaohs. Of the true history of mankind only a few chapters have yet been written, and now. when the deficiencies of that we have are beginning to be realized, we rind that the materials for supplying them have in good part perish- ed in the lapse of time, or been trampled recklessly beneath the hoof of the war-horse. In the following pages, an effort has been made to restore a portion of this history, so far as the meagre and careless traces VI PREFACE. scattered through the Literature of' Antiquity will allow. — Of the many beneficent achievements of inventive genius, those which more immediately minister to the personal convenience and comfort of mankind seem to assert a natural pre-eminence. Among the first under this head may be classed the invention of Weaving, with its collateral branches of Spinning, Netting, Sewing, Felting, and Dyeing. An account of the origin and progress of this family of domestic arts can hardly fail to inter- est the intelligent reader, while it would seem to have a special claim on the attention of- those engaged in the prosecution or improvement of these arts. This work is intended to subserve the ends here indicated. In the present age, when the re- sources of Science and of Intellect have so largely pressed into the service of Mechanical Invention, especially with reference to the production of fabrics from fibrous substances, it is somewhat remarkable that no methodical treatise on this topic has been offered to the public, and that the topic itself seems to have al- most eluded the investigations of the learned. With the ex- ception of Mr. Yates's erudite production, " Textrinum Anti- quorum" we possess no competent work on the subjec: ; and valuable as is this production for its authority and profound re- search, it is yet, for various reasons, of comparative inutility to the general reader. That a topic of such interest deserved elucidation will not be denied when it is remembered that, apart from the question of the direct influence these important arts have ever exerted upon the civilization and social condition of communities, in various ages of the world, there are other and scarcely inferior consider- ations to the student, involved in their bearing upon the true understanding of history, sacred and profane. To supply, therefore, an important desideratum in classical archeology, by thus seeking the better to illustrate the true social state of the ancients, thereby affording a commentary on their commerce and progress in domestic arts, is one of the leading objects con- templated by the present work. In addition to this, our better acquaintance with the actual condition of these ails in early times will tend, in many instances, to confirm the historic ac- curacy and elucidate the idiom of many portions of Holy Writ.. PREFACE. Vll How many of the grandest discoveries in the scientific world owe their existence to accident ! and how many more of the boasted creations of human skill have proved to be but restora- tions of lost or forgotten arts ! How much also is still being revealed to us by the monumental records of the old world, whose occult glyphs, till recently, defied the most persevering efforts of the learned for their solution ! To be told that the Egyptians, four thousand years ago, were cunning artificers in many of the pursuits which consti- tute lucrative branches of our modern . industry, might surprise some readers : yet we learn from undoubted authorities that such they were. They also were acquainted with the fabrica- tion of crapes, transparent tissues, cotton, silk, and paper, as well as the art of preparing colors which still continue to defy the corrosions of defacing time. If the spider may be regarded as the earliest practical weaver upon record — the generic name Text or ice, supplying the root from which is clearly derived the English terms, texture and textile, as applied to woven fabrics, of whatever materials they may be composed — the wasp may claim the honor of having been the first paper-manufacturer, for he presents us with a most undoubted specimen of clear white pasteboard, of so smooth a surface as to admit of being written upon with ease and legibility. Would the superlative wisdom of man but deign, with microscopic gaze, to study the ingenious move- ments of the insect tribe more minutely, it would not be easy to estimate how much might thereby be achieved for human science, philosophy, and even morals ! For those who love to add to their fund of general knowledge, especially in the department of natural history, the author trusts that much valuable and interesting information will be found comprised in those pages of this work which delineate the habits of the Silk- Worm, the Sheep, the Goat, the Camel, the Beaver, &c. ; while another department, being devoted to the history of the Pastoral Life of the Ancients, will naturally enlist the sympathies of such as take a deeper interest in the records of ages and nations long since passed away. From a mass of heterogeneous, though highly valuable materials, it has VLLL PREFACE. been the design of the author to select, arrange, and conserve all that was apposite to his subject and of intrinsic value. Thus has he endeavored to render the piles of antiquity, to adopt the words of a recent writer, well compacted — a process which has been begun in our times, and with such eminent sue-- cess that even the men of the present age may live to see many of the thousand and one folios of the ancients handed over without a sigh to the trunk-maker. The ample domains of Learning are fast being submitted to fresh irrigation and renewed culture, — the exclusiveness of the cloister has given place to an unrestricted distribution of the in- tellectual wealth of all times. What civilization has accom- plished in the physical is also being achieved in the mental world. The sterile and inaccessible wilderness is transformed into the well-tilled garden, abounding in luxurious fruits and fragrant flowers. It is the golden age of knowledge — its Para- dise Regained. The ponderous works of the olden time have been displaced by the condensing process of modern litera- ture ; yielding us their spirit and essence, without the heavy, obscuring folds of their former verbal drapery. We want real and substantial knowledge ; but we are a labor-saving and a time-economizing people, — it must therefore be obtained by the most compendious processes. Except those with whom learning is the business of life, we are too generally ignorant of the mighty mysteries which Nature has heaped around our path ; ignorant, too, of many of the discoveries of science and philosophy, in ancient as well as modern times. To meet the exigencies of our day, a judgment in the selection and con- densation of works designed for popular use is demanded — a fa- cility like that of the alchymist, extracting from the crude ores of antiquity the fine gold of true knowledge. The plan of this work naturally divides itself into four de- partments. The first division is devoted to the consideration of Silk, its early history and cultivation in China and various other parts of the world ; illustrated by copious citations from ancient writers : From among whom to instance Homer, we learn that embroidery and tapestry were prominent arts with the Thebans, that poet deriving many of his pictures of domestic PREFACE. IX life from the paintings which have been found to ornament their palaces. Thus it is evident that some of the proudest attain- ments of art in our own day date their origin from a period co- eval at least with the Iliad. Again we find that the use of the distaff and spindle, referred to in the Sacred Scriptures, was al- most as well understood in Egypt as it now is in India ; while the factory system, so far from being a modern invention, was in full operation, and conducted under patrician influence, some three thousand years ago. The Arabians also, even so far back as five centuries subsequent to the deluge, were, it is stated on credible authority, skilled in fabricating silken textures ; while, at a period scarcely less remote, we possess irrefragable testi- mony in favor of their knowledge of paper made from cotton rags. The inhabitants of Phoenicia and Tyre were, it appears, the first acquainted with the process of dyeing : the Tyrian purple, so often noticed by writers, being of so gorgeous a hue as to baffle description. The Persians were also prodigal in their indulgence in vestments of gold, embroidery and silk : the memorable army of Darius affording an instance of sumptuous magnificence in this respect. An example might also be given of the extravagance of the Romans in the third century, in the fact of a pound of silk being estimated literally by its weight in gold. The nuptial robes of Maria, wife of Honorius, which were discovered in her coffin at Rome in 1544, on being burnt, yielded 36 pounds of pure gold ! In the work here presented, much interesting as well as valuable information is given under this section, respecting the cultivation and manufacture of Silk in China, Greece and other countries. The second division of the work, comprising the history of the Sheep, Goat, Camel, and Beaver, it is hoped will also be found curious and valuable. The ancient history of the Cot- ion manufacture follows — a topic that has enlisted the pens of many writers, though their essays, with two or three exceptions, merit little notice. The subsequent pages embody many new and important facts, connected with its early history and prog- ress, derived from sources inaccessible to the general reader. The fourth and last division, embracing the history of the Linen manufacture, includes notices of Hemp, Flax, Asbestos, &c. B X PREFACE. This department again affords a fruitful theme for the curious, and one that will be deemed, perhaps, not the least attractive of the volume. Completing the design of the work, will be found the Appendices, comprising rare and valuable extracts, derived from unquestionable authorities. Of the Ten Illustrations herewith presented, five are en- tirely original. It is hoped that these, at least, will be deemed worthy the attention of the scholar as well as of the general reader, and that their value will not be limited by their utility as elucidations of the text. Among these, especial notice is re- quested to the engraving of the Chinese Loom, a reduced fac- simile, copied by permission from a magnificent Chinese produc- tion, recently obtained from the Celestial Empire, and now in the possession of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions in this city. Another, equally worthy of notice, represents an Egyptian weaving factory, with the processes of Spinning and Winding ; also a reduced fac-simile, copied from Champolliori's great work on Egypt. The Spider, magnified with his web, and the Indian Loom, it is presumed, will not fail to attract at- tention. Throughout the entire work, the most diligent care has been used in the collation of the numerous authorities cited, as well as a rigid regard paid to their veracity. As a work so elaborate in its character would necessarily have to depend, to a consider- able extent, for its facts and illustrations, upon the labors of previous writers, the author deems no apology necessary in thus publicly and gratefully avowing his indebtedness to the several authors cited in order at the foot of his pages ; but he would especially mention the eminent name of Mr. Yates, to the fruits of whose labors the present production owes much of its novel- ty, attractiveness, and intrinsic value. New York, Oct. 1st, 1845. CONTENTS, PART FIRST, j ANCIENT HISTORY OF SILK. CHAPTER I. SPINNING, DYEING, AND WEAVING. Whether Silk is mentioned in the Old Testament — Earliest Clothing — Coats of Skin, Tunic, Simla — Progress of Invention — Chinese chronology relative to the Culture of Silk; — Exaggerated statements — Opinions of Mailla, Le Sage, M. Lavoisne, Rev. J. Robinson, Dr. A. Clarke, Rev W. Hales, D.D., Mairan, Bailly, Guignes, and Sir William Jones — Noah supposed to be the first empe- ror of China — Extracts from Chinese publications — Silk Manufactures of the Island of Cos — Described by Aristotle — Testimony of Varro — Spinning and Weaving in Egypt — Great ingenuity oi Bezaleel and Aholiab in the production of Figured Textures for the Jewish Tabernacle — Skill of the Sidonian women in the Manufacture of Ornamental Textures — Testimony of Homer — Great antiquity of the Distaff and Spindle— The prophet Ezekiel's account of the Broidered Stuffs, etc. of the Egyptians — Beautiful eulogy on an industrious woman — Helen the Spartan, her superior skill in the art of Embroidery — Golden Distaff presented her by the Egyptian queen Alcandra— Spinning a domestic occupation in Miletus — Theocritus's complimentary verses to Theuginis on her industry and virtue — Taste of the Roman and Grecian ladies in the decoration of their Spinning Implements — Ovid's testimony to the skill of Arachne in Spinning and Weaving — Method of Spinning with the Distaff— Described by Homer and Catullus — Use of Silk in Arabia 500 years after the flood — For- ster's testimony 1 CHAPTER II. HISTORY OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE CONTINUED TO THE 4TH CENTURY. SPINNING, DYEING, AND WEAVING. — HIGH DEGREE OF EXCELLENCE ATTAINED IN THESE ARTS. Testimony of the Latin poets of the Augustan age — Tibullus — Propertius — Virgil — Horace — Ovid — Dyonisius Perigetes — Strabo. Mention of silk by authors in Xll CONTENTS. the first century — Seneca the Philosopher — -.Seneca the Tragedian — Lucan — Pliny — Josephus — Saint John — Silius Italicus — Statius — Plutarch — Juvenal — Martial — Pausanias — Galen — Clemens Alexandrinus — Caution to Christian converts against the use of silk in dress. Mention of silk by authors in the second century — Tertullian — Apuleius — Ulpian — Julius Pollux — Justin. Men- tion of silk by authors in the third century — iElius Lampidius — Vopiscus — Trebellius Pollio — Cyprian — Solinus — Ammianus — Marcellinus — Use of silk by the Roman emperors — Extraordinary beauty of the textures — Use of water to detach silk from the trees — Invectives of these authors against extravagance in dress — The Seres described as a happy people — Their mode of traffic, etc. — (Macpherson's opinion of the Chinese.) — City of Dioscurias, its vast commerce in former times. — (Colonel Syke's account of the Kolissura silk-worm — Dr. Roxburgh's description of the Tusseh silk-worm.) .... 22 CHAPTER III. HISTORY OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE FROM THE THIRD TO THE SIXTH CENTURY. SPINNING, DYEING, AND WEAVING. HIGH DEGREE OF EXCELLENCE ATTAINED IN THESE ARTS. Fourth Century — Curious account of silk found in the Edict of Diocletian — Ex- travagance of the Consul Furius Placidus — Transparent silk shifts — Ausonius describes silk as the produce of trees — Quintus Aur Symmachus, and Claudian'e testimony of silk and golden textures — Their extraordinary beauty — Pisander's description — Periplus Maris Erythraei — Dido of Sidon. Mention of silk in the laws of Manu — Rufus Festus Avinus — Silk shawls — Marciannus Capella — In- scription by M. N. Proculus, silk manufacturer — Extraordinary spiders' webs — Bombyces compared to spiders — Wild silk-worms of Tsouen — Kien and Tiao- Kien — M. Bertin's account — Further remarks on wild silk-worms. Christian authors of the fourth century — Arnobius — Gregorius Nazienzenus — Basil — Il- lustration of the doctrine of the resurrection — Ambrose — Georgius Pisida — Macarius — Jerome — Chrysostom — Heliodorus — Salmasius — Extraordinary beauty of the silk and golden textures described by these authors — Their invec- tives against Christians wearing silk. Mention of silk by Christian authors in the fifth century — Pridentius — Palladius — Theodosian Code — Appolinaris Si- donius — Alcimus Avitus. Sixth century — Boethius. (Manufactures of Tyro and Sidon — Purple — Its great durability — Incredible value of purple stuffs found in the treasury of the King of Persia) 41 CHAPTER IY. HISTORY OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE CONTINUED FROM THE INTRO- DUCTION OF SILK-WORMS INTO EUROPE, A.D. 530, TO THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY. A. D. 530. — Introduction of silk-worms into Europe — Mode by which it was effected — The Serinda of Procopius the same with the modern Khotan — The CONTENTS. Xlll silk-worm never bred in Sir -hind — Silk shawls of Tyre and Berytus — Tyran- nical conduct of Justinian — Ruin of the silk manufactures — Oppressive conduct of Peter Barsames — Menander Protector — Surprise of Maniak the Sogdian am- bassador — Conduct of Chosroes, king of Persia — Union of the Chinese and Per- sians against the Turks — The Turks in self-defence seek an alliance with the Romans — Mortification of the Turkish ambassador — Reception of the Byzan- tine ambassador by Disabul, king of the Sogdiani — Display of silk textures — Paul the Silentiary's account of silk — Isidorus Hispalensis. Mention of silk by authors in the seventh century — Dorotheus, Archimandrite of Palestine — In- troduction of silk-worms into Chubdan, or Khotan — Theophylactus Simocatta — Silk manufactures of Turfan — Silk known in England in this century — First worn by Ethelbert, king of Kent — Use of by the French kings — Aldhel- mus's beautiful description of the silk-worm — Simile between weaving and vir- tue. Silk in the eighth century — Bede. In the tenth century — Use of silk by the English, Welsh, and Scotch kings. Twelfth century — Theodoras Prodro- mus — Figured shawls of the Seres — Ingulphus describes vestments of silk in- terwoven with eagles and flowers of gold — Great value of silk about this time — Silk manufactures of Sicily — Its introduction into Spain. Fourteenth century — Nicholas Tegrini — Extension of the Silk manufacture through Europe, illus- trated by etymology — Extraordinary beauty of silk and golden textures used in the decoration of churches in the middle ages — Silk rarely mentioned in the ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth centuries 66 CHAPTER Y. SILK AND GOLDEN TEXTURES OF THE ANCIENTS. HIGH DEGREE OF EXCELLENCE ATTAINED IN THIS MANUFACTURE. Manufacture of golden textures in the time of Moses — Homer — Golden tunics of the Lydians — Their use by the Indians and Arabians — Extraordinary display of scarlet robes, purple, striped with silver, golden textures, &c, by Darius, king of Persia — Purple and scarlet cloths interwoven with gold — Tunics and shawls variegated with gold — Purple garments with borders of gold — Golden chlamys — Attalus, king of Pergamus, not the inventor of gold thread — Bostick — Golden robe worn by Agrippina — Caligula and Heliogabalus — Sheets inter- woven with gold used at the obsequies of Nero — Babylonian shawls intermixed with gold — Silk shawls interwoven with gold — Figured cloths of gold and Ty- rean purple — Use of gold in the manufacture of shawls by the Greeks — 4,000,000 sesterces (about $150,000) paid by the Emperor Nero for a Baby- lonish coverlet — Portrait of Constantius II. — Magnificence of Babylonian car- pets, mantles, &c. — Median sindones 84 CHAPTER VI. SILVER TEXTURES, ETC., OF THE ANCIENTS. EXTREME BEAUTY OF THESE MANUFACTURES. Magnificent dress worn by Herod Agrippa, mentioned in Acts xii. 21 — Josephus's account of this dress, and dreadful death of Herod — Discovery of ancient Piece- XIV CONTENTS. goods — Beautiful manuscript of Theodolphus, Bishop of Orleans, who lived in the ninth century — Extraordinary beauty of Indian, Chinese, Egyptian, and other manufactured goods preserved in this manuscript — Egyptian arts — Wise regulations of the Egyptians in relation to the arts — Late discoveries in Egypt by the Prussian hierologist, Dr. Lepsius — Cloth of glass ... 93 CHAPTER YII. DESCRIPTION OF THE SILK-WORM, ETC. Preliminary observations — The silk-worm — Various changes of the silk-worm — Its superiority above other worms — Beautiful verses on the May-fly, illustra- tive of the shortness of human life — Transformations of the silk-worm — Its small desire of locomotion — First sickness of the worm — Manner of casting its Exuviae — Sometimes cannot be fully accomplished — Consequent death of the insect — Second, third, and fourth sickness of the worm — Its disgust for food — Material of which silk is formed — Mode of its secretion — Manner of unwinding the filaments — Floss-silk — Cocoon — Its imperviousness to moisture — Effect of the filaments breaking during the formation of the cocoon — Mr. Robinet's curi- ous calculation on the movements made by a silk-worm in the formation of a cocoon — Cowper's beautiful lines on the silk-worm — Periods in which its vari- ous progressions are effected in different climates — Effects of sudden transitions from heat to cold — The worm's appetite sharpened by increased temperature — Shortens its existence — Various experiments in artificial heating — Modes of ar- tificial heating — Singular estimate of Count Dandolo — Astonishing increase of the worm — Its brief existence in the moth state — Formation of silk — The silken filament formed in the worm before its expulsion — Erroneous opinions enter- tained by writers on this subject — The silk-worm's Will ... 98 CHAPTER VIII. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHINESE MODE OF REARING SILK- WORMS, ETC. Great antiquity of the silk -manufacture in China — Time and mode of pruning the Mulberry-tree — Not allowed to exceed a certain height — Mode of planting — Situation of rearing-rooms, and their construction — Effect of noise on the silk- worm — Precautions observed in preserving cleanliness — Isan-mon, mother of the worms — Manner of feeding — Space allotted to the worms — Destruction of the Chrysalides — Great skill of the Chinese in weaving — American writers on the Mulberry-tree — Silk-worms sometimes reared on trees — (M. Marteloy's ex- periments in 1764, in rearing silk-worms on trees in France) — Produce inferior to that of worms reared in houses — Mode of delaying the hatching of the eggs — Method of hatching — Necessity for preventing damp — Number of meals — Mode of stimulating the appetite of the worms — Effect of this upon the quan- tity of silk produced — Darkness injurious to the silk-worm — Its effect on" the Mulberry -leaves — Mode of preparing the cocoons for the reeling process — Wild CONTENTS. XV silk-worms of India — Mode of hatching, &c. — (Observations on the cultivation of silk by Dr. Stebbins — Dr. Bowring's admirable illustration of the mutual de- pendence of the arts upon each other.) . . . . 119 CHAPTER IX. THE SPIDER. ATTEMPTS TO PROCURE SILKEN FILAMENTS FROM SPIDERS. Structures of spiders — Spiders not properly insects, and why — Apparatus for spin- ning — Extraordinary number of spinnerules — Great number of filaments com- posing one thread — Reaumur and Leeuwenhoeck's laughable estimates — At- tachment of the thread against a wall or stick — Shooting of the lines of spiders — 1. Opinions of Redi, Swammerdam, and Kirby — 2. Lister, Kirby, and White — 3. La Pluche and Bingley — 4. D'Isjonval, Murray, and Bowman — 5. Ex- periments of Mr. Blackwall — His account of the ascent of gossamer — 6. Ex- periments by Rennie — Thread supposed to go off double — Subsequent experi- ments — Nests, Webs, and Nets of Spiders — Elastic satin nest of a spider — Eve- lyn's account of hunting spiders — Labyrinthic spider's nest — Erroneous account of the House Spider — Geometric Spiders — attempts to procure silken filaments from Spiders' bags — Experiments of M. Bon — Silken material — Manner of its preparations — M. Bon's enthusiasm — His spider establishment — Spider-silk not poisonous — Its usefulness in healing wounds — Investigation of M. Bon's estab- lishment by M. Reaumur — His objections — Swift's satire against speculators and projectors — Ewbank's interesting observations on the ingenuity of spiders — Mason-spiders — Ingenious door with a hinge — Nest from the West Indies with spring hinge — Raft -building Spider — Diving Water- Spider — Rev. Mr. Kirby 's beautiful description of it — Observations of M. Clerck — Cleanliness of Spiders — Structure of their claws — Fanciful account of them patting their webs — Pro- ceedings of a spider in a steamboat — Addison — His suggestions on the compila- tion of a " History of Insects" . 138 CHAPTER X. FIBRES OR SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE PINNA. The Pinna — Description of — Delicacy of its threads — Reaumur's observations — Mode of forming the filament or thread — Power of continually producing new threads — Experiments to ascertain this fact — The Pinna and its Cancer Friend — Nature of their alliance — Beautiful phenomenon — Aristotle and Pliny's account — The Greek poet Oppianus's lines on the Pinna, and its Cancer friend — Manner of procuring the Pinna — Poli's description — Specimens of the Pinna in the British Museum — Pearls found in the Pinna — Pliny and Athenaeus's ac- count — Manner of preparing the fibres of the Pinna for weaving — Scarceness of this material — No proof that the ancients were acquainted with the art of knitting — Tertullian the first ancient writer who makes mention of the manufacture of cloth from the fibres of the Pinna — Procopius mentions a XVI CONTENTS. chlamys made of the fibres of the Pinna, and a silken tunic adorned with sprigs or feathers of gold — Boots of red leather worn only by Emperors — Golden fleece of the Pinna — St. Basil's account — Fibres of the Pinna not manufactured into cloth at Tarentum in ancient times, but in India — Diving for the Pinna at Col- chi — Arrian's account ......... 174 CHAPTER XI. FIBRES. OR SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE PINE-APPLE. Fibres of the Pine Apple — Facility of dyeing — Manner of preparing the fibres for weaving — Easy cultivation of the plant — Thrives where no other plant will live — Mr. Frederick Burt Zincke's patent process of manufacturing cloth from the fibres of this plant — Its comparative want of strength — Silken material pro- cured from the Papyfera — Spun and woven into cloth — Cloth of this description manufactured generally by the Otaheiteans, and other inhabitants of the South Sea Islands — Great strength (supposed) of ropes made from the fibres of the aloe — Exasperated statements ....... 185 53' CHAPTER XII. 31 ALLOWS. CULTIVATION AND USE OF THE MALLOW AMONG THE ANCIENTS. TESTIMONY OF LATIN, GREEK, AND ATTIC WRITERS. The earliest mention of Mallows is to be found in Job xxx. 4. — Varieties of the Mallow — Cultivation and use of the Mallow — Testimony of ancient authors — Papias and Isidore's mention of Mallow cloth — Mallow cloth common in the days of Charlemagne — Mallow shawls — Mallow cloths mentioned in the Peri- plus as exported from India to Barygaza (Baroch) — Calidasa the Indian dram- atist, who lived in the first century B. C. — His testimony — Wallich's (the In- dian botanist) account — Mantles of woven bark, mentioned in the Sacontala of Calidasa — Valcalas, or Mantles of woven bark, mentioned in the Ramayana, a noted poem of ancient India — Sheets made from trees — Ctesia's testimony — Strabo's account — Testimony of Statins Ceecilius and Plautus, who lived 169 B. C. and 1S4 B. C. — Plautus's laughable enumeration of the analogy of trades — Beauty of garments of Amorgos mentioned by Eupolis — Clearchus's testi- mony — Plato mentions linen shifts — Amorgine garments first manufactured at Athens in the time of Aristophanes .191 CHAPTER XIII. SPABTUM OR SPANISH BROOM. CLOTH MANUFACTURED FROM BROOM BARK. NETTLE. AND BULBOUS PLANT. TESTIMONY OF GREEK AND LATIN AUTHORS. Authority for Spanish Broom — Stipa Tenacissima — Cloth made from Broom- bark — Albania — Italv — France — Mode of preparing the fibre for weaving — CONTENTS. XV11 Pliny's account of Spartum — Bulbous plant — Its fibrous coats — Pliny's transla- tion of Theophrastus — Socks and garments — Size of the bulb — Its genus or species not sufficiently defined — Remarks of various modern writers on this plant — Interesting communications of Dr. Daniel Stebbins. of Northampton, Mass. to Hon. H. L. Ellsworth 202 PART SECOND. ORIGIN AND ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE SHEEP. CHAPTER I. sheep's wool. SHEEP-BREEDING AND PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES, ETC. The Shepherd Boy — Sheep-breeding in Scytbia and Persia — Mesopotamia and Syria — In Idumaea and Northern Arabia — In Palestine and Egypt — In Ethio- pia and Libya — In Caucasus and Coraxi — The Coraxi identified with the modern Caratshai — In Asia Minor, Pisidia, Pamphylia, Sarnos. a\fjs aTTTdficvov^ and that other ancient Greek lexicogra- phers also suppose a silken garment to be meant.* But the meaning of rpixanrov is in reality as obscure as that of ityft- Jerome could not discover it, and concluded that the word was invented by the Greek translator. It is now extant no where else except in a passage of the comic Pherecrates preserved in Atheneeus. Schneider, followed by Passow, supposes it to mean some garment made of hair, and quotes to this effect the explanation of Pollux (2. 24.), nUyna i< rpix&v. Although, therefore, the term in question may possibly have denoted some elegant and costly ornament for the head, made at least partly of silk, yet this opinion appears to rest altogether upon the assumption, first, that the ancient lexicographers are ac- curate in their use of the epithet %/?«*ivov, and secondly, that the Alexandrine version is accurate in adopting the word rpix atrrov. In Isaiah xix. 9, according to King James's Translators and Bishop Lowth, mention is made of those " that work in fine flax," in the orignal ft)pn& D W5 H3V- Rosen-, muller adopts nearly the same interpretation, which is founded upon the use of the verb p*W or p*")0 in the Chaldee and Syriac dialects to denote the operation of comhing flax, wool, hair, and other substances. In this sense the word has been taken by the author of the Alexandrine Yersion, rovs tpya^ivovi to \ivov rd gx^tov; hj Symixiachus, who instead of ax iaTdv use3 ktevigtov; and by Jerome, "qui operabantur linum pectentes" * See Schleusner, Lexicon in LXX., v. Tpixanrov. SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 6 In the Targum of Jonathan and in the Syriac Version the same root is taken to denote silk; N3DD T?7D ppHD"l Targ. V* !-^*- f J A^ ^-..^^ Syr. Both of these seem to ad- mit of the following literal translation, " those who make silken tunics" or in Latin, " Factores tunicarum e sericis" • Kimchi supposes DIpH^ to mean silk webs, observing that silk is called p*W ^K by the Arabs. The same opin- ion has been adopted by Nicholas Fuller*, Buxtorf, and other modern critics. Kennicott, however, arranges the words in two lines as follows, mn duiki mpn&y According to this arrangement, which seems most suitable to the rules of grammatical construction, we have three co-ordi- nate phrases in the plural number, denoting three different classes of artificers. The second, DtpHS^, would by its ter- mination denote female artificers, viz. women employed in combing wool, flax, or other substances. On the whole we are inclined to adopt this explanation of the word, as it ap- pears to be attended with the least difficulty, either grammati- cal or etymological. Silk is mentioned Prov. xxxi. 22. in King James's Trans- lation, i. e. the common English version, and in the margin of Gen. xli. 42. But the use of the word is quite unauthor- ized. After a full examination of the whole question Brauniust decides that there is no mention of silk in the whole of the Old Testament, and that it was unknown to the Hebrews in ancient times. •" There can be no doubt," says Professor Hurwitz, " that manufactures and the arts must have attained a high degree of perfection at the time when Moses wrote ; and that many of them were known long before that period, we have the evi- dence of Scripture. It is true that inventions were at first * Miscellanea Sacra, 1. ii. c. 11. t De vestitu Heb. Sacerdotum, I. 1. cap. viii. § 8. 4 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF few, and their progress very slow, but they were suited to the then condition and circumstances of man, as is evident even in the art of clothing. Placed in the salubrious and mild air of paradise, our first parents could hardly want any other cov- ering than what decency required. Accordingly we find that the first and only article of dress was the If *H Jill chagord, the belt, (not aprons, as in the established version). The mate- rials of which it was made were fig leaves ; (Gen. hi. 7.) the same tree that afforded them food and shelter, furnished them likewise with materials for covering their bodies. But when in consequence of their transgressions they were to be ejected from their blissful abode, and forced to dwell in less favoura- ble regions, a more substantial covering became necessary, their merciful Creator made them (i. e. inspired them with the thoughts of making for themselves) T)# filjrD coats of skins. (Gen. iii. 21.) The original word is J13fO c'thoneth, whence the Greek x irwv tne tunic, a close garment that was usually worn next the skin, it reached to the knees, and had sleeves (in after times it was made either of wool or linen.) After man had subdued the sheep (Hebrew £OD caves from £03 to subdue*) and learned hoAV to make use of its wool, we find a new article of dress, namely the Jl70t^ simla, an upper garment : it consisted of a piece of cloth about six yards long and two or three wide, in shape not unlike our blankets. This will explain Gen. ix. 23, ' And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father.' It served as a dress by day, as a bed by night, (Exod. xxii. 26,) * There is not the least shadow of truth in support of such a deduction ; and particularly so since the general tenor of the Scriptures leads to a very different conclusion. We are, therefore, not authorized to give our support to any such hypothesis. The history of the Sheep and Goat is so interwoven with the history of man, that those naturalists have not reasoned correctly, who have thought it necessary to refer the first origin of either of them to any wild stock at all. Such view is, we imagine, more in keeping with the inferences to be drawn from Scrip- ture History with regard to the early domestication of the sheep. Abel, we are told, was a keeper of sheep, and it was one of the firstlings of his flock that he offered to the Lord, and which, proving a more acceptable sacrifice, excited the implacable and fatal jealousy of his brother Cain. (See Part ii. pp. 217 and 2Sl3.) SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 5 { If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down ; for that is his covering only ; it is his raiment for his skin : wherein shall he sleep V And sometimes burdens were carried in it, (Exod. xii. 34,) 'And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading-troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.' " In the course of time various other garments came into use, as mentioned in several other parts of Scripture. The materials of which these garments were usually made are specified in Leviticus xiii. 47 — 59, l The garment also that the plague of the leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen gar- ment or a linen garment, whether it be in the warp or woof, of linen or of woollen ; whether in a skin, or in anything made of skin, &c.' " In our search for the distant origin of any art or science, or in looking through the long vista of ages remote even to na- tions extinct before our own, we are favored with satisfactory evidence so long as we are accompanied with authentic records : beyond, all is dark, obscure, tradition, fable. On such ground it would be credulous or rash in the extreme to repeat as our own, an affirmation, when that rests on the single testimony of one party or interest, especially when that is of a very ques- tionable character. It is even safer, when history or well au- thenticated records fail us, to appeal to philosophy, or to the well known laws of mind, from which all arts and science spring. The former favors us with the commanding evidence of certainty and decision ; and though the latter may only af- ford the testimony of analogy, yet, is its probability more safe, at least, than what rests on misguided calculations or on the legendary tales of artifice and fiction. We have, however, authentic testimony that the inventive faculty existed at a very early period. The peculiar condition of man at that time must have afforded many imperative oc- casions for its exertion. Hence we read that " Jabal was the father of such as dwell in tents " (i. e. inventor of tent-ma- king) ; that " Jubal, his brother, was the father " (inventor) of musical instruments : such as the kinnor, harp, or stringed in- D CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF struments, and the ugab, organ, or wind instruments ; that " Tubal-cain was the instructor of every artificer in brass and iron," the first smith on record, or one to teach how to make instruments and utensils out of brass and iron ; and that the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah, whom the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel affirms to have been the inventrix of plaintive or elegiac poetry*. Here is then an account of the inventive faculty being in exercise 3504 years before the Christian era ; or 1156 years prior to the deluge ; or 804 years before the earliest period assigned to the Chinese for the discovery of silk. And of whatever arts or sciences existing amongst men prior to the deluge, there is no difficulty in con- ceiving the possibility of the transmission of the leading and most essential parts, at least, to the post-diluvians, by the fam- ily of Noah. But instead of giving our unqualified assent to what has been servilely copied from book to book from the most accessible account, we shall advert to the great discrepancy relative to Chinese chronology, amongst those who have had equal access to their records. Thus the time of Fohi, the first emperor, has been said to be 2951 B. C, by some 2198 B. C, and by others 2057, or about 300 years after the deluge : of Hoang-ti, 2700 B. C, by Mailla it is quoted at 2602 B. C, by Le Sage at 2597 B. C.j and by Robinson and others at 1703 B. C. Sim- ilar disagreements might, would our limits allow, be observed concerning the rest, and particularly of the emperors, Hiao- wenti, Chim-ti, Ming-ti, Youen-ti, Wenti, Wou-ti, and Hiao- wou-ti. Even in more modern times, and relative to a char- acter so notorious as Confucius, no less than three dates are * As a proof that the inventive faculty, as to every thing truly useful to man, originally proceeded from the only " Giver of every good and perfect gift," con- sult Isa. xxviii. 24 — 29 : and also a beautiful comment by Dr. A. Clarke on, " And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom." Exod. xxviii. 3 : and also on, " I have filled him with the spirit of God in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all man- ner of workmanship ; to devise cunning works, to work jn gold, and in silver, and in brass ; and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of curious workmanship." Exod. xxxi. 3, 4, and 5. SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 7 equally affirmed to be true. As to Hoang-ti, who is said to have begun the culture of silk, we are inclined to prefer the latter account, 1703 B. C, which makes him contemporary with Joseph, when prime minister over the land of Egypt. As a confirmation of this, it may be stated, that by referring to the account given of nine* of the patriarchs at this period, we shall find that the average age of human life, before much greater, soon after rapidly declined. Now the average dura- tion of the reigns of the first threet Chinese emperors, including Hoang-ti, was 118 years ; of the five that immediately succeed- ed, only 68 j^ears. After this, until the Christian era, the aver- age duration of a single reign did not exceed 23 years, and thence until the present time not 13 years. Since, therefore, the average duration of the reign of the first three emperors bears an evident and fit proportion to that of the age of man at the period specified, though not at any other before or after, being in the former case as much too small as it would in the latter be too great, the opinion now offered is the only one that can be consistent with these striking facts ; and, if duly con- sidered, presents an argument strongly corroborating this view of the subject. To attempt to establish any greater certainty, in a case of this nature, the Chinese during the dynasty of Tschin, having, to conceal the truth, destroyed everything authentic, would be in vain. It would be even more rational to have recourse to the YedaSy or sacred books of the Brahmins, or to records in the Sanscrit, were it not a well known fact, that nearly all ancient nations, except the Jeivs, actuated by the same ambi- tion, have betrayed a wish to have their origin traced as far back as the creation. And in the gratification of this passion none are so notoriously pre-eminent as the Egyptians, Hindoos, and Chinese. t For them the limits of the creation itself have been too narrow, and days, weeks, and even months too short, unless multiplied into years. § * Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph: Gen. xi. 16—26 ; xlvii. 28 ; and 1. 26. t Fohi, Eohi Chimin, and Hoang-ti. X See Dr. A. Clarke's remarks : end of Gen. § See pp. 68, 74, 119 and 294. 8 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OP The chronology relative to the early culture of silk, as found in Chinese documents, for several irrefragable objections already assigned, is exceedingly questionable, and therefore we are by no means pledged to affirm that either in the authenticity of the books, or in the correctness of the dates have we any faith. M. Lavoisne dates the commencement of the Chinese dynasties at A. M.* 1816, or 159 years after the del- uge. The Rev. J. Robinson of Christ Col., Cam., at A. M. 1947. We have already given as strong reasons, as under the extreme incertitude of the case, can, perhaps, be offered, for preferring the latter ; the important points may be briefly stated, thus : End of the deluge +1657 A. M. Fohi, first emperor, began to reign - 1947 A. M. Noah died 2007 A. M. Eohi Chimin, second emperor, began to reign - - 2061 A. M. Hoang-ti, the third emperor, began to reign - - 2201 A. M. Hoang-ti after establishing the silk culture, died - - 2301 A. M. Hoang-ti was therefore contemporary with Joseph when ad- ministering the affairs of Egypt. + But would we know what account the Chinese themselves give relative to the earliest introduction of the silk culture, we shall find it in the French version of the Chinese Treatises, by M. Stanislas Julien, or in the following words of pages 77 and 78, as translated and published in 1838, at Washington, under the title of " Sum- mary of the principal Chinese Treatises upon the Culture of the Mulberry, and the rearing of Silk-worms." * A. M. signifies Anno Mundi, that is in the year of the World. The Year of Our Lord always commences on the first day of January, the day on which Christ was circumcised, being eight days old. From the Creation until the birth of Christ, was 4004 years. Tirin places the birth of Christ in the 36th year of Herod, the 40th of Augus- tus, the 28th from the battle of Actium, the 749th of Rome, and the 4th of the 193d Olympiad. t It will here not be improper to observe that the Samaritan text and Septua- gint version of the Hebrew, carry the deluge as far back as to the year 3716 be- fore Christ ; or 1000 years before the Chinese account of Hoang-ti. On this sub- ject see the New Analysis of Chronology, by the Rev. W. Hales, D.D. 4to., 3 vol. t Joseph died in the 2369th year from the Creation. SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 9 In the book on silk-worms, we read : " The lawful wife of the emperor Hoang-ti, named Si-ling-chi, began the culture of silk. It was at that time that the emperor Hoang-ti invented the art of making garments (!)." The same fact is mentioned more in detail in the general history of China, by P. Mailla, in the year 2602, before our era (4447 years ago). " This great prince (Hoang-ti) was desirous that Si-ling- chi, his legitimate wife, should contribute to the happiness of his people. He charged her to examine the silk-worms, and to test the practicability of using the thread. Si-ling-chi had a large quantity of these insects collected, which she fed her- self, in a place prepared for that purpose, and discovered not only the means of raising them, but also the manner of reel- ing the silk, and of employing it to make garments." " It is through gratitude for so great a benefit," says the history, entitled Wai-ki, " that posterity has deified Si-ling- chi, and rendered her particular honors under the name of the goddess of silk-worms." (Memoirs on the Chinese, vol. 13, p. 240.) We have seen that the most probable account relative to the time of Fohi, said to have been the first Chinese emperor, is that he reigned 2057 years before the Christian era, or in the year of the world 1947. "According to the most current opinion," says M. Lavoisne, " China was founded by one of the colonies formed at the dispersion of Noah's posterity under the conduct of Yao, who took for his colleague Chun, after- wards his successor. But most writers consider Fohi to have been Noah himself (!)." Now the deluge terminated A. M. 1657, and Noah lived after the deluge 350 years*, and therefore died A. M. 2007 ; and as Fohi is said to have reigned 114 years, before Eohi Chun or Chinun succeeded him, he was contemporary, at least, with Noah. The ark rested on Mount Ararat, which is generally allowed to be one of the mountains of Armenia, to the east of the head of the Tigris. And here the same author remarks, that " in rather less than a century and a half, after * Gen. ix. 28. 2 10 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF the birth of Peleg, it is supposed that Noah, being then about his 840th year, wearied with the growing depravity of his descendants, retired with a select company to a remote corner of Asia, and there began what in after ages has been termed the Chinese monarchy. ,"* This view of the sub- ject, we believe, coincides perfectly with the reputable testi- monies presented by Mairan, Bailly, Guignes, and Sir William Jones, and demonstrates that the transit of more central abo- rigines, since the deluge, to the extremes of China, was per- fectly feasible,t and a matter of even high probability. The first ancient author, who affords any evidence respect- ing the use of silk, is Aristotle. He does not, however, appear to have been accurately acquainted with the changes of the silk-worm ; nor does he say, that the animal was bred or the raw material produced in Cos. He only says, " Pamphile, daughter of Plates, is reported to have first woven it in Cos." (See Chapters ii. iii. and iv. of this Part.) Long before the time of Aristotle a regular trade had been established in the interior of Asia, which brought its most valuable productions, and especially those which were most easily transported, to the shores opposite this nourishing island. Nothing therefore is more likely than that the raw silk from the interior of Asia was brought to Cos and there manufac- tured. We shall see hereafter from the testimony of Procopius, that it was in like manner brought some centuries later to be woven in the Phoenician cities, Tyre and Berytus. The arts of spinning and weaving, which rank next in im- portance to agriculture, having been found among almost all the nations of the old and new continents, even among those little removed from barbarism, are reasonably supposed to have been invented at a very remote period of the world's historyt. They evidently existed in Egypt in the time of * Clarke's " Treatise on the Mulberry-tree, and Silk-worm," pp. 14, 18, 20, 21, 27, and 34. t See chap. iv. p. 67. Also Plate VII. (Map. t According to Pliny, Semiramis, the Assyrian queen, was believed to have been the inventress of the art of weaving. Minerva is in some of the ancient SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 11 Joseph (1700 years before the Christian era), as it is recorded that Pharaoh " arrayed him in vestures of fine linen." (Gene- sis xli. 42.) Two centuries later, the Hebrews carried with them on their departure from that ancient seat of civilization, the arts of spinning, dyeing, weaving, and embroidery ; for when Moses constructed the tabernacle in the wilderness, " the women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of pur- ple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen." (Exod. xxxv. 25.) They also " spun goats' hair ;" and Bezaleel and Aholiab " worked all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and of purple, and in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver? These passages contain the earliest mention of woven cloth- ing, which was linen, the national manufacture of Egypt. The prolific borders of the Nile furnished from the remotest periods, as at the present time, abundance of the finest flax* ; and it appears, from the testimony both of sacred and profane history, that linen continued to be almost the only kind of clothing used in Egypt till after the Christian eraf. The Egyptians exported their " linen yarn," and " fine linen," to the kingdom of Israel, in the days of Solomon, (2 Chron. i. 16 ; Prov. vii. 16 ;) their " fine linen with broidered work," to Tyre, (Ezek. xxvii. 7.) The women of Sidon before the Trojan war, were especially celebrated for the skill in embroidery : and Homer, who lived 900 years B. C, mentions Helen as being engaged in em- broidering the combats of the Greeks and Trojans. statutes represented with a distaff, to intimate that she taught men the art of spin- ning ; and this honor is given by the Egyptians to Isis, by the Mohammedans to a son of Japhet, by the Chinese to the consort of their emperor Yao, and by the Peruvians to Mamaoella, wife to Manco-Capac, their first sovereign. These traditions serve only to carry the invaluable arts of spinning and weaving up to an extremely remote period, long prior to that of authentic history. * Paintings representing the gathering and preparation of flax have been found on the walls of the ancient sepulchres at Eleithias and Beni Hassan, in Upper Egypt, and are described and copied by Hamilton. — " Remarks on several parts of Turkey, and on ancient and modern Egypt," pp. 97 and 287, plate 23. t Herodotus, book ii. c. 37, 81. (See Plate vi.) 12 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF The transition from vegetable fibre to the use of animal staples, such as wool and hair, could not have been very dif- ficult ; indeed, as already stated, it took place at a period of which we possess no very authentic written record. The instrument used for spinning in all countries, from the earliest times, was the distaff and spindle. This simple ap- paratus was put by the Greek mythologists into the hands of Minerva and the Parcse ; Solomon employs upon it the indus- try of the virtuous woman ; to the present day the distaff is used in India, Egypt, and other eastern countries. The ancient spindle or distaff was a very simple instru- ment. The late Lady Calcott informs us, that it continued even to our own days to be used by the Hindoos in all its primitive simplicity. " I have seen," she says, " the rock or distaff formed simply of the leading shoot of some young tree, carefully peeled, it might be birch or elder, and, further north, of fir or pine ; and the spindle formed of the beautiful shrub Euonymus, or spindle-tree."* Spinning among the Egyptians, as among our ancestors of no very distant age, was a domestic occupation in which ladies of rank did not hesitate to engage. The term " spin- ster " is yet applied to unmarried ladies of every rank, and there are persons yet alive who remember to have seen the spinning wheel an ordinary piece of furniture in domestic economy. We are told that " Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt * The superior fineness of some Indian muslins, and their quality of retaining, longer than European fabrics, an appearance of excellence, has occasioned a be- lief that the cotton wool of which they are woven is superior to any known else- where ; this, however, is so far from being the fact, that no cotton is to be found in India which at all equals in quality the better kinds produced in the United States of America. The excellence of India muslins must be wholly ascribed to the skilfulness and patience of the workmen, as shown in the different processes of spinning and weaving. (See Plate v.) Their yarn is spun upon the distaff, and it is owing to the dexterous use of the finger and thumb in forming the thread, and to the moisture which it thus imbibes, that its fibres are moro per- fectly incorporated than they can be through the employment of any mechanical substitutes. SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 13 and linen yarn ; the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price." (1 Kings, x. 28.) And the linen of Egypt was highly valued in Palestine, for the seducer, in Proverbs, says, " I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carv- ed works, with fine linen of Egypt." (Prov. vii. 16.) The prophet Ezekiel also declares that the export of the textile fabrics was an important branch of Phoenician commerce ; for in his enumeration of the articles of traffic in Tyre, he says : " Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail ; blue and purple from the isles of Elisha was that which covered thee." (Ezek. xxvii. 7.) It deserves to be remarked that the prophet here joins Egypt with the isles of Elisha or Elis, that is, the districts of western Greece, and thus confirms the ancient tradition re- corded by Herodotus of some Egyptian colonists having set- tled in that country, which the sceptics of the German school of history have thought proper to deny.* Spinning was wholly a female employment ; it is rather singular that we find this work frequently performed by a large number col- lected together, as if the factory system had been established 3000 years ago. We have, however, many specimens of spinning as a do- mestic employment. Indeed, attention to the spindle and distaff forms a leading feature in king Lemuel's description of a virtuous woman. " Who can find a virtuous woman ? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. * The sceptical school of history, founded by Niebuhr, in Germany, and ex- tended by his disciples to a sweeping incredulity, far beyond what was contem- plated by the founder, has labored hard to prove, that the Greek system of civili- zation was indigenous, and that the candid confession of Herodotus, attributing to Egyptian colonies the first introduction of the arts of life into Hellas, was an idle tale, or a groundless tradition. But the examination of the monuments has proved that Greek art originated in Egypt ; and that the elements of the archi- tectural, sculptural, and pictorial wonders which have rendered Greece and Italy illustrious, were derived from the valley of the Nile. 14 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchant's ships ; she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She considereth a field, and buyeth it ; with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengthened her arms. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good : her candle goeth not out by night. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor ; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household : for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She maketh. herself coverings of tapestry ; her clothing is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. She maketh fine linen, and selleth it ; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant." (Prov. xxxi. 10-24.) Hamilton and Wilkinson have already shown that many of the descriptions of combats we meet in the Iliad appear to have been derived from the battle pieces on the walls of the Theban palaces, which the poet himself pretty plainly inti- mates that he had visited. The same observation may be applied to most of Homer's pictures of domestic life. We find the lady of the mansion superintending the labors of her ser- vants, and using the distaff herself. Her spindle made of some precious material, richly ornamented, her beautiful work-basket, or rather vase, and the wool dyed of some bright hue to render it worthy of being touched by aristocratic fin- gers, remind us of the appropriate present which the Egyp- tian queen, Alcandra, made to the Spartan Helen ; for the beauty of that frail fair one scarcely is less celebrated than her skill in embroidery and every species of ornamental work. After Polybus had given his presents to Menelaus, who stop- ped at Egypt on his return from Troy, Alcandra, consort of his high command, A golden distaff gave to Helen's hand ; And that rich vase, with living sculpture wrought, Which, heap'd with wool, the beauteous Phylo brought ; SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 15 The silken fleece empurpled for the loom, Rivall'd the hyacinth in vernal bloom. Odyssey, iv. In the hieroglyphics over persons employed with the spindle on the Egyptian monuments, it is remarkable that the word saht, which in Coptic signifies to twist, constantly occurs. The spindles were generally of wood, and in order to increase their impetus in turning, the circular head was occasionally of gypsum, or composition : some, however, were of a light plait- ed work, made of rushes, or palm leaves, stained of various colors, and furnished with a loop of the same materials, for securing the twine after it was wound*. Sir Gardner Wilkin- son found one of these spindles at Thebes, with some of the linen thread upon it, and is now in the Berlin Museum. Theocritus has given us a very striking proof of the pleas- ure which the women of Miletus took in these employments ; for, when he went to visit his friend Nicias, the Milesian phy- sician, to whom he had previously addressed his eleventh and thirteenth Idylls, he carried with him an ivory distaff as a present for Theugenis, his friend's wife. He accompanied his gift with the following verses, which modestly commend the matron's industry and virtue, and, at the same time, throw an interesting light on the domestic economy of the ladies of Mi- letus : O Distaff, friend to warp and woof, Minerva's gift in man's behoof, Whom careful housewives still retain, And gather to their households' gain ; With me repair, no vulgar prize, Where the famed towers of Nileus riset, Where Cytherea's swayful power Is worship'd in the reedy bower. * The ordinary distaff does not occur in these subjects, but we may conclude they had it. Homer mentions one of gold, given to ' Helen by " Alcandra the wife of Polybus," who lived in Egyptian Thebes. — Od. iv. 131. t Miletus was called " the towers of Nileus," from its having been founded by Nileus, the son of the celebrated king Codrus, who devoted himself for the safety of Athens. Nileus was so indignant at the abolition of royalty on his father's death, that he migrated to Ionia. 16 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OP Thither, would Jove kind breezes send, I steer my course to meet my friend, Nicias, the Graces' honor'd child, Adorn'd with sweet persuasion mild, That I his kindness may requite — May be delighted, and delight. Thee, ivory distaff, I provide, A present for his blooming bride ; With her thou wilt sweet toil partake And aid her various vests to make. For Theugenis the shepherds shear The sheep's soft fleeces twice a year, So dearly industry she loves And all that wisdom points, approves, I ne'er design'd to bear thee hence To the dull house of Indolence ; For, in that city thou wert framed Which Archias built, Corinthian named,— Fair Syracuse, Sicilia's pride, Where troops of famous men abide. Dwell thou with him whose art can cure Each dire disease that men endure ; Thee to Miletus now I give, Where pleasure-crown'd Ionians live ; That Theugenis by thee may gain Fair honor with the female train ; And thou renew within her breast Remembrance of her muse-charm'd guest. Admiring thee, each maid will call The favor great, the present small ; For love the smallest gift commends, All things are valued by our friends. Idyll, xxviii. The Roman and Grecian ladies displayed not less taste m the decoration of their various spinning implements, than those of modern times in the ornaments of their work-table. The calathus or qualus was the basket in which the wool was kept for the fair spinsters. It was usually made of wick- er-work. Thus Catullus in his description of the nuptials of Peleus and Thetis, says : The softest fleeces, white as driven snow, Beside their feet in osier baskets glow. Poema, lxiv. SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 17 Homer asserts that the Egyptian queen Alcandra presented Helen with a silver work-basket as well as a golden distaff (Odyss. iv.) ; and from the paintings on ancient vases, we see that the calathi of ladies of rank were tastefully wrought and richly ornamented. From the term qualus or quasillus, equivalent to calathus, the Romans called the female slaves employed in spinning quasillarice. The material prepared for spinning was wrapped loosely round the distaff, the wool being previously combed, or the flax hackled by processes not very dissimilar to those used at the present day amongst the peasantry in the west of Ireland. The ball thus formed on the distaff required to be arranged with some neatness and skill, in order that the fibres should be sufficiently loose to be drawn out by the hand of the spin- ner. Ovid declares, that Arachne's skill in this simple process excited the wonder of the nymphs who came to see her tri- umphs in the texile art, not less than the finished labors of the loom. Oft, to admire the niceness of her skill, The nymphs would quit their fountain, shade, or hill : Thither from green Tymolus they repair, And leave the vineyards, their peculiar care ; Thither from fair Pactolus' golden stream, Drawn by her art, the curious Naids came. Nor would the work, when finish'd, please so much As while she wrought to view each graceful touch ; Whether the shapeless wool in balls she wound, Or with quick motion turn'd the spindle round. Met, vi. The distaff was generally about three feet in length, com- monly a stick or reed, with an expansion near the top for holding the ball. It was sometimes, as we have shown, composed of richer materials. The distaff was usually held under the left arm, and the fibres were drawn out from the projecting ball, being, at the same time, spirally twisted by the forefinger and thumb of the right hand. The thread so pro- duced was wound upon the spindle until the quantity was as great as it would carry. The spindle was made of some light wood, or reed, and was 3 18 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF generally from eight to twelve inches in length. At the top of it was a slit, or catch, to which the thread was fixed, so that the weight of the spindle might carry the thread down to the ground as fast as it was finished. Its lower extremity was inserted into a whorl, or wheel, made of stone, metal, or some heavy material which both served to keep it steady and to pro- mote its rotation. The spinner, who, as we have said before, was usually a female, every now and then gave the spindle a fresh gyration by a gentle touch so as to increase the twist of the thread. Whenever the spindle reached the ground a length was spun ; the thread was then taken out of the slit, or clasp, and wound upon the spindle ; the clasp was then closed again, and the spinning of a new thread commenced. All these cir- cumstances are briefly mentioned by Catullus, in a poem from which we have already quoted : — ■ The loaded distaff, in the left hand placed, With spongy coils of snow-white wool was graced ; From these the right hand lengthening fibres drew Which into thread 'neath nimble fingers grew. At intervals a gentle touch was given By which the twirling whorl was onward driven. Then, when the sinking spindle reach'd the ground, The recent thread around its spire was wound, Until the clasp within its nipping cleft Held fast the newly -fmish'd length of weft. In order to understand this description of Catullus, it is ne- cessary to bear in mind, that as the bobbin of each spindle was loaded with thread, it was taken off from the whorl and placed in a basket until there was a sufficient quantity for the weavers to commence their operations. Homer incidentally mentions the spool or spindle on which the weft-yarn was wound, in his description of the race at the funeral-games in honor of Patroclus : Oileus led the race ; The next Ulysses, measuring pace with pace Behind him, diligently close he sped, As closely following as the running thread The spindle follows, and displays the charms Of the fair spinner's breast, and moving arms. Iliad, xxiii. SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 19 In India women of all castes prepare the cotton thread for the weaver, spinning it on a piece of wire, or a very thin rod of polished iron with a ball of clay at one end ; this they turn round with the left hand, and supply the cotton with the right ; the thread is then wound upon a stick or pole, and sold to the merchants or weavers ; for the coarser thread the women make use of a wheel very similar to that of the Irish spinster, though upon a smaller construction. (For further information on the manufactures of India, their present state, &c, see Part III.) The Reverend Mr. C. Forster of Great Britain, has lately published a very curious work on Arabia, being the result of many years' untiring research in that part of the world ; from which we learn the very interesting fact, that the ancient Arabians were skilled in the manufacture of silken textures^ at as remote a period as within 500 years of the flood ! Mr. Forster has, it appears, succeeded in deciphering many very remarkable inscriptions found on some ancient monuments near Adon on the coast of Hadramant. These records, it is said, restore to the world its earliest written language, and carry us back to the time of Jacob, and within 500 years of the flood. The inscriptions are in three parts. The longest is of ten lines, engraved on a smooth piece of rock forming one side of the terrace at Hisn Ghorab. Then there are three short lines, found on a small detached rock on the summit of the little hill. There are also two lines found near the inscriptions, lower down the terrace. They all relate to one transaction, an in- cident in Adite history. The tribe of Ad, according to Mr. Sale, were descended from Ad the son of Aws or Uz, the son of Aram, the son of Shem, the son of Noah. The event re- corded is the rout and entire destruction of the sons of Ac, an Arab tribe, by the Aws or tribe of Ad, whom they invaded. In Mr. Forster's book fac similes are given of the inscription ; the Aditie and the Hamyaritie alphabet; and a glossary containing every word in them, its derivation, and its explanation ; with notes of copious illustration upon every point which they in- volve. The first inscription of ten lines is thus translated : 20 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF We dwelt, living long luxuriously in the zananas of this spacious mansion ; oui condition exempt from misfortune and adversity. Rolled in through our chan- nel. The sea, swelling against our castle with angry surge ; our fountains flowed with murmuring fall, above The lofty palms ; whose keepers planted dry dates in our valley date-grounds ; they sowed the arid rice. We hunted the young mountain-goats and the young hares, with gins and snares ; beguiling we drew forth the fishes. We walked with slow, proud gait, IN NEEDLE-WORKED, MANY-COL- ORED SILK VESTMENTS, IN WHOLE SILKS, IN GRASS-GREEN CHEQUERED ROBES*! Over us presided kings, far removed from baseness, and stern chastisers of repro- bate and wicked men. They noted down for us according to the doctrine of Heber, Good judgments, written in books to be kept ; and we proclaimed our belief in mir- acles, in the resurrection, in the return into the nostrils of the breath of life. Made an inroad robbers, and would do us violence ; we rode forth, we and our generous youth, with stiff and sharp-pointed spears ; rushing onward. Proud champions of our families and wives ; fighting valiantly upon coursers with long necks, dun-colored, iron-gray, and bright bay. With our swords still wounding and piercing our adversaries, until charging home, we conquered and crushed this refuse of mankind. On the subject of these inscriptions, Mr. Forster, in the dedi- cation of his book to the Archbishop of Canterbury, thus re- marks : " What Job (who, living in the opposite quarter of Arabia, amid the sands of the great Northern desert, had no lasting material within reach on which to perpetuate his thoughts,) so earnestly desired, stands here realized." " Oh that my w x ords were now written ! Oh that they were printed in a Book ! That (like the kindred creed of the lost tribe of Ad) they were graven with an iron pen, and lead, in tlte rock forever. (For mine is a better and brighter revelation than theirs.) For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth ; and though, after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in the flesh shall I see God : whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall be- hold, and not another." * Silk is the only material used for human clothing which Mohammed, the im- postor, introduces among the luxuries of Paradise. (See the Koran, chap. 35.) SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 21 That the Arabians should have understood the manufacture of silken textures at as remote a period as that supposed by Mr. Forster, viz., 500 years after the flood, is, to say the least of it, exceedingly questionable, yet it cannot be denied that we are indebted to them for many useful inventions, and among which may be mentioned the art of making cotton paper*. It is no less true that we first received our cotton-wool from countries where the Arabic language was spoken. To the Arabs also we are indebted for that almost indispen- sable article of apparel, the shirt, the Arabic name for which is camees, whence the Italian camiscia, and the French chemiset. In the attempt here made to trace from the dark ages of antiquity the progress of trades and manufactures so widely diffused over the civilised world as those of cotton, linen, silk, wool, &c, chronological order is followed as closely as the nature of the inquiry will permit. * See Appendix B. t For further information on Arabia, see Parts II. and III. CHAPTER II. HISTORY OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE CONTINUED TO THE FOURTH CENTURY. SPINNING, DYEING, AND WEAVING. HIGH DEGREE OF EXCELLENCE ATTAINED IN THESE ARTS. Testimony of the Latin Poets of the Augustan age — Tibullus — Propertius — Virgil — Horace — Ovid — Dyonisius Perigetes — Strabo. Mention of silk by authors in the first century — Seneca the Philosopher — Seneca the Tragedian — Lucan — Pliny — Josephus — Saint John — Silius Italicus — Statius — Plutarch — Juvenal — Martial — Pausanias — Galen — Clemens Alexandrinus — Caution to Christian converts against the use of silk in dress. Mention of silk by authors in the second century — Tertullian — Apuleius — Ulpian — Julius Pollux — Justin. Men- tion of silk by authors in the third century — iElius Lampidius — Vopiscus — Trebellius Pollio — Cyprian — Solinus — Ammianus Marcellinus — Use of silk by the Roman emperors — Extraordinary beauty of the textures — Use of water to detach silk from the trees — Invectives of these authors against extravagance in dress — The Seres described as a happy people — Their mode of traffic, etc. — (Macpherson's opinion of the Chinese.) — City of Dioscurias, its vast commerce in former times. — (Colonel Syke's account of the Kolissura silk-worm — Dr. Rox- burgh's description of the Tusseh silk-worm.) The next Authors, who make mention of silk, are the Latin poets of the Augustan age, Tibullus and Propertius, Yirgil, Horace, and Ovid. The Parthian war, and the increased in- tercourse between the Roman empire and the kingdoms of the v East, had been the means of recently introducing every kind of silken goods into more general use, although these manufac- tures were still so rare as to be the objects of curiosity and ad- miration, and were therefore well adapted to be brought in among the embellishments of poetical imagery. The appearance of the silken flags attached to the gilt standards of the Parthians (Florus iii. 11.) must have been a very striking sight for the army of Crassus, contributing both to inflame their cupidity and to alarm them with a sense of the SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 23 power of their opponents. The conflict here referred to took place in the year 54 B. 0. In about 30 years after this date the Roman empire obtained its greatest extension. In the lan- guage of Petronius Arbiter (c. 119.), Th' insatiate Roman spread his conquering arms O'er land and sea, where'er heaven's light extends. After these words he says, that among the richest produc- tions of distant climates the Seres sent their "new fleeces." The remotest countries thus contributed to increase the luxury of Rome, and we shall now see how silk, one of the most costly and the most admired of its recent acquisitions, was used by its poets to represent the polish of elevated life and to adorn their language with rich and beautiful allusions. The webs, which they mention, are either those still obtained from Cos, or those imported from the country of the Seres. TIBULLUS. A Coan vest for girls. L. ii. 4. She may thin garments wear, which female Coan hands Have woven, and in stripes dispos'd the golden bands. L. ii. 6. The latter of these two passages is remarkable as showing that the Coan women practised the elegant art of interweaving gold thread in their silken webs. The gold was no doubt dis- played in transverse stripes. PROPERTIUS. Why thus, my life, display thy braided hair, And heave beneath thin Coan webs thy bosom fair ? L. i. 2. In the next passage Propertius is speaking of his own Poetry, and alludes to his frequent mention of Coan garments. If bright she walk in Coan vest array'd, Through all this book will Coan be display'd. L. ii. 1. 24 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF ON A STATUE OF VERTUMNUS. My nature suits each changing form : Turn'd into what you please, I'm fair. Clothe me in Coan, I'm a decent lass, Put on a toga, for a man I pass. L. iv. 2. The texture of the Coan Minerva. L. iv. 5. Who gives no Coan robe, but verse instead, Artless shall be his lyre, his verses dead. Ibid. The same poet (L. iv. 8. 23.) mentions " Serica carpenta," chariots with silk curtains ; and the following line (L. i. 14. 22.) shows, that couches with ornamented silk covers were then in use: Quid revelant variis Serica textilibus? Propertius also mentions silk under the name of the animal, which produced it: Shines with the produce of th' Arabian worm. L. if. 3. 15. In this line, as well as in some of those before quoted, he al- ludes to the use of silk by females of indifferent character. He probably uses the epithet Arabian, because the Roman mer- chants obtained silk from the Arabs, who received it from Persia. VIRGIL. Soft wool from downy groves the iEthiop weaves, And Seres comb their fleece from silken leaves. Georg. ii. 120, 121.— Sotheby's Translation. The poet is here enumerating the chief productions of dif- ferent countries, and therefore mentions cotton and silk. The idea, that silk webs were manufactured from thin fleeces ob- tained from trees, will be found recurring in many of the sub- sequent citations. It may have been founded on reports brought SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 25 by the soldiers of Crassus, or by others who visited the interior of Asia about the same period. HORACE. Nor Coan purples, nor the blaze Of jewels can bring back the days. Which, fix'd by time, recorded stand, By all, -who read the Fasti, scann'd. Od. I. iv. 13. {ad Lycen.) 13-16. As if uncloth'd, she stands confess'd In a translucent Coan Test. Sat. i. 2. 101. These passages allude to the fineness and transparency of silken webs, which in the time of Horace were worn at Rome only by prostitutes, or by those women who aimed at being as attractive and luxurious as possible in their attire. The former passage shows, that the silks manufactured in Cos were dyed with the murex, " Coee purpuras"' The expression "Sericos pulvillos" (Upod. 8. 15.) has been supposed to denote small cushions covered with silk. But the epithet " Sericos" implies nothing more than that they were ob- tained from the Seres, who supplied the Romans with skins as well as silk*: and leather seems to have been a more proper substance than silk for making cushions. OVID. Sive erit in Tyriis, Tyrios laudabis amictus, Sive erit in Cois, Coa decere puta. Aurata est : ipso tibi sit pretiosior auro ; Gausapa si sumsit, gausapa sumta proba. Ars Amat. ii. 297-300. Whatever clothing she displays, From Tyre or Cos, that clothing praise : If gold shows forth the artist's skill, Call her than gold more precious still : Or if sbe choose a coasre attire, E'en coarseness, worn by her, admire. * Plin. xxxiv. cap. 24. 26 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF In another passage (Amores i. 14. 5.) Ovid compares the thin hairs of a lady to the silken veils of the Seres, Veils such as color'd Seres wear. We now proceed to the testimonies of authors who wrote either in Greek or Latin at the latter part of the Augustan age, or immediately after it. DYONISIUS PERIEGETES. Kai i'dvea Bapftapa Erjpaiv, O'ire 0oag fxiv dvaivovrai koX 'i(j>ia fifjXa, AioAa Si £aivovT£s cpfifxrn avQea yat/7?, E't'/xara rev^ovaiv rroXvdaiSa^a, Ti^fjCVTa^ Ei<5o/z£i/a XP ot V Xeiu&WtJoj avBcai noirn' "Keivois ovti kcv k'pyov dpa%vawv epiaeisv. (I. 755.) And the barbarous nations of the Seres, who renounce the care of sheep and oxen, but comb the variously colored flowers of the desert land to make precious figured garments, resembling in color the flowers of the meadow, and rivalling (in fineness) the work of spiders. — Yates's Translation. It is worthy of observation that Dyonisius speaks expressly not only of the fineness of the thread, but of the flowered tex- ture of the silk. STRABO. Toteuira 6e Kai to. Hr]piKa ) I'k tl vov of *. Silk was to be worn by women only. The next emperor Caligula had silk curtains to his throne {Dion. Cass. I. 59. p. 915. Reim.), and he wore silk as part of his dress, when he appeared in public. Dio Cassius particularly mentions, that, when he was celebrating a kind of triumph at Puteoli, he put on what he alleged to be the thorax of Alex- ander, and over that a silken chlamys, dyed with the murex, and adorned with gold and precious stones. On the following day he wore a tunic interwoven with goldf. The use of shawls and tunics of silk was, however, except in the case of the extravagances of a Caligula, still confined to the fe- male sex. Under the earlier emperors it is probable, that silk was obtained in considerable quantities for the wardrobe of the empress, where it was preserved from one reign to another, until in the year 176 Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, the philosopher, in consequence of the exhausted state of his treasury, sold by pub- lic auction in the Forum of Trajan the imperial ornaments and jewels together with the golden and silken robes of the Em- presst. FIRST CENTURY. SENECA, THE PHILOSOPHER. Posse nos vestitos esse sine commercio Serum. — Epist. 91. We may clothe ourselves without any commerce with the Seres. Video Sericas vestes, si vestes vocandae sunt, in quibus nihil est, quo defendi aut corpus aut denique pudor possit : quibus sumtis mulier parum liquido nudarn se non esse jurabit. Haec ingenti summa ab ignotis etiam ad commercium gentibus accersunter, ut matronae nostras ne adulteris quidem plus sui in cubiculo quam in publico ostendant. — De Beneficiis, L. vii. c. 9. I see silken (Seric) garments, if they can be called garments, which cannot afford any protection either for the body or for shame : on taking which a woman will scarce with a clear conscience deny, that she is naked. These are sent for * Dio Cassius (1. 43. p. 358. Rheim.) mentions as a report, that Julius Caesar employed silk curtains (irapaTTtraonara Unpixa) to add to the splendor of his triumph. t In describing the effeminate dress of the emperor Caligula, Suetonius tells us (cap. 52), that he often went into public, wearing bracelets and long sleeves, and Bometimes in a garment of silk and a cyclas. t Jul. Capitol, c. xvii. p. 65. Bip. 28 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OP at an enormous price from nations, to which our commerce has not yet extended, in order that our matrons may display their persons to the public no less than to adulterers in their chamber ! — Yates's Translation. The Seres must be supposed to have dwelt somewhere in the centre of Asia. Perhaps those geographers who represent Lit- tle Bucharia as their country*, are nearest the truth, and thus far neither Greeks nor Romans had penetrated. Silk was brought to them " from nations, to which even their commerce had not yet extended." Hence their inaccurate ideas respecting its originf. SENECA, THE TRAGEDIAN. Nee Masonia distinguit acu, Quae Phoebeis subditus Euris Legit Eois Ser arboribus. Here. (EtcBus, 664. Nor with Mteonian needle marks the web, Gather'd by Eastern Seres from the trees. Seres, illustrious for their fleece. Thyestes, 378. Remove, ye maids, the vests, whose tissue glares With purple and with gold ; far be the red Of Tyrian murex, and the shining thread, Which furthest Seres gather from the boughs. Hyppolitus, 386. (Phadra loquitur.) At a very early period the art of dyeing had been carried to a very great degree of perfection in Phoenicia. The method of dyeing woollen cloths purple was, it is said, first discovered at Tyre. This color, the most celebrated among the ancients, appears to have been brought to a degree of excellence, ^of which we can form but a very faint idea : * The position of Serica is discussed by Latreille in his paper hereafter cited. See also Mannert. iv. 6. 6, 7. Brotier, Mem. de l'Acad. des Inscrip. torn. 46. John Reinhold Forster (De Bysso, p. 20, 21.) thinks that Little Bucharia was certainly the ancient Serica. Sir John Barrow (Travels in China, p. 435-438.) thinks the Seres were not the Chinese. t The first author who speaks of the Seres as a distinct nation, is Mela, iii. 7. He describes them as a very honest people, who brought what they had to sell, laid it down and went away, and then returned for the price of it. The same account is given by Eustathius, on Dyonisius, 1. 752. p. 242, Bernhardy. SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 29 " In oldest times, when kings and hardy chiefs In bleating sheep-folds met, for purest wool Phoenicia's hilly tracts were most renown'd, And fertile Syria's and Judaea's land, Hermon, and Seir, and Hebron's brooky sides, Twice with the murex, crimson hue, they ting'd The shining fleeces — hence their gorgeous wealth ; And hence arose the walls of ancient Tyre*." LUCAN. Candida Sidonio perlucent pectora filo, Quod Nilotis acus percussum pectine Serum Solvit, et extenso laxavit stamina velo. L. x. 141. Her snowy breast shines through Sidonian threads, First by the comb of distant Seres struck, Divided then by Egypt's skilful toil, And with embroidery transparent made. The poet is describing the dress of Cleopatra. He supposes her to have worn over her breast a piece of silk, woven by the Seres, imported through Sid on into Egypt, and then embroider- ed. By the last process, in which the Egyptians greatly excell- ed, the threads were in part separated, so as to exhibit the ap- pearance of lace, and to allow the white breast of the queen to be visible through the texture. Amidst the braidings of her flowing hair, The spoils of orient rocks and shells appear : Like midnight stars, ten thousand diamonds deck The comely rising of her graceful neck ; Of wondrous work, a thin transparent lawn O'er each soft breast in decency was drawn, Where still by turns the parting threads withdrew, And all the panting bosom rose to view. Her robe, her every part, her air confess The power of female skill exhausted in her dress. Pharsalia, x. In glowing purple rich the coverings lie, Twice had they drunk the noblest Tyrian dye Others, as Pharian artists have the skill To mix the party-color'd web at will, * Old Tyre was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar in the second year after the destruction of Jerusalem, or 584 B. C. 30 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF With winding trails of various silks were made, Whose branching gold set off the rich brocade. Ibid. With this description we compare that of Seneca, which rep- resents silk as embroidered in Asia Minor, with the " Mseonian needle." PLINY speaks copiously and repeatedly of the manufacture of silk. Nevertheless we learn from him scarce anything, which we did not know from the earlier authorities. His accounts are taken from Aristotle, from Varro, and probably also from persons who accompanied the Parthian expeditions, or who engaged in the trade with inner Asia. But according to his usual manner, when he speaks of what he has not himself seen, he confounds accounts from different witnesses, which are inconsistent with one another. He asserts that the bombyx was a native of Cos : but it is not probable that the women of that island would, in such case, have recourse to the laborious operation of convert- ing foreign finished goods into threads for their own weaving. It is, therefore, only reasonable to suppose* that whatever man- ufacture was carried on from the raw material, was, like that of Tyre or Berytus, composed of unwrought silk imported from the East. It is mentioned both by Theophanes and Zonares, the Byzantine historians, that before silk- worms were brought to Constantinople in the middle of the sixth century, no person in that capital knew that silk was produced by a worm ; a toler- ably strong evidence that none were reared so near to Constan- tinople as Cos. v Pliny's account of the Coan bombyx is evidently a cloud of fable and absurdity, in which, however, we may discern a few lines of truth, probably derived from the accounts of the silk- worm of the Seres. JOSEPHUS says, that the emperors Titus and Vespasian wore silk dresses when they celebrated at Rome their triumph over the Jews. * De Bello Jud. vii. 5. 4. SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 31 SAINT JOHN. Silk (Xiputdp) occurs but once in the New Testament, Rev. xviii. 12. It is here mentioned in a curious enumeration of all the most valuable articles of foreign traffic. SILIUS ITALICUS. Seres lanigeris repetebant vellera lucis. Punica. vi. 4. Seres took fleeces from the woolly groves. Munera rubri Preeterea Ponti, depexaque vellera ramis, Femineus labor. lb. xiv. 664. The produce of the Erythraean seas, And fleeces comb'd by women from the trees*. Videre Eoi (monstrum admirabile !) Seres Lanigeros cinere Ausonio canescere lucos. lb. xvii. 595, 596. The Seres' woolly groves, O wondrous sight ! In the far East, were with Italian ashes white. In the last passage Silius is describing the effects of the re- cent eruption of Mount Vesuvius, A. D. 79. That its ashes should reach the country of the Seres, whether it was in Persia or China, would indeed have been " Monstrum admirabile !" STATIUS. Seric (i. e. silken) palls. SylvcB, iii. 4. 89. PLUTARCH dissuades the virtuous and prudent wife from wearing silkf . He mentions, that webs of silk and fine linen were at the same time thin and compact or closet. * See latter part of Chapter viii. Part First. t Conjugailia Praecepta, torn. vi. p. 550. ed. Reiske. t De Pythias Orac. c. iv. p. 557. Reiske. 32 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF JUVENAL speaks of women, Quarum Delicias et panniculus bombycinus urit. Sat. vi. 259. Whose beauty e'en a silken veil o'erheats. MARTIAL. Nee vaga tam tenui discursat aranea tela, Tam levo nee bombyx pendulus urget opus. L. viii. 33 The spider traces not so thin a line, Nor does the pendent silk-worm spin so fine. Fcemineum lucet sic per borabycina corpus, Calculus in nitida sic numeratur aqua. L. viii. 68. Thus through her silk a lady's body looks, Thus count we pebbles in the sparkling brooks. De Pallatinis domince quod Serica prelis. L. xi. 9. Here Martial alludes to the employment of presses (jirela) lor preserving the garments of silk and other precious materials, belonging to the Empress, in the same way, in which we now use presses to keep table-linen. He says to a lady (L. ix. 38.). Nee dentes aliter, quam Serica, nocte reponas. Your teeth at night, like silks, you lay aside. In another passage (L. xi. 27.) he speaks of silken goods {Serica) as procurable in the Vicus Tuscus at Rome : and lastly in L. xiv. Ep. 24, he mentions ribbons or fillets of silk as used for adorning the hair. Tenuia ne madidi violent bombycina crines, N - Figat acus tortas, sustineatque comas. Lest your moist hair defile the ribbons thin, Twist it in knots, and fix it with a pin. PAUSANIAS a native of Asia Minor, and an inquisitive traveller in the second century, gives the following distinct account of Sericum according to the ideas received among the Greeks in his time. The threads from which the Seres make webs, are not the produce of bark, but are obtained in the following manner. There is an animal in that country, which SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 33 the Greeks call Ser, but which they call by some other name. Its size is twice that of the largest beetle. In other respects it resembles the spiders, which weave under the trees. It has also the same number of feet as the spider, namely, eight*. In order to breed these creatures, the Seres have houses adapted both for summer and winter. The produce of the animal is a fine thread twisted about its iegs. The Seres feed it four years on " panicum." In the fifth year they give it green reed, of which it is so fond as to eat of it until it bursts, and after tins the greatest part of the thread is found within its bodyt. The most interesting circumstance, mentioned by Pausanias, is the breeding of the silk-worms within doors in houses adapt- ed both for summer and winter. There seems no reason to doubt the truth of this fact ; and, if admitted, it proves, that their country, the Serica of the ancients, lay so far North, or was so elevated, as to have a great difference of temperature in summer and . in winter. It is remarkable, that in China the worms are now reared in small houses, and this practice has long prevailed in that country*. GALEN recommends silk thread for tying blood-vessels in surgical opera tions, observing that the opulent women in many parts of the Roman empire possessed such thread, especially in the great cities §. He also mentions cloths of silk and gold in his treatise, c. 9. (Hippocratis et Galeni Opp. ed. Char tier, torn. vi. p. 533.) : " Of this kind are the shawls interwoven with gold, the materials of which are brought from afar, and which are called Seric or silk." CLEMENS ALEXANDRINUS, dissuading the Christian convert from luxury in dress, thus speaks : . Et Si aVjxTrepKpepEcydai xpri, 6\iyov IvSoreov avraTg [ux\a.KOJTipois ^prjadai rots vipo.ajj.aaLV' * This does not apply to the silk-worm, which has sixteen legs, in pairs : six proper legs before, and ten holders behind. (See Figure 1, Plate iii.) t L. vi. 26. p. 125. ed. Siebel. t Barrow's Travels in China, p. 437, &c. Resume des Traites Chinois, &c. traduit par Julien, p. 70-72. 77-80. The practice is here shown to have pre- vailed as early as the fifth century B. C. § Methodus Medendi, 1. xiii. c. 22. 5 34 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OP y.6vov rag iiefxwprijxei/ag \errTovpyiag, kcli Tag Iv TtxigvcpaTg irepispyovg n\oKag hnoSoiv neQicrravTa^ vrjjxa xpvaov, Kai urjpag 'IvSiKovg, Kal Tovg nepupyovg fi6p@VK(t$ %aipeiv Iwvras, fig o-kwA/j! (pverai to npoJTOV' elra i\ avrov iaaela dvacpaiverat K&iAnri. [xeO' r}v eig rphr\v ^ZTapopfyuaiv vco'XjxovTai. 0ojjflv\iov' o't 61 v£Kvda\ov avro xaXovaiv i£ ov [xctKpdg tiktstoi ot^oji', KaOdirep Ik rrjg dpd^itjg b Trig dpd^vrjg jxirog. — Pccdag. ii. 10. But, if it is necessary to accommodate ourselves to the women, let us concede to them the use of cloths, which are a little softer, only refusing that degree of fine- ness, which would imply folly, and such webs as are excessively labored and in- tricate ; bidding farewell to gold thread, and to the Indian Seres, and that indus- trious bombyx, which is first a worm, then puts on the appearance of a hairy cat- erpillar, and hence passes, in the third place, into a Bombyfius, or, as some call it, a Necydalus ; and out of which is produced a long thread, in the same man- ner as the thread of the spider. — Yates 's Translation. The use of the epithet " Indian" in this passage may be ac- counted for from the circumstance, that in the time of the writer silken goods were brought to Alexandria and other cities of Egypt from India. Clemens has evidently borrowed this description from Aristotle. SECOND CENTURY. TERTULLIAN. thus describes the Bombyx : Vermiculi genus est, qui per aerem liquando aranearum horoscopis idoneas sedes tendit, dehinc devorat, mox alvo reddere ; proinde si necaveris, animata jam stamina volves. It is a kind of worm, which extends abodes like the dials of spiders by float- ing them through the air. It then devours them so as to restore them to its stom- ach. Therefore, if you kill it, you will roll living threads. (See chap, ix.) In the same treatise (De Pallio, c. 4.) we find the following notice : Such as Hercules was in the silk of Omphale. Soon after, the same author, speaking of Alexander the Great, says, Vicerat Medicam gentem, et victus est Medica veste : pectus squamarum signaculis disculptum, textu pellucido tegendo, nudavit: et anhelum adhuc ab opere belli, ut mollius, ventilante serico extinxit. Non erat satis animi tumens Macedo, ni ilium etiam vestis inflatior delectasset. He had conquered the Medes, and was conquered by a Median garment. When his breast exhibited the sculptured resemblances of scales, he covered it SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 35 with a pellucid texture, which rather laid it bare ; panting from the work of war, he cooled and mollified it by the use of silk, exposing it to the wind. It was not sufficient for the Macedonian to have a tumid mind ; he required to be delighted also with an inflated garment. He afterwards says of a philosopher, He went wearing a garment of silk, and sandals of brass. Again he says of a low character, " She exposes her silk to the wind." In his treatise on Female Attire he mentions silk in relation to Milesian wool, and he concludes that treatise in the following terms : Manus lanis occupate, pedes domi figite, et plus quam in auro placebitis. Ves- tite vos serico probitatis, byssino sanctitatis, purpura pudicitise. Employ your hands with wool ; keep your feet at home. Thus will you please more than if you were in gold. Clothe yourselves with the silk of probity, with the fine linen of sanctity, and with the purple of modesty. Lastly, this author says (Adv. Marcionem, I. i. p. 372.), Imitare, si potes, apis oedificia, formicae stabula, aranei retia, bombycis stamina. Imitate, if thou canst, the constructions of the bee, the retreats of the ant, the nets of the spider, the threads of the silk-worm. APULEIUS. Prodeunt, mitellis, et crocotis, et carbasinis, et bombycinis injecti. * * * Deam- que, serico contectam amiculo, mihi gerendam imponuni. Metamorphoseon, I. viii. p. 579, 580. ed. Oudendorpii. They came forward, wearing ribbons, and cloths of a saffron color, of cotton, and of silk, loosely thrown over them. * * * And they place on me the Goddess covered with a small silken scarf, to be carried by me. Hie incinctus baltheo militem gerebat ; ilium succinctum chlamyde, copides et venabula venatorem fecerant ; alius soccis obauratis, indutus serica veste, mun- doque pretioso, et adtextis capite crinibus, ineessu perfluo feminam mentiebatur. Ibid. I. xi. p. 769. One performed the part of a soldier, girt with a sword ; another had his chla- mys tucked up by a belt, and carried scimitars and hunting-poles, as if engaged in the chace ; another, wearing gilt slippers, a silken tunic, precious ornaments, and artificial hair, by his flowing attire represented a woman. ULPIAN. Yossius, in his Etymologicum Linguae Latince, in the learned and copious article Sericum, says, " Inter sericum et 36 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF bombycimim discrimen ponit Ulpianus, 1. xxiii. de aur. arg. leg. < Vestimentorum sunt omnia lanea, lineaque, vel serica, vel bombycina.' " JULIUS POLLUX. The Bombyces are worms, which emit from themselves threads, like the spider. Some say, that the Seres collect their webs from animals of this kind. L. vii. 76. p. 741.— KuJm JUSTIN evidently refers to the use of silken garments in his account of the customs of the Parthians, where he says, They formerly dressed after their own fashion. After they became rich, they adopted the pellucid and flowing garments of the Medes. L. xli. c. 2. All doubt, whether the transparent garments, mentioned by Justin, were of silk, must be removed by the authority of Pro- copius, from whom we shall hereafter cite ample and important testimony in reference to the time when he lived, and who in the two following passages expressly states, that the webs, called by the Greeks in his time Seric, were more anciently de- nominated Median. Among the valuable and curious effects of the emperor Commodus, which after his death (A. D. 192.) were sold by his successor Pertinax, was a garment with a woof of silk, of a bright yellow color, the appearance of which was more beau- tiful than if the material had been interwoven with threads of gold*. THIRD CENTURY. The authorities now quoted supply evidence respecting the use of silk among the Greeks and Romans down to the end of the second century. It is rarely mentioned by any writer be- longing to the following centuryt ; so far as we have discovered, * Vestis subtegmine serico, aureis filis insignior. — Jul. Capitolini Pertinax, c. 8. in Scrip. Hist. Augustse. t Mannert (Geogr. iv. 6. 7. p. 517.) attributes the excessive dearness of silk in the third century to the victories of the Persians, which at that time cut off all direct communication between Serica and the western world. SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 37 only by the three historians now to be quoted, by Cyprian, and by Solinus. But we have from these historians some remark- able accounts of the regard paid to it by the emperors Heliogab- alus, Alexander Severus, Aurelian, Claudius II., Tacitus, and Carinus, all of whom reigned in the third century. zElius Lampridius says (c. 26.), that the profligate and effeminate emperor Heliogabalus was the first Roman, who wore cloth made wholly of silk, the silk having been formerly combined with other less valuable materials, and, in consequence of his example, the custom of wearing silk soon became gen- eral among the wealthy citizens of Rome. He mentions (c. 33) among the innumerable extravagances of this emperor, that he had prepared a silken rope of purple and scarlet colors to hang himself with. Of the emperor Alexander Severus he says (c. 40), that he himself had few garments of silk, that he never wore a tunic made wholly of silk, and that he never gave away cloth made of silk mixed with less valuable materials. The following is the testimony of Flavius Yopiscus in his life of the emperor Aurelian. Aurelian neither had himself in his wardrobe a garment wholly of silk, nor gave one to be worn by another. When his own wife begged him to allow her to hare a single shawl of purple silk, he replied, Far be it from us to permit thread to be reckoned worth its weight in gold. For a pound of gold was then the price of a pound of silk. c. 45. Although the above mentioned restrictions in the use of silk may be partly accounted for from the usual severity of Aure- lian^ character, yet the facts here stated abundantly show the rarity and high value of this material in that age. Flavius Yopiscus further states, that the emperor Tacitus made it unlawful for men to wear silk unmixed with cheaper mate- rials. Carinus, on the other hand, made presents of silken garments, as well as of gold and silver, to Greek artificers, and to wrestlers, players, and musicians. Trebellius Pollio, in his life of Claudius II. (c. 14 and 17.), twice mentions white garments of silk mixed with cheaper materials, which were destined for that emperor. 38 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF CYPRIAN, Bishop of Carthage in the third century, inveighs in the follow- ing terms against the use of silk : Tu licet indumenta peregrina et vestes sericas induas, nuda es. Auro te licet et margaritis gemmisque condecores, sine Christi decore deformis es. De Lapsis, p. 135. ed. Fell. Although thou shouldest put on a tunic of foreign silk, thou art naked ; al- though thou shouldest beautify thyself with gold, and pearls, and gems, without the beauty of Christ thou art unadorned. Also in his treatise on the dress of Virgins he says, Sericum et purpuram indutae, Christum induere non possunt : auro et margari- tis et monilibus adornatae, ornamenta cordis et pectoris perdiderunt. Those who put on silk and purple, cannot put on Christ : women, adorned with gold and pearls and necklaces, have lost the ornaments of the heart and of the breast. In the same place he gives us a translation of the well- known passage of Isaiah enumerating the luxuries of female attire among the Jews : " In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, the chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, the bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the head-bands, and the tablets, and the ear-rings, the rings, and nose-jewels, the changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, the glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils.*' Isaiah iii. 18-23. SOLINUS. Primos hominum Seres cognoscimus, qui, aquarum aspergine inundatis frondi- bus, vellera arborum adminiculo depectunt liquoris, et lanuginis teneram subtilita- tem humore domant ad obsequium. Hoc illud est sericum, in quo ostentare po- tius corpora quam vestire, primo feminis, nunc etiam viris persuasit luxuriee libido. Cap. 1. The Seres first, having inundated the foliage with aspersions of water, combed down fleeces from trees by the aid of a fluid, and subdued to their purposes the tender and subtile down by the use of moisture. The substance so prepared is silk ; that material in which at first women, but now even men, have been per- suaded by the eagerness of luxury rather to display their bodies, than to clothe them. SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 39 AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS. This historian describes the Seres as " a quiet and inoffen- sive people who. avoiding all quarrels with their neighbors, are exempt from the distresses and alarms of war, and not being under the necessity of using offensive arms, do not even know their use, and occupy a fertile country under a delicious and healthy climate. He represents them as passing their happy life in the most perfect tranquillity and the most delicious re- pose amidst shady thickets refreshed by pleasant zephyrs, and where the soil furnishes so soft a wool, that after having been sprinkled with water and combed, it forms cloths resembling silk." Marcellinus proceeds to describe the Seres as being content with their own felicitous condition, and so reserved in their in- tercourse with the rest of mankind, that when foreigners ven- ture within their boundaries for wrought and unwrought silk, and other valuable articles, they consider the price offered in silence, and transact their business without exchanging a word ; a mode of traffic which is still practised in some eastern coun- tries. Macpherson, in the Annals of Commerce, a very valuable work, thinks that according to all appearances, the Seres were themselves the authors of this story, in order to make stran- gers believe that their country enj oyed all these benefits by the peculiar blessing of heaven, and that no other nation could participate in them. The remarks of Solinus and Ammianus conspire to show, how much more common silk had become about the end of the third century, being then worn, at least with a warp of cheaper materials, by men as well as by women, and not being confined to the noble and the wealthy. These authors likewise dilate upon the use of showers of water to detach silk from the, trees on which it was found. According to Pliny and Solinus, water was also employed after the silk was gathered from the trees* : and probably the fact was so. Silk, as it * " The remaining shores are occupied by savage nations, as the Melanchlteni 40 ' CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE, ETC. comes from the worm, contains a strong gum, which would be dissolved by the showers of water dashed against the trees, and thus the cocoons, being loosened from the leaves and twigs, would be easily collected. In the subsequent processes, water would be further useful in enabling the women to spin the silk or to wind it upon bobbins. It may be observed that in this use of water art only follows nature. When the moth is ready to leave its cell, it always softens the extremity of it by emitting a drop of fluid, and thus easily obtains for itself a passage. In the third volume of the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society (p. 543.), Colonel Sykes gives the following account of the process by which the moth of the Kolisurra silk- worm liberates itself from confine- ment. "It discharges from its month a liquor, which dissolves or loosens that part of the cocoon adjoining to the cord which attaches it to the branch, causing a hole, and admitting of the passage of the moth. The solvent property of this liquid is very remarkable ; for that part of the cocoon, against which it is directed, although previously as hard as a piece of wood, be- comes soft and pervious as wetted brown paper." In the seventh volume of the Linneean Transactions, is an account by Dr. Roxburgh of the Tusseh silk-worm. Both species are natives of Bengal. The cocoons require to be im- mersed in cold water before the silk can be obtained from them. In the latter species it is too delicate to be wound from the co- coons, and is therefore spun like cotton. Thus manufactured it is so durable, that the life of one person is seldom sufficient to wear out a garment made of it, and the same piece descends from mother to daughter. (See Chap. VIII. of this Part.) and Coraxi, Dioscurias, a City of the Colchians, near the river Anthemus, being now deserted, although formerly so illustrious, that Timosthenes has recorded that three hundred nations used to resort to it speaking different languages; and that business was afterwards transacted on our part through the medium of one hundred and thirty interpreters." CHAPTER III. HISTORY OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE FROM THE THIRD TO THE SIXTH CENTURY. SPINNING, DYEING, AND WEAVING. HIGH DEGREE OF EXCELLENCE ATTAINED IN THESE ARTS. Fourth century — Curious account of silk found in the Edict of Diocletian — Extrav- agance of the Consul Furius Placidus — Transparent silk shifts — Ausonius de- scribes silk as the produce of trees — Quintus Aur Symmachus, and Claudian's tes- timony of silk and golden textures — Their extraordinary beauty — Pisander's de- scription — Periplus Maris Erythrsei — Dido of Sidon. Mention of silk in the laws of Manu — Rufus Festus Avinus — Silk shawls — Marciannus Capella — In- scription by M. N. Proculus, silk manufacturer — Extraordinary spiders' webs — Bombyces compared to spiders — Wild silk -worms of Tsouen — Kien and Tiao- Kien — M. Bertin's account— Further remarks on wild silk-worms. Chris- tian authors of the fourth century — Arnobius — Gregorius Nazienzenus — Basil — Illustration of the doctrine of the resurrection — Ambrose — Georgius Pisida — Macarius — Jerome — Chrysostom — Heliodorus — Salmasius — Extraordinary beauty of the silk and golden textures described by these authors — Their invec- tives against Christians wearing silk. Mention of silk by Christian authors ha the fifth century — Prudentius — Palladius — Theodosian Code — Appolinaris Si- donius — Alcimus Avitus. Sixth century — Boethius. (Manufactures of Tyre and Sidon — Purple — Its great durability — Incredible value of purple stuns found in the treasury of the King of Persia.) FOURTH CENTURY. Some curious evidence respecting the use of silk, both un- mixed with linen and with the warp of linen, or some inferior material, is found in the Edict of Diocletian, which was published A. D. 303 for the purpose of fixing a maximum of prices for all articles in common use throughout the Roman Empire*. The passage pertaining to our present subject, is as follows : * It was edited A. D. 1826, by Colonel Leake, as a sequel to his Journal of a Tour in Asia Minor, and is also published in Tr. of the Royal Society of Litera- ture, vol. i. p. 181. 42 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF Sarcinatori in veste soubtili replicat(u)rce . . * sex Eidem aperturue cum subsutura oloserica? . . * quinquaginta Eidem aperturae cum subsutura su(b)sericae . . * triginta (Sub)suturae in veste grossiori ...„..* quattuor. Denarii*. To the Tailor for lining a fine vest . . . . . . . .6 To the same for an opening and an edging with silk . . . . .50 To the same for an opening and an edging with stuff made of a mixed tis- sue of silk and flax 30 For an edging on a coarser vest . . .4 Colonel Leake's translation. This document proves, in exact conformity with the passages quoted from Solinus and Ammianus, that silk had come into general use at the commencement of the fourth century. It is also manifest from this extract, that silk was employed in giv- ing to garments a greater proportion of intricacy and ornament than had been in use before. The authors who make mention of silk in the fourth and fol- lowing centuries are very numerous. We shall first take the heathen authors, and then the Christian writers, whose observa- tions often have some moral application, which gives them an additional interest. The unknown author of the Panegyric on the emperor Con- stantine, pronounced A. D. 317, thus mentions silk as charac- terizing oriental refinement. Facile est vincere timidos et imbelles, quales amoena Graecia et deliciae Orientis educunt, vix leve pallium et sericos sinus vitando sole tolerantes. It is easy to vanquish the timid and those unused to war, the offspring of pleas- sant Greece and the delightful East, who, whilst they avoid the heat of the sun, can scarcely bear even a light shawl and folds of silk. The testimony of the Roman historian Flavius Vopiscus, in . reference to the practice of the emperor Aurelian and the dearness of silk during his reign, has already been produced. This author, in his life of the same emperor, makes the follow- ing remarks on a display of silk which he had himself recently witnessed. * A Roman coin of the value of about sixteen or seventeen cents, called De- narii from the letter X upon it ; which denoted ten. SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 43 We have lately seen the Consulate of Furius Placidus celebrated in the Circus with so great eagerness for popularity, that he seemed to give not prizes, but pa- trimonies, presenting tunics of linen and silk, borders of linen, and even horses, to the great scandal of all good men. The exact period here referred to is no doubt the Consulship of Placidus and Romulus, A. D. 343. In the Epistles of Alciphron (i. 39.) Myrrhine, a courtesan, loosens her girdle, which probably fastened her upper garment or shawl. Her shift was silk, and so transparent as to show the color of her skin. AUSONIUS satirizes a rich man of mean extraction, who nevertheless made lofty pretensions to nobility of birth, pretending to be de- scended from Mars, Romulus, and Remus, and who therefore caused their images to be embossed upon his plate and woven in a silken shawl. — Epig. 26. In the following line, he alludes to the production of silk in the usual terms : Vellera depectit nemoralia vestifluus Ser. Idyll. 12. The Ser remote, in flowing garments drest, Combs down the fleeces, which the trees invest. QUINTUS AUR SYMMACHUS. This distinguished officer, in a letter to the Consul Stilicho, apologizes in the following terms for his delay in sending a con- tribution of Holoseric pieces, that is, webs wholly made of silk, to the public exhibitions. Others have deferred supplying the water for the theatre and the Holoseric pieces, so that I have examples in my favor. — Epist. I. iv. 8. In a letter to Magnillus (I. v. 20.) he speaks of Subseric pieces, webs made only in part of silk, as presents ; At your instigation the Subseric pieces have been supplied, which my men kept back after the price had been settled ; and likewise everything else pertain- ing to the prizes which were to be given. CLATJDIAN mentions silk in numerous passages. This poet, in describing 44 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF the consular robes of the two brothers Probinus and Olybrius (A. D. 395.), represents the Gabine Cincture, by which the toga was girt over the breast, as made of silk. In the following passage he represents the two brothers, Honorius and Arcadius, as dividing the empire of the world be- tween them and receiving tributes of its productions from the most distant regions : Vestri juris erit, quicquid complectitur axis. Vobis rubra dabunt pretiosas sequora conchas, Indus ebur, ramos Panchaia, vellera Seres. De III. Cons. Honorii, I. 209-211. To you the world its various wealth shall send : Their precious shells the Erythrean seas ; India its iv'ry, Araby its boughs, The distant Seres fleeces from the trees. In a poem, which immediately succeeds this in the order of time, Claudian describes a magnificent toga, worn by Honorius on being appointed a fourth time consul, by saying, that it re- ceived its color (the Tyriau purple) from the Phoenicians ; its woof (of silk forming stripes or figures) from the Seres ; and its weight (produced by Indian gems) from the river Hydas- pes*. Again, in his poem on the approaching marriage of Honorius and Maria, he mentions yellow silk curtains (1. 211.) as a decoration of the nuptial chamber. Again he says (in Eutrop. I. i. v. 225, 226. 304. I. ii. v. 337.) : Te grandibus India gcmmis, Te foliis Arabes ditent, te vellere Seres. Let India with her gems thy wealth increase, The Arabs with their leaves, the Seres with their fleece. He also mentions with delight the use of gold in dress, as well as of silk. The following passage represents the manner in which Proba, a Roman matron, near the end of the fourth century, expressed her affectionate congratulations on the ele- vation of her two sons to the Consulship, by preparing robes in- terwoven with gold for the ceremony of their installation. * De IV. Cons. Honorii, i. 600, 601. SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 45 With joy elated at this proud success, Their venerable mother now prepares The golden trabeas, and the cinctures bright With Seric fibres shorn from woolly trees : Her well-train'd thumb protracts the length'ning gold, And makes the metal to the threads adhere. In Probini et Olybrii Consulatum, I. 177-182. From these verses we learn that Proba had herself acquired the art of covering the thread with gold, and that she then used her gold thread in the woof to form the stripes or other ornaments of the consular trabese. These are afterwards call- ed "stiff togas" (togce rigentes, I. 205.), on account of the rigidity imparted to them by the gold thread. The same poet gives an elaborate description of a Trabea which he supposes to have been woven by the Goddess Rome with the aid of Minerva for the use of the Consul Stilicho. Five different scenes are said to have been woven in this admi- rable robe (regentia dona, graves auro trabeas), and certain parts of them were wrought in gold*. Again, Claudian supposes Thetis to have woven scarfs of gold and purple for her son Achilles : Ipsa manu chlamydes ostro texebat et auro. (Ep. 35.) The epigram in which this line occurs, seems to imply that Serena, mother-in-law of the Emperor Honorius, wove garments of the same kind for him. Maria, the daughter of the above-mentioned Stilicho, was bestowed by him upon Honorius, but died shortly after, about A. D. 400. In February, 1544, the marble coffin, containing her remains, was discovered at Rome. In it were preserved a garment and a pall, which, on being burnt, yielded 36 pounds of gold. There were also found a great number of glass ves- sels, jewels, and ornaments of all kinds, which Stilicho had given as a dowry to his daughter - !". We may conclude, that the garments discovered in the tomb of Maria were woven by the hands of her mother Serena, since the epigram of Claudian * In I. Cons. Stilichonis, L. ii. 330-359. t Surii Comment. Rerum Gest. ab anno 1500, &c. 46 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF proves that she wove robes of a similar description for Hono- rius, and probably on the same occasion. Anastasius Biblio- thecarius says, that when Pope Paschal was intent on finding the body of St. Caxilia, having performed mass with a view to obtain the favor of a revelation on the subject, he was di- rected A. D. 821 to a cemetery on the Appian Way near Rome, and there found the body enveloped in cloth of gold*. Although there is no reason to believe, that the body found by Paschal was the body of the saint pretended, yet it may have been the body of a Roman lady who had lived some centuries before, and probably about the time of Honorius and Maria. Pisander, who belonged to the same period (900 B. C.) with Homer, speaks of the Lydians as wearing tunics adorned with gold. Lydus observes, that the Lydians were supplied with gold from the sands of the Pactolus and the Her must. Virgil also represents the use of gold in weaving, as if it had existed in Trojan times. One of the garments so adorned was manufactured by Dido, the Sidonian, one by Androm- ache, and another was in the possession of Anchises+. In all these instances the reference is to the habits of Phcenice, Lycia, or other parts of Asia. He describes an ape ludicrously attired in a silk jacket ; and, inveighing against the progress of luxury, he speaks of some to whom even silk garments were a burthen. In elaborate descriptions of the figured consular robes (the Trabese) of Ho- norius and Stilicho, he mentions the reins and other trap- pings of horses, as being wrought in silk§. The frequent allusions to silk in the complimentary poems of Claudian, receive illustration from various imperial laws, which were promulgated in the same century, and in part by the very emperors to whom his flattery is addressed, and which * " Aureis vestitum indumentis." De Vitis Rom. Pontificum Mogunt. 1602, p. 222. t De Magistratibus Rom. L. iii. § 64. % JEn, iii. 483. ; iv. 264. ; viii. 167. ; xi. 75. § Rubra Serica, De VI. Cons. Honor. I. 577. Serica Froena. In I. Cons. Stili- chonis 1. ii. V. 350. SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 47 are preserved in the Code of Justinian. Their object was not to encourage the silk manufacture, but, on a principle very opposite to that of modern times, to make it an imperial mo- nopoly. The admiration excited by the splendor and elegance of silk attire was the ground, on which it was forbidden that any individual of the male sex should wear even a silken bor- der upon his tunic or pallium, with the exception of the em- peror, his officers and servants. To confine the enjoyment of these luxuries more entirely to the imperial family and court, all private persons were strictly forbidden engaging in the manufacture, gold and silken borders were to be made only in the imperial Gynaxea*. THE PERIPLUS MARIS ERYTHR^EI. In this important document on ancient geography and com- merce, we find repeated mention of silk in its raw state, in that of thread, and wovenf . These articles were conveyed down the Indus to the coast of the Erythrean Sea. They were also brought to the great mart of Barygaza, which was on the Gulf of Cambay near the modern Surat, and to the coast of Lymirica, which was still more remote. The author of the Periplus states, that they were carried by land through Bactria to Barygaza from a great city called Thina, lying far towards the North in the interior of Asia. He of course refers to some part of Serica. It is remarkable, that he makes no mention of silk as the native production of India. Silk is mentioned in two passages of the laws of Manu, viz. XL v. 168, and XII. v. 64. It is. however, observed by Heer- en, who quotes passages of the Ramayana that make mention of silk, that garments of this material are there represented as worn only on festive occasions, and that they were undoubt- edly Seric or Chinese productions]:. Indeed it appears that * See the Corpus Juris Civilis, Lugduni 1627, folio, torn. v. Codex Justiniani, 1. x. tit. vii. p. 131. 134. t Arriani Opp., vol. ii. Blancardi, pp. 164, 170. 173. 177. X Ideen iiber die Politik, &c. der alten Welt, i. 2. pp. 647. 648. 665-668. 677. 3rd edition. Gottingen, 1815. 48 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF the cloth made from the thread of the native worms of Hin- dostan, although highly valued for strength and durability, is not remarkable for fineness, beauty, or splendor. RUFUS FESTUS AVIENUS. This author, adopting the common notion of his time, sup- poses the Seres to spin thread from fleeces which were produced upon the trees. He also mentions silk shawls (Serica pallia, I. 1008.) as worn by the female Bacchantes of Ionia in their processions in honor of Bacchus ; and it is worthy of remark, that they are not mentioned in the original passage of Dionys- ius, the author whom Avienus translates, so that we may reasonably infer, that the use of them on these occasions was introduced between the time of Dionysius (about 30 B. C.) and that of Avienus (A. D. 400). MARTIANUS CAPELLA. Beyond these {the Anthropophagi) are the Seres, who asperse their trees with water to obtain the down, which produces silk. L. vi. p. 223. ed. Grotii, 1599. The following Inscription is given in Gruter, Tom. iii. p. dcxlv. It was found at Tivoli, and expresses that M. N. Proculus, silk-manufacturer, erected a monument to Yaleria Chrysis, his excellent and deserving wife. D. M. VALERIAE. CHRYSIDI. M. NVMIVS. PROCVLVS. SERICARIVS. CONJVGI. SVAE. OPTIMA. BENEM. FECIT. Before proceeding to the Christian writers of the 4th and fol- lowing centuries we may now introduce the remarks of Servius on the passage formerly quoted from Virgil. He is supposed to have written about A. D. 400. Among the Indians and Seres there are on the trees certain worms, called Bombyces, which draw out very fine threads after the manner of spiders ; and these threads constitute silk. SLIK BY THE ANCIENTS. 49 It will be seen hereafter, that these " Indian Seres" were the inhabitants of Khotan in Little Bucharia. The frequent comparison of Bombyces to spiders by the an- cients suggests the inquiry whether they employed the thread of any kind of spider to make cloth, as was attempted in France by M. Bon. The failure of his attempt is sufficient, as it appears, to show, that the extensive manufacture of gar- ments from this material must have been scarcely possible in ancient times. It is also to be observed, that the ancients, when they compare the silk-worm to the spider, refer to the spider's iveh, whereas M. Bon, not finding the web strong enough, made his cloth from the thread with which the spider envelopes its eggs*. But, although we have no reason to believe, that the web of any spider was anciently employed to make cloth, yet these accounts may have referred to worms, possibly varieties of the silk-worm, which spun long threads floating in the air. The * The most extraordinary account of a spider's web, which we have ever seen, is that given by Lieutenant W. Smyth. He says, " We saw here (viz. at Pachi- za, on the river Huayabamba in Peru) a gigantic spider's web suspended to the trees : it was about 25 feet in height, and near 50 in length ; the threads were very strong, and it had the empty sloughs of thousands of insects hanging on it. It appeared to be the habitation of a great number of spiders of a larger size than we ever saw in England." Narrative of a Journey from Lima to Para, London, 1836, p. 141. For some interesting notices of the great spider of Brazil the reader is referred to Caldcleugh's Travels in South America, London 1825, vol i. ch. 2. p. 41 ; and to the Rev. R. Walsh's Notices of Brazil, London 1830, vol. ii. p. 300, 301. Mr. Caldcleugh " assisted in liberating from a spider's net a bird of the size of a swallow, quite exhausted with struggling, and ready to fall a prey to its inde- fatigable enemies." Mr. Walsh had his light straw hat removed from his head by a similar web extending from tree to tree in an opening through which he had occasion to pass. He wound upon a card several of the threads composing the web ; and he observes, that, as these spiders are gregarious, the difficulties expe- rienced by M. Bon from the ferocity of the solitary European -spiders in killing and devouring one another, would not exist if the attempt were made to obtain clothing from the former. - In the forests of Java Sir George Staunton " found webs of spiders, woven with threads of so strong a texture as not easily to be divided without a cutting instrument." — Account of Lord Macartney's Embassy to China, London 1797,. vol. i. ch. 7. p. 302. (See Chap. IX.) 7 50 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF common silk-worm spins and suspends itself by its thread, long before it begins its cocoon. It appears probable, therefore, that there may have been wild varieties of this creature, or perhaps other species of the same genus, which in the earlier stages of their existence spun threads long enough for use. We ground this conjecture partly on the following passage from Du Halde's History of China*. " The province of Chan-tong produces a particular sort of silk, which is found in great quantities on the trees and in the fields. It is spun and made into a stuff called Kien-tcheou. This silk is made by little insects that are much like cater- pillars. They do not spin an oval or round cocoon, like the silk-worms, but very long threads. These threads, as they are driven about by the winds, hang upon the trees and bushes, and are gathered to make a sort of silk, which is coarser than that made of the silk spun in houses. But these worms are wild, and eat indifferently the leaves of mulberry and other trees. Those who do not under- stand this silk would take it for unbleached cloth, or a coarse sort of drugget. " The worms, which spin this silk, are of two kinds : the first, much larger and blacker than the common silk-worms, are called Tsouen-kien; the second, being smaller, are named Tiao-kien. The silk of the former is of a reddish gray, that of the latter darker. The stuff made of these materials is between both colors, it is very close, does wot fret, is very lasting, washes like linen, and, when it is good, receives no damage by spots, even though oil were to be shed on it. jf. " This stuff is much valued by the Chinese, and it is sometimes as dear as satin or the finest silks. As the Chinese are very skilful at counterfeiting, they make a false sort of Kien-tcheou with the v/aste of the Tche-kiang silk, which without due inspection might easily be taken for the genuine article." This account affords a remarkable illustration of many of the expressions of the ancient writers, such as "Bombyx pen- dulus urget opus," Martial; "Per aerem liquando aranearum horoscopis idoneas sedes tendit," Tertullian ; " In aranearum morem tenuissima fila deducunt," Servius. In farther illustration of the subject, and as tending to show that the Kien-tcheou is manufactured from the thread of a silk-worm, modified in its habits and perhaps in its organization by circumstances, we shall now quote a few passages from a work having the following title : " China ; its costume, arts, man- ufactures, fyc, edited from the originals in the cabinet of M. Bertin, with observations by M.' Breton. Translated from the French. London, 1812." Vol. iv. p. 55, fyc. * Vol. ii. p. 359, 360, 8vo. edition, London, 1736. SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 51 " The wild silk-worms are found in the hottest provinces of China, especially- near Canton. They live indifferently on all sorts of leaves, particularly on those of the ash, the oak, and the fagara, and spin a greyish and rarely white silk. The coarse cloth manufactured from it is called Kien-tcheou, will bear washing, and on that account persons of quality do not disdain to wear clothes of it. With this silk also the strings of musical instruments are made, because it is stronger and more sonorous. " Entomologists treat but very superficially of the habits of the wild silk- worms, while they dwell in minute detail on the method of rearing them in Pro- vence. " It is between the nineteenth and twenty-second day of their existence, that they undertake the great work of spinning their cocoon. They curve a leaf into a kind of cup, and then form a cocoon as large and nearly as hard as a hen's egg ! This cocoon has one end open like a reversed funnel ; it is a passage for the butterfly, which is to come out. " The oak-worms are slower in making their cocoon than those of the fagara and ash, and they set about it differently. Instead of bending a single leaf, they roll themselves in two or three and spin their cocoon. It is larger, but the silk is inferior in quality, and of course not so valuable. " The cocoons of wild silk- worms are so strong and compact, that the insects encounter great difficulty in extricating themselves, and therefore remain inclosed from the end of the summer, to the spring of the following year. These butter- flies, unlike the domestic insect, fly very well. — The domestic silk-worm is but a variety of the wild species. It is fed on the leaves of the mulberry tree." (Seo chap. VIII.) The circumstance that the worms were sometimes fed with oak-leaves is mentioned in Du Halde's History of China, vol. ii. p. 363. Here Uren we have a justification of the ancients in asserting, both that the silk- worms produced long threads and webs float- ing in the air like those of spiders, and that they fed upon the leaves of the oak, the ash, and many other trees. It may be recollected, that Pliny expressly mentions both the oak (quercus) and the ash (fraxinus). Until very lately the use of silk among the ancients was in- vestigated only by philologists. Within a few years M. Latreille, an entomologist of the highest distinction, has directed his at- tention to the subject and has examined particularly the above- cited passages of Aristotle, Pliny, and Pausanias*. He never * M. Latreille's paper is published in the Annales des Sciences Naturelles, tome xxiii. pp. 58-84. 52 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF supposes the ancient Sericum to have been the produce of any- thing except the silk-worm. But of this there are several va- rieties, partly perhaps natural, and partly the result of domes- tication. He endeavors to explain some parts of Pliny's descrip- tion by showing their seeming correspondence with some of the practices actually observed by the Orientals in the management of silk-worms. An account of the wild silk-worms of China is to be found in the " Memoires concernant l'Histoire, les Sciences, les Arts, dec, des Chinois," compiled by the missionaries of Peking*. This account is principally derived from the information of Fa- ther D'Incarville, one of the missionaries. It coincides gen- erally with the accounts already quoted from Du Halde and Breton. We extract the following particulars as conveying some further information : " The Chinese annals from the year 150 B. C. to A. D. 638 make frequent mention of the great quantity of silk produced by the wild worms, and observe that their cocoons were as large as eggs or apricots." The following passage is also deserving of attention : " Le papillon de ces vers sauvages, dit le Pere d'Incarville, est a ailes vitrees." This information, if correct, would prove that there was at least one kind of wild silk-worms in China, which was a different species from the Phaleena Mori ; for that has no transparent membranes in its wings, and would not be, likely to receive them in consequence of any change in its mode of life. We now proceed to take the Christian authors of the fourth and following centuries in the order of time. arnobius (a. d. 306.) thus speaks of the heathen gods : They want the covering of a garment : the Tritonian virgin must spin a threat, of extraordinary fineness, and according to circumstances put on a tunic either of mail, or silkt. * Tome ii. pp. 579-601. Paris, 1777, 4to. This Memoir is reprinted with abridgments as an Appendix to Stanislaus Julien's Translation of the Chinese Treatise on the Breeding of Silk-worms, Paris, 1837, 8vo. t Adv. Gentes, 1. iii. p. 580, ed. Erasmi. SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 53 GREGORIUS NAZIENZENUS, CL., A. D. 370. The following passage contains, we believe, the earliest al- lusion to the use of silk in the services of the Christian Church. "AXXoi jjilv xpvaovTC Kal apyvpov, ol 61 ra urjpoJv Awpa aiv dppfircog ru> TTEpiTTEvaavTi fxiKpcp \£izpdi>a } Upos rr\v an dp%fjs awp.arovp.Evog i:\acnv. I. 1265-1282. What law persuades the Seric worm to spin Those shining threads, which, dyed with purple hue, Inflate, yet check the pride of mighty men? For, whilst they blaze in grand attire, the thought Steals on, — This splendid robe once cloth'd a worm : Type of our resurrection from the grave, It dies within the tomb itself has spun, That perishing abode, which is at once Its house and tomb ; in which it rots away, SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 57 Till at the call of time it gladly leaves Corruption, and its ancient shape resumes. A little remnant of its mould'ring flesh, By processes unspeakable and dark, Restores the wonders of its earliest form. Yates's Translation MACARIUS, CL., A. D. 373. This author gives us an additional proof (Homil. 17, § 9,) that the use of silken clothing was characteristic of dissolute women. JEROME, CL., A. D. 378. This great author mentions silk in numerous passages. In his translation of Ezekiel xxvii. he has supposed silk (sericiim) to be an article of Syrian and Phoenician traffic as early as the time of that prophet. In his beautiful and interesting Epistle to Lseta on the Edu- cation of her Daughter (Opp. Paris, 1546, torn. i. p. 20. C), he says : Let her learn also to spin wool, to hold the distaff, to place the basket in her bosom, to twirl the spindle, to draw the threads with her thumb. Let her despise the webs of silk-worms, the fleeces of the Seres, and gold beaten into threads. Let her prepare such garments as may dispel cold, not expose the body naked, even when it is clothed. Instead of gems and silk, let her love the sacred books, &c. Because we do not use garments of silk, we are reckoned monks ; because we are not drunken, and do not convulse ourselves with laughter, we are called re- strained and sad : if our tunic is not white, we immediately hear the proverb, He is an impostor and a Greek. — Epist. ad Marcellum, De Mgrotatione Blesillce, torn. i. p. 156, ed. Erasmi, 1526. You formerly went with naked feet ; now you not only use shoes, but even ornamented ones. You then wore a poor tunic and a black shirt under it, dirty and pale, and having your hand callous with labor ; now you go adorned with linen and silk, and with vestments obtained from the Atrebates and from Laodi- cea. — Adv. Jovinianum, I. ii Opp. ed. Paris, 1546, torn. ii. p. 29. In the following he further condemns the practice of wrap- ping the bodies of the dead in cloth of gold : Why do you wrap your dead in garments of gold ? Why does not ambition cease amidst wailings and tears? Cannot the bodies of the rich go to corruption except in silk ? Epist. L. ii. You cannot but be offended yourself, when you admire garments of silk and gold in others.— Epist. L. ii. No. 9, p. 138, ed. Par. 1613, 12ma 58 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OP CHRYSOSTOM, CL., A. D. 398. 'AXXu arjpiKa ra ijxaTia^ dWa (laidcov y%novpa >j il/uv/J. Comment in Psalm 48. torn. v. p. 517. ed. Ben. Does the rich man wear silken shawls ? His soul however is full of tatters. J£.a\ix to. aripiKO. ijuarta, ctXAa vWa> rov ctvtipov avvTv\i^9eu i kcil tt} rpocprj da^o\rj9lv } ovvcrrviyr} iv airy tov nerai-lov kovkovXuo. The pleasure of the present life is like the Indian worm, which, having involv- ed itself in the leaf of the tree and having been satisfied with food, chokes itself in the cocoon of its own thread. — Yates's Translation. This writer, whoever he was, appears to have had a correct idea of the manner in which the silk-worm wraps itself in a leaf of the tree, on which it feeds, and spins its tomb within*. * In the Royal Museum of Natural History at Leyden are eight or ten cocoons of the Phalaena Atlas from Java. They consist of a strong silk, and are formed upon the leaves of a kind of Ficus. The first layer of the cocoon covers the whole of a leaf, and receives the exact impress of its form. Then two or three other layers are distinctly perceptible. Two or three leaves are joined together to form the cocoon. In regard to the looseness of the layers these cocoons do not correspond to M. Breton's description of the cocoons of the wild silk-worms of SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 59 FIFTH CENTURY. PRUDENTIUS, CL., A. D. 405. The following sentence occurs in a speech of St. Lawrence at his martyrdom : Hunc, qui superbit serico, Quern currus inflatum vehit ; Hydrops aquosus lucido Tendit veneno intrinsecus. Peristeph. Hymn. ii. I. 237-240. See him, attir'd in silken pride, Inflated in his chariot ride ; The lucid poison works within, Dropsy distends his swollen skin. In another Hymn to the honor of St. Romanus we find the following lines : Aurum regestum nonne carni adquiritur? Inlusa vestis, gemma, bombyx, purpura, In carnis usum mille queer untur dolis. Peristeph. Hymn. x. To please the flesh a thousand arts contend : The miser's heaps of gold, the figur'd vest, The gem, the silk-worm., and the purple dye, By toil acquir'd, promote no other end. In the same Hymn (1. 1015.) Prudentius describes a heathen priest sacrificing a bull, and dressed in a silken toga which is held up by the Gabine cincture (Cinctu Gabino Sericajn fultus tog am). Perhaps, however, we ought here to understand that tire cincture only, not the whole toga, was of silk. It was used to fasten and support the toga by being drawn over the breast. In two other passages this poet censures the progress of lux- ury in dress, and especially when adopted by men. Sericaque in fractis fluitent ut pallia membris Psychomachia, I. 365. The silken scarfs float o'er their weaken'd limbs. Sed pudet esse viros : quaerunt vanissima quaeque Quis niteant : genuina leves ut robora solvant, China, which are very strong and compact, and therefore more resemble those of the Phaleena Paphia. 60 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF Vellere non ovium, sed Eoo ex orbe petitis Ramorum spoliis fluitantes sumere amictus, Gaudent, et durum scutulis perfundere corpus. Additur ars, ut fila herbis saturata recoctis Inludant varias distincto stamine formas. Ut quasque est lanugo ferae mollissima tactu, Pectitur. Hunc videas lascivas praepete cursu Venantem tunicas, avium quoque versicolorum Indumenta novis texentem plume a telis : Ilium pigmentis redolentibus, et peregrino Pulvere femineas spargentem turpitur auras. Hamartigenia, I. 286-298. They blush to be call'd men : they seek to shine In ev'ry vainest garb. Their native strength To soften and impair, they gaily choose A flowing scarf, not made of wool from sheep, But of those fleeces from the Eastern world, The spoil of trees. Their hardy frame they deck All o'er with tesselated spots : and art Is added, that the threads, twice dyed with herbs, May sportively intwine their various hues And mimic forms, within the yielding warp. Whatever creature wears the softest down, They comb its fleece. This man with headlong course Hunts motley tunics which inflame desire, Invents new looms, and weaves a feather'd vest, Which with the plumage of the birds compares : That, scented with cosmetics, basely sheds Effeminate foreign powder all around. PALLADIUS. A work remains under the name of Palladium on u The Nations of India and the Brachmans." Whether it is by the same Palladius, who wrote the Historia Lausiaca. is disputed. But, as we see no reason to doubt, that it may have been writ- ten as early as his time, we introduce here the passages, which have been found in it, relating to the present subject. The au- thor represents the Bramins as saying to Alexander the Great, " You envelope yourselves in soft clothing, like the silk- worms." (p. 17. ed. BissoBi.) It is also asserted, that Alexander did not pass the Ganges, but went " as far as Serica, where the silk- worms produce raw-silk" (p. 2.). In the London edition this tract is followed by one in Latin, SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 61 bearing the name of St. Ambrose and entitled De moribus Brachmanorum. It contains nearly the same matter with the preceding. The writer professes to have obtained his in- formation from " Musceus Dolenorum Episcopus," meaning, as it appears from the Greek tract, Moses, Bishop of Adule, of whom he says, Sericam fere universam regionem peragravit : in qua refert arbores esse, quso non solum folia, sed lanam quoque proferunt tenuissimam, ex qu& vestimenta con ficiuntur, quae Serica nuncupantur. p. 58. He travelled through nearly all the country of the Seres, in which, he says, that there are trees producing not only leaves, but the finest wool, from which are made the garments called Serica. These notices are not devoid of value as indicating what were the first steps to intercourse with the original silk country. It may however be doubted, whether the last account here quoted is a modification of the ideas previously current among the Greeks and Romans, or whether it arose from the mistakes of Moses himself, or of other Christian travellers into the in- terior of Asia, who confounded the production of silk with that of cotton. THE THEODOSIAN CODE published A. D. 438, mentions silk (sericam et metaxam) in various passages. APOLLINARIS SIDONIUS, CL., A. D. 472. Describing the products of different countries, this learned au- thor says (Carmen, v. I. 42-50), Fert Assyrius gemmas, Ser vellera, thura Sabaeus. Th' Assyrian brings his gems, the Ser His fleeces, the Sabean frankincense. In a passage (Carmen, xv.), he mentions a pall, Cujus bis coctus aheno Serica Sidonius fucabat stamina murex. The Tyrian murex, twice i' th' cauldron boil'd, Had dyed its silken threads. The expression here used, indicates that the silk thread was 62 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OP brought from the country of the Seres to be dyed in Phcenice. In Horace we have already noticed the " Cose purpura?." A passage from the Burgus Pontii Leontii (Carmen, xxii.), shows that the same article (Serica fila) was imported into Gaul. In the same author (I. ii. Epist. ad jSerranum) we meet with " Sericatum toreuma." The latter word probably denoted a carved sofa or couch. The epithet "sericatum" may have referred to its silken cover. The same author describes Prince Sigismer, who was about to be married, going in a splendid procession and thus clothed : Ipse medius incessit, flammeus cocco, rutilus auro, lacteus serico. L. iv. Epist p 107. ed. Elmenhorslii. He himself marched in the midst, his attire flaming with coccus, glittering with gold, and of milky whiteness with silk. Describing the heat of the weather, he says : One man perspires in cotton, another in silk. L. ii. Epist. 2. Lastly, in the following lines he alludes to the practice of giving silk to the successful charioteers at the Circensian games : The Emp'ror, just as powerful, ordains That silks with palms be given, crowns with chains : Thus marks high merit, and inferior praise In brilliant carpets to the rest conveys. Carmen, xxiii. L 423-427 ALCIMUS AVITUS, CL., A. D. 490. Describing the rich man in the parable of Lazarus, this author says : Ipse cothurnatus gemmis et fulgidus auro Serica bis coctis mutabat tegmina blattis. L. iii. 222. In jewell'd buskins and a blaze of gold, Silk shawls, or twice in scarlet dipt, he wore. Avitus also mentions " the soft fleeces sent by the Seres." SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 63 SIXTH CENTURY. B0ETHIUS, CL., A. D. 510 Nor honey into wine they pourd, nor mix'd Bright Seric fleeces with the Tyrian dye. De Consol. Philos. ii. The Tyrians are chiefly known to us in commercial history for their skill in dyeing ; the Tyrian purple formed one of the most general and principal articles of luxury in antiquity : but dyeing could scarcely have existed without weaving, and though we have no direct information respecting the Tyrian and Sidonian looms, we possess several ancient references to their excellence, the less suspicious because they are incidental. Homer, for instance, when Hecuba, on the recommendation of the heroic Hector, resolves to make a rich offering to Minerva, describes her as selecting one of Sidonian manufacture as the finest which could be obtained. The Phrygian queen to her rich wardrobe went Where treasured odors breathed a costly scent ; There lay the vestures of no vulgar art — Sidonian maids embroider'd every part, Whom from soft Sidon youthful Paris bore With Helen, touching on the Tyrian shore. Here, as the queen revolved with careful eyes The various textures and the various dyes, She chose a veil that shone superior far, And glow'd refulgent as the morning star. Iliad, vi. Tyre appears to have been the only city of antiquity which made dyeing its chief occupation, and the staple of its com- merce. There is little doubt that purple, the sacred symbol of royal and sacerdotal dignity, was a color discovered in that city; and, that it contributed to its opulence and grandeur. It is related that a shepherd's dog, instigated by hunger, having broken a shell on the sea shore, his mouth became stained with a color, which excited the admiration of all who saw it, and that the same color was afterwards applied with great suc- cess to the dyeing of wool. According to some of the ancient writers, this discovery is placed in the reign of Phcenix, second 64 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF King of Tyre (five hundred years before the Christian era) ; others fix it in that of Minos, who reigned 939 years earlier or, 1439 B. C. The honor of the invention of dyeing purple, is however, generally awarded to the Tyrian Hercules, who pre- sented his discovery to the king of Phoenicia ; and the latter was so jealous of the beauties of this new color, that he forbade the use of it to all his subjects, reserving it for the garments of royalty alone. Some authors relate the story differently : Her- cules' dog having stained his mouth with a shell, which he had broken on the seashore, Tysus, a nymph of whom Hercules was enamored, was so charmed with the beauty of the color, that she declared she would see her lover no more until he had brought garments dyed of the same. Hercules, in order to gratify his mistress, collected a great number of the shells, and succeeded in staining a robe of the color she had demanded. " Colored dresses," says Pliny*, " were known in the time of Homer (900 B. C), from which the robes of triumph were bor- rowed." Purple habits are mentioned among the presents made to Gideon, by the Israelites, from the spoils of the kings of Midan. Ovid, in his description of the contest in weaving between Minerva and Arachne, dwells not only on the beauty of the figures which the rivals wove, but also mentions the del- icacy of shading by which the various colors were made to har- monize together : Then both their mantles button'd to their breast, Their skilful fingers ply with willing haste, And work with pleasure, while they cheer the eye With glowing purple of the Tyrian dye : Or justly intermixing shades with light, Their colorings insensibly unite As when a shower, transpierced with sunny rays, Its mighty arch along the heaven displays ; From whence a thousand different colors rise Whose fine transition cheats the clearest eyes ; So like the intermingled shading seems And only differs in the last extremes. Their threads of gold both artfully dispose, And, as each part in just proportion rose, Some antic fable in their work disclose. — Metam. vi. * Plin. viii. 48. SILK BY THE ANCIENTS. 65 The Tyrian purple was communicated by means of several species of univalve shell-fish. Pliny gives us an account of two kinds of shell-fish from which the purple was obtained. The first of these was called buccinum, the other purpura*. A single drop of the liquid dye was obtained from a small vessel or sac, in their throats, to the amount of only one drop from each animal ! A certain quantity of the juice thus collected being heated with sea salt, was allowed to ripen for three days, after which it was diluted with five times its bulk of water, kept at a moderate heat for six days more, occasionally skimmed, to separate the animal membranes, and when thus clarified, was applied directly as a dye to white wool, previously prepared for this purpose, by the action of lime-water, or of a species of lichen called fucus. Two operations were requisite to commu- nicate the finest Tyrian purple ; the first consisted in plunging the wool into the juice of the purpura, the second into that of the buccinum. Fifty drachms of wool required one hundred of the former liquor, and two hundred of the latter. Some- times a preliminary tint was given with cocus, the kermes of the present day, and the cloth received merely a finish from the precious animal juice. The color appears to have been very durable ; for Plutarch observes in his life of Alexander]", that, at the taking of Susa, the Greeks found in the royal treasury of Darius a quantity of purple stuffs of the value of five thousand talents, which still retained its beauty, though it had lain there for one hundred and ninety yearst. * Plin. Lib. vi. c. 36. t Plutarch, chap. 36. X The true value of the talent cannot well be ascertained, but it is known that it was different among different nations. The Attic talent, the weight, contained 60 Attic minae, or 6000 Attic drachmae, equal to 56 pounds, 11 ounces, English troy weight. The mina being reckoned equal to £3 4s. Id. sterling, or $14 33 cents ; the talent was of the value of £193 15s. sterling, about $861. Other computations make it £225 sterling. The Romans had the great talent and the little talent ; the great talent is computed to be equal to £99 6s. 8d. sterling, and the little talent to £75 sterling. 2. Talent, among the Hebrews, was also a gold coin, the same with a shekel of gold ; called also stater, and weighing only four drachmas. But the Hebrew talent of silver, called cicar, was equivalent to three thousand shekels, or one hundred and thirteen pounds, ten ounces, and a fraction, troy weight. — Arbuthnot. 9 CHAPTER IV. HISTORY OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE CONTINUED FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF SILK-WORMS INTO EUROPE, A.D. 530, TO THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY. A. D. 530. — Introduction of silk-worms into Europe — Mode by which it was effected — The Serinda of Procopius the same with the modern Khotan — The silk-worm never bred in Sir-hind — Silk shawls of Tyre and Berytus — Tyran- nical conduct of Justinian — Ruin of the silk manufactures — Oppressive conduct of Peter Barsames — Menander Protector — Surprise of Maniak the Sogdian am- bassador — Conduct of Chosroes, king of Persia — Union of the Chinese and Per- sians against the Turks — The Turks in self-defence seek an alliance with the Romans — Mortification of the Turkish ambassador — Reception of the Byzan- tine ambassador by Disabul, king of the Sogdiani — Display of silk textures — Paul the Silentiary's account of silk — Isidorus Hispalensis. Mention of silk by authors in the seventh century — Dorotheus, Archimandrite of Palestine — In- troduction of silk-worms into Chubdan, or Khotan — Theophyl actus Simocatta — Silk manufactures of Turfan — Silk known in England in this century — First worn by Ethelbert, king of Kent — Use of by the French kings — Aldhel- mus's beautiful description of the silk -worm — Simile between weaving and vir- tue. Silk in the eighth century — Bede. In the tenth century — Use of silk by the English, Welsh, and Scotch kings. Twelfth century — Theodorus Prodro- mus — Figured shawls of the Seres — Ingulphus describes vestments of silk interwoven with eagles and flowers of gold — Great value of silk about this time — Silk manufactures of Sicily — Its introduction into Spain. Fourteenth century — Nicholas Tegrini — Extension of the Silk manfacture through Eu- rope, illustrated by etymology — Extraordinary beauty of silk and golden tex- tures used in the decoration of churches in the middle ages — Silk rarely men- tioned in the ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth centuries. We now come to the very interesting account of the first in- troduction of silk- worms into Europe, which is given by Pro- copius in the following terms. (De Bello Gothico, iv. 17.) "About this time (A. D. 530.) two monks, having arrived from India, and learnt that Justinian was desirous that his subjects should no longer purchase raw silk from the Persians, went to him and offered to contrive means, by which the Ro- mans would no longer be under the necessity of importing this article from their enemies the Persians or any other nation. CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. 67 They said, that they had long resided in the country called Serinda, one of those inhabited by the various Indian nations, and had accurately informed themselves how raw silk might be produced in the country of the Romans. In reply to the repeated and minute inquiries of this Emperor, they stated, that the raw silk is made by worms, which nature instructs and continually prompts to this labor ; but that to bring- the worms alive to Byzantium would be impossible ; that the breeding of them is quite easy; that each parent animal pro- duces numberless eggs, which long after their birth are covered with manure by persons who have the care of them, and being thus warmed a sufficient time, are hatched. The Emperor having promised the monks a handsome reward, if they would put in execution what they had proposed, they returned to In- dia and brought the eggs to Byzantium, where, having hatched them in the manner described, they fed them with the leaves of the Black Mulberry, and thus enabled the Romans thence- forth to obtain raw silk in their own country." The same narrative, abridged from Procopius, is found in Manuel Glycas {Annal. I. iv. p. 209.), and Zonares (Annal. I. xiv. p. 69. ed. Du Cange.). In the abstract given by Photius (Biblioth. p. 80. ed. Rotham) of the history of Theophanes Byzantinus, who was a writer of nearly the same age with Pro- copius, we find a narrative, in which the only variation is, that a Persian brought the eggs to Byzantium in the hollow stem of a plant. The method now practised in transporting the eggs from country to country is to place them in a bottle not more than half full, so that by being tossed about, they may be kept cool and fresh. If too close, they would probably be heat- ed and hatch on the journey*. The authors who have hitherto treated of the history of the silk-worm, have supposed the Serinda of Procopius to be the modern Sir-hind, a city of Circar in the North of Hindostant. * Transactions of the Society for encouraging Arts, Manufactures, &c, vol. xliii. p. 236. t In this they have followed D'Anville, Antiquite Geographique de l'lnde, Paris, 1775, p. 63. 68 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK Notwithstanding the striking" similarity of names, we think it more likely that Serinda was adopted by Procopius as another name for Khotan in Little Bucharia. The ancients included Khotan among the Indian nations* : and that they were right in so doing is established from the facts, that Sanscrit was the ancient language of the inhabitants of Khotan ; that their al- phabetical characters, their laws, and their literature resembled those of the Hindoos ; and that they had a tradition of being In- dian in their originf. Since, therefore, Khotan was also in- cluded in the ancient Serica, a term probably of wide and ra- ther indefinite extent! ; the name Serinda would exactly de- note the origin and connexions of the race which occupied Khotan. On the other hand, although Sir-hind is termed " an ancient city" by Major Rennell§, we cannot find any evidence that the * In proof of this we refer to Heeren, Ideen, i. 1. p. 358-387, on the Indira tribes which constituted one of the Persian Satrapies, and in which the inhabi- tants of Khotan appear to have been included ; and also to Cellarii Antiqui Orbis Notitia, 1. iii. c. 23. § 2. t Remusat, Hist, de la Ville de Khotan, p. 32. Note 1. and p. 37. X De Guignes (Hist. Gen. des Huns, tome i. p. v.) expresses his opinion, that Serica, besides the North of China, included the countries towards the West, which were conquered by the Chinese, viz. Hami, Turfan, and other neighboring territo- ries. Rennell (Mem. of a map of Hindostan) agrees with D'Anville, that Serica was at the Northwest angle of the present empire of China. Heeren decides in favor of the same opinion, supposing Serica to be identical with the modern Tongut. Comment. Soc. Reg. Scient. Gottingensis, vol. xi. p. 106. 111. Gottingaej 1793. Pausanias observes that the Seres, in order to breed the insects which produced silk, had houses adapted both for summer and winter, which implies that there was a vast difference between the summer and winter temperature of their coun- try. A late oriental traveller says of the climate of Khotan, " In the summer, when melons, ripen, it is very hot in these countries ; but, during winter, ex- tremely cold." — Wathen's Memoir on Chinese Tartary and Khotan, in Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, December 1835, p. 659. On referring to the map, Plato VII., the reader will see the position of Serica indicated at its Eastern extremity. As that map is limited to the Orbis Veteri- bus Cognitus, only a small space on its border is marked as the country of silk indicated by the yellow color. It is, nevertheless, pretty certain that silk may be justly placed next in order to wool. § Memoir of a Map of Hindostan. AFTER ITS FIRST INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE. 69 silk-worm was ever bred there. So far is this from being the case, that it appears to be a country very ill adapted for the pro- duction of silk*. It may indeed be true, as stated by Latreille, that Sir-hind was colonized from Khotan, and it may be men- tioned as a remarkable circumstance in confirmation of this supposition, that there is a town called Kotana a little way to the North East of the City of Sir-hind. But, supposing this account to be correct, it is highly probable that the settlement of Sir-hind as a colony of Khotan did not take place till after the year 530, when the breeding of silk-worms was according to Procopius introduced into Europe from " Serinda." Rather more than 120 years before this time India was visited by the Chinese traveller, Fa Hian, who on his way passed some months with great delight and admiration in Khotan ; and the special object of whose journey was to see and describe all the cities of India where Buddhism was professed. The inhabi- tAits of Khotan being wholly devoted to that delusion, the same system must have been established in its colony; and, since this zealous pilgrim crossed India at no great distance from the spot where Sir-hind afterwards stood, we cannot doubt that he would have mentioned it, if it had existed in his age. He says not a word about it ; and the time is comparatively so short between his visit to India and the date of the introduction of silk- worms into Europe, that we can scarcely suppose Sir-hind, the colony of Khotan and consequently the seat of Buddhism, to have been in existence either at the former or latter period t. In another passage of his history [Bell. Pers. 1. 20.) Pro- copius throws some light upon our subject by stating that in consequence of the monopoly of the trade in raw silk by the Persians, Justinian attempted to obtain it throngh the iEthi- * " The S. W. portion of the Circar Sir-hind is extremely barren, being cover- ed with low scrubby wood, and in many places destitute of water. About A. D. 1357 Feroze the Third cut several canals from the Jumna and the Sutulege in order to fertilize this naturally arid country." — Walter Hamilton's Description of Hindostan, vol. i. p. 465. t Foe Koue Ki, ou Relation des Royaumes Bouddiques : Voyage dans la Tar- taric, dans l'Afghanistan, et dans l'lnde ; traduit du Chinois et commente par Remusat, ESaproth, et Landresse. Paris, 1836, 4to. 70 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK opians of Arabia, but found this to be impracticable, as the Persian merchants frequented the ports to which the Indian? resorted, and from them purchased all their cargoes. Procopius further states {Hist. Arcana, c. 25.), that silk shawls had long been manufactured in the Phoenician cities Tyre and Berytus (to which all who were concerned in the silk trade, either as merchants or manufacturers, consequently resorted, and from whence goods were carried to every part of the earth) ; but that in the reign of Justinian the manufactu- rers in Byzantium and other Greek cities raised the prices of their goods, alleging that the Persians had also advanced theirs, while the imposts were increased among the Romans. Justin- ian, pretending to be much concerned at the high prices, for- bade any one in his dominions to sell silk for more than eight aurei per pound, threatening confiscation of goods against any one who transgressed the law. To comply was impossible, since they were required to sell their goods at a price lower than that for which they bought them. They therefore abandoned the trade, and secretly sold the remnant of their goods for what they could get. The Empress Theodora, on being apprised of this, immediately seized the goods and fined the proprietors a hundred aurei besides. It was then determined, that the silk manufacture should be carried on solely by the Imperial Treas- urer. Peter Barsames held the office, and conducted him- self in relation to this business in the most unjust and oppres- sive manner, so that the silk-trade was ruined not only in By- zantium but also at Tyre and Berytus, while the Emperor, Empress and their Treasurer amassed great wealth by the monopoly. MENANDER PROTECTOR, A. D. 560-570. In an account of an embassy sent to Constantinople by the Avars of Sarmatia, this author states, that the Emperor Jus- tinian endeavored to excite their admiration by a display of splendid couches, gold chains, and garments of silk*. The establishment of the Turkish power in Asia, about the * Corp. Hist. Byzant. ed. 1729. torn. i. p. 67. AFTEB. ITS FIRST INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE. 71 middle of the sixth century, together with subsequent wars, had greatly interrupted the caravan trade between China and Persia. On the return of peace, the Sogdians, an Asiatic peo- ple, who had the greatest interest in the revival of the trade, persuaded the Turkish sovereign, whose subjects they were be- come, to send an embassy to Chosroes, king of Persia, to open a negotiation for this purpose. Maniak, a Sogdian prince, who was ambassador, being instructed to request that the Sogdians might be allowed to supply the Persians with silk ; presented himself before the Persian monarch in the double character of merchant and envoy, carrying with him many bales of silken merchandise, for which he hoped to find purchasers among the Persians. But Chosroes, who thought the conveyance by sea to the Persian Gulf more advantageous to his subjects than this proposed traffic, was not disposed to lend a favorable ear to the legation, and rather uncourteously showed his contempt for the Sogdian traders. He bought up all the silk which the ambas- sador had carried with him, and immediately burned it before them ; thus giving the most convincing proof of the little value which it had in his estimation. After this the Persians and Chinese united against the Turks, who, to strengthen themselves, sought an alliance with the Emperor Justin. Maniak was again appointed ambassador, and sent to negotiate the terms of the alliance : but disappoint- ment, though from a dissimilar cause, attended this his second embassy. The sight of silk-worms, and the establishment for manufacturing their produce, in Constantinople, were to him as unwelcome as unexpected ; he however concealed his mortifica- tion, and, with perhaps an overstrained civility, acknowledged, that the Romans were already become as expert as the Chinese in both the management of silk-worms and manufacture of their silk* ; and when in the fourth year of Justin II. (i. e. A. D. 569.) they went on the same mission to Byzantium, they found that here also there was no demand, since silk-worms were bred there already. Soon after this we learn 1 that the Byzan- tines sent an embassy to Disabul, King of the Sogdiani, who * Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chap. xlii. 72 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OP SILK received the ambassadors in tents covered with variously-colored silks. PAUL, THE SILENTIARY, A. D. 562, mentions silk thread, used in adorning the vestments in the church of St. Sophia at Constantinople. (P. ii. 1. 368.) The note of the Editor, Du Cange, on the description of the pall, (577.), contains various quotations from ecclesiastical writers, which mention " vela rubea Serica f " vela alba holoserica rasata ;" " vela serica de blattin." These quotations show? that silk had been introduced into general used for the churches. ISIDORUS HISPALENSIS, CL., A. D. 575. The etymological work of Isodore of Seville may be re- garded as a kind of encyclopedia, exhibiting the general state of knowledge and art at the time when he wrote. Hence the following descriptive extracts are well deserving of attention. Bombyx frondium vermis, ex cujus textura Bombycinum eonficitur. Appel- lator autem hoe nomine ab eo quod evaeuetur dum fila general, et aer solus in eo remanet. Origin. I. xii. c. 5. Bombyx, a worm which lives upon the leaves of trees, and from whose web silk is made. It is called Bombyx, because it empties itself in producing threads? and nothing but air remains within it. The cloth called Bombycina, derives its name from the silk-worm (Bombyx)* which emits very long threads ; the web woven from them is called Bombyeinum, and is made in the island of Cos. That called Serica derives its name from silk (sencwm), ox from the circum- stance, that is was first obtained from the Seres. Holoserica is all of silk : for Holon means all. Tramoserica has a warp of linen; and a woof (trama) of silk. — L. xix. e. 2£ Touching these extracts we would remark, that the testi- mony of Isidore must not be considered as proving, that the silk manufacture still existed in Cos. His statement was no doubt merely copied from Varro or Pliny, or founded upon the authority of other writers long anterior to his own age. It is indeed probable that silk- worms had by this time been brought into Greece, but that he was ignorant of the fact. AFTER ITS FIRST INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE. 73 SEVENTH CENTURY. DOROTHEUS, ARCHIMANDRITE OF PALESTINE, A. D. 601. "Qanep yap evStSvjjLsvos oKoafipiKov. — Dodr. 2, as quoted in Cod. Theodos. Goilw- fredi. L. Bat. 1665. For as a man wearing a tunic entirely of silk. THEOPHYLACTUS SIMOCATTA, A. D. 629. This author, in his Universal History {I. vii. c. 9.), informs us that the silk manufacture was carried on at Chubdan, with the greatest skill and activity, which was probably the same as Khotan, or, as it was called in his time, Ku-tan*. We have, moreover, the following account of the origin of the growth and manufacture of silk in that country (p. 55, 56.). " The monastery of Lou-che {occupied by Buddhists) is to the south-west of the royal city. Formerly the inhabitants of this kingdom had neither mulberries nor silk-worms. They heard of them in the East country, and sent an embassy to ask for them. The King of the East refused the request, and is- sued the strictest injunctions to prevent either mulberries or silk-worms' eggs from being conveyed across the border. Then the King of Kiu-sa-tan-na (i. e. Koustana, or Khotan) asked of him a princess in marriage. This having been granted, the king charged the officer of his court who went to escort her, to say, that in his country there were neither mulberry-trees nor cocoons, and that she must introduce them, or be without silk dresses. The princess, having received this information, ob- tained the seed both of mulberries, and silk-worms, which she concealed in her head-dress. On arriving at the frontier, the officers searched every where, but dare not touch the tur- ban of the princess. Having arrived at the spot, where the monastery of Lou-che was afterwards erected, she deposited the seed both of the mulberries and worms. The trees were planted in the spring, and she afterwards went herself to assist in gathering the leaves. At first the worms were fed upon the * Intineraire de Hiuan Thsang, Appendice ii. a Foe Koue Ki, p. 399. 10 74 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK leaves of other plants, and a law was enacted, that no worms were to be destroyed or sacrificed until their quantity was suffi- ciently great. The monastery was founded to commemorate so great a benefit, and some trunks of the original mulberry-trees can yet be seen there*." In the following passage (Regne Animal, par Cuvier, torn, v. p. 402.,) Latreille mentions Turfan as an important city as far as it affected the early silk-trade. In other respects his ac- count coincides with that already given. " La ville de Turfan, dans la petite Bucharie, fut long-temps le rendez-vous des caravanes venant de l'Ouest, et l'entrepdt principal des soieries de la Chine. Elle etait la metropole des Seres de l'Asie superieure, ou de la Serique de Pto- le"mee. Expulse's de leurs pays par les Huns, les Seres s'etablirent dans le grande Bucharie et dans PInde. C'est d'une de leurs colonies, du Ser-hend (Ser-indi), que des missionaires Grecs transporterent, du temps de Justinien, les ceufs du ver a soie a Constantinople." The City of Turfan in Little Bucharia was for a long time the rendezvous of the caravans coming from the West, and the principal market for Chinese silks. It was the metropolis of the Seres of Upper Asia, or the Serica of Ptolemy. The Seres having been expelled their country by the Huns, established themselves in Great Bucharia and in India. It is from one of their colonies (of Ser-indi), that the Grecian Missionaries, in the time of Justinian, brought the eggs of the silk- worm to Constantinople. A diploma of Ethelbert, King of Kent, mentions " Ar- milausia holoserica," proving that silk was known in England at the end of the sixth centuryt. The usual dress of the earliest French kings seems to have been a linen shirt and drawers of the same material next to the skin ; over these a tunic, probably of fine wool, which had a border of silk, orna- mented sometimes with gold or precious stones ; and upon this a sagum, which was fastened with a fibula on the right shoul- der. Eginhart informs us, that Charlemange wore a tunic, or vest, with a silken border (limbo serico)%. * It may be observed, that the folds of the turban are not unfrequently used in the East to convey articles of value. See Journal of a Tour in Asia Minor, by Charles Fellows, London, 1839, p. 216. t Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. i. p. 24. Adelung's Glossarium Manuale, v. Ar- milausia. X Examples of it may be seen, I. in the two figures of Charlemagne, executed in mosaic during his life-time, one of which is preserved in the Penitentiary of St. AFTER ITS FIRST INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE. 75 ALDHELMUS, CL., A. D. 680. This author, who died Abbot of Sherburn, was among the most learned men of his age. In his iEnigmas, which are written in tetrastics, we find the following description of the silk-worm. As it is scarcely possible that he could have seen this creature, we have cause to admire both the ingenuity and general accuracy of his lines. The ascending to the tops of thorns or shrubs, such as " genistse," to which the animal may attach its cocoon (globulum), has not been noticed by any earlier author. De Bombycibus. Annua dum redeunt texendi tempora telas, Lurida setigeris replentur viscera fills ; Moxque genistarum frondosa cacumina scando, Ut globulus fabricans cum fati sorte quiescam. Maxi?na Bibl. Vet. Patrum, torn. xiii. p. 25. Soon as the year brings round the time to spin, My entrails dark with hairy threads are fill'd : Then to the leafy lops of shrubs I climb, Make my cocoon, and rest by fate's decree. In a book written by this author, in praise of virginity, he observes, That chastity alone did not form an amiable and per- fect character, but required to be accompanied and adorned by many other virtues ; and this observation he further illustrates by the following simile taken from the art of weaving : " As it is not a web of one uniform color and texture, without any variety of figures, that pleaseth the eye and appears beautiful, but one that is woven by shuttles, filled ivith threads of pur- j)le, and many other colors, flying from side to side, and forming a variety of figures and images, in different com- partments, with admirable art." — Bibliotheca Patrum, torn. xiii. John Lateran at Rome, and both of these are described by Spon in his Miscel- lanea Eruditae Antiquitatus (p. 284.) ; II. in the figure of Charles the Bald, the grandson of Charlemagne, which is in the splendid copy of the Latin Gospels made for his use, now preserved in the library at Munich, and which may be seen engraved in Sanft's Dissertation on that MS. (p. 42.) ; III. in the figure of an early French king engraved from a MS. by Baluzius in his Capitularia Re- gum Francorum (torn. ii. p. 1308.) ; and IV. in the first volume of Montfaucon's Monumens de la Monarchie Franchise. 76 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK EIGHTH CENTURY. BEDE, CL., A. D. 701. Joseph autem mercatus est sindonem, et deponens eum involvit sindone. (Marc. xv. 46.) — Et ex simplici sepultura domini ambitio divitum condemnatur, qui ne in tumulis quidem possunt carere divitiis. Possumus autem juxta intelligentiam spir- italem hoc sentire, quod corpus domini non auro, non gemmis et serico, sed lintea- mine puro obvolvendum sit, quanquam et hoc significet, quod ille in sindone mun- da involvat Jesum, qui pura eum mente susceperit. Hinc ecclesiae mos obtinuit, ut sacrificium altaris non in serico, neque in panno tincto, sed in lino terreno cel- ebretur, sicut corpus est domini in sindone munda sepultum, juxta quod in gestis pontificalibus a beato Papa Silvestro legimus esse statutum. — Expos, in Marcum, torn. v. p. 207. Col. Agrip. 1688. But Joseph bought a linen cloth, and, taking him down, wrapped him in the linen cloth. (Mark xv. 46.) — The simple burial of our Lord condemns the am- bition of rich men, who cannot be without wealth even in their tombs. That his body is to be wrapped not in gold, not in silk and precious stones, but in pure linen, may be understood by us spiritually. It also intimates, that he incloses Jesus in a clean linen cloth, who receives him with a pure mind. Hence the custom of the church has obtained, to celebrate the sacrifice of the altar, not in silk, nor in dyed cloth, but in earthy flax, as the body of our Lord was buried in a clean linen cloth ; for so we read in the pontifical acts, that it was decreed by the blessed Pope Silvester. The latter portion of this extract, wherein we are informed of the origin of the practice, universally adopted, of covering the Eucharist with a white linen cloth, must be a later addi- tion. Pope Silvester lived, as the reader will perceive, long after the time of Bede. Bede, in his History of the Abbots of Wearmouth, states that the first abbot and founder of the monastery, Biscop, sur- named Benedict, went a fifth time to Rome for ornaments and books to enrich it, and on this occasion (A. D. 685.) brought two scarfs, or palls, of incomparable workmanship, composed entirely of silk, with which he afterwards purchased the land of three families situated at the mouth of the Wear*. This shows the high value of silken articles at that period. * Bedse Hist. Eccles. &c. cura Jo. Smith. Cantab. 1722. p. 297. Mr. Sharon Turner, speaking of Bede, says, " His own remains were inclosed in silk. Mag. Bib. xvi. p. 88. It often adorned the altars of the church ; and we read of a pres- ent to a West-Saxon bishop of a casula, not entirely of silk, but mixed with goat's AFTER ITS FIRST INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE. 77 TENTH CENTURY. About the year 970 Kenneth, king" of Scotland, paid a visit in London to Edgar, king of England. The latter sovereign, to evince at once his friendship and munificence, bestowed upon his illustrious guest silks, rings, and gems, together with one hundred ounces of pure gold*. Perhaps we may refer to the same date the composition of the " Lady of the Fountain," a Welsh tale, recently translated by Lady Charlotte Guestf. At the opening of this poem King Arthur is represented sitting in his chamber at Caer-leon upon Usk. It is said, In the centre of the chamber, King Arthur sat upon a seat of green rushes, over which was spread a covering of flame-colored satin, and a cushion covered with the same material was under his elbow. The mention of silk and satin is frequent in this tale. GERBERT, CL., A. D. 970. This author, who became Pope Silvester, mentions garments of silk (sericas vestes) in a passage which has been already quoted (see Part II. chap. V.). TWELFTH CENTURY. THEODORUS PRODROMUS a romance writer in the twelfth century, mentions the figured shawls (jreirXa) manufactured by the Seres. The breeding of silk-worms in Europe appears to have been confined to Greece from the time of the Emperor Justinian until the middle of the twelfth century. The manufacture wool." Ibid. p. 50. He refers to p. 97. of the same volume, as mentioning "pal- lia holoserica."— History of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. iii. book vii. chap. 4. p. 48, 49 * Lingard's Hist, of England, vol. i. 241. London, 1819, 4to. t The Mabinogion, from the Llyfr Coch o Hergest and other ancient Welsh manuscripts ; with an English translation and notes. By Lady Charlotte Guest. Part I. The Lady of the Fountain. Llandovery, 1838. 78 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK of silk was also very rare in other parts of Europe, being prob- ably practised only as a recreation and accomplishment for ladies. But in the year 1148 Roger I., King of Sicily, having taken the cities of Corinth, Thebes, and Athens, thus got into his power a great number of silk-weavers, took them away with the implements and materials necessary for the exercise of their art, and forced them to reside at Palermo*. Nicetas Choniatest, referring to the same event, speaks of these arti- sans as of both sexes, and remarks that in his time those who went to Sicily might see the sons of Thebans and Corinthians employed in weaving velvet stoles interwoven with gold, and serving like the Eretrians of old among the Persians*. We find in the writings of Ingulphus several curious ac- counts of vestments of silk, interwoven with eagles and flowers of gold. This author, in his history, mentions that among other gifts made by Witlaf, king of Mercia, to the abbey of Croyland, he presented a golden curtain, embroidered with the siege of Troy, to be hung up in the church on his birth- day^ At a later period, 1155, a pair of richly worked san- dals, and three mitres, the work of Christina, abbess of Mark- gate, were among the valuable souvenirs presented by Robert, abbot of St. Albans, to Pope Adrian IV. II. * Otto Frisingen, Hist. Imp. Freder. 1. i. c. 33. in Muratori, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, torn. vi. p. 668. t In Manuel Comnenus, 1. ii. c. 8., torn. xii. of the Scriptores Hist. Byzantinae, p. 51. ed. Ven. X Hugo Falcandus, who visited this manufactory A. D. 1169, represents it as being then in the most nourishing condition, producing great quantities of silks, both plain and figured, of many different colors, and enriched with gold § Ingulphus, p. 487, edit. 1596. || Adrian IV., was the only Englishman that ever sat in St. Peters chair. His name was Nicolas Breakspear : he was born of poor parents at Langley, near St. Albans. Henry II., on his promotion to the papal chair, sent a deputation of an abbot and three bishops to congratulate him on his election ; upon which occasion he granted considerable privileges to the abbey of St. Albans. With the excep- tion of the presents named above, he refused all the other valuable ones which were offered him, saying jocosely, — " I will not accept your gifts, because when I wished to take the habit of your monastery you refused me." To which the abbot pertinently and smartly replied, — " It was not for us to oppose the will of Providence, which had destined you for greater things." AFTER ITS FIRST INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE. 79 Without digressing from our subject to question the right of the royal marauder thus tyrannously to sever these unof- fending artisans from the ties of country and of kindred, we may yet be allowed to express some satisfaction at the conse- quences of his cruelty. It is well for the interests of humanity that blessings, although unsought and remote, do sometimes follow in the train of conquest ; that wars are not always lim- ited in their results to the exaltation of one individual, the downfall of another, the slaughter of thousands, and misery of millions, but occasionally prove the harbingers of peaceful arts, heralds of science, and in short deliverers from the yoke of slavery or superstition. In twenty years from this forcible establishment of the man- ufacture, the silks of Sicily are described as having attained a decided excellence ; as being of diversified patterns and colors ; some fancifully interwoven with gold — tastefully embellished with figures ; and others richly adorned with pearls. The in- dustry and ingenuity thus called forth, could not fail to exer- cise a beneficial influence over the character and condition of the Sicilians. From Palermo the manufacture of silk extended itself through all parts of Italy and into Spain. We learn from Roger de Hoveden, that the manufacture flourished at Alme- ria in Grenada about A. D. 1190*. FOURTEENTH CENTURY. According to Nicholas Tegrinif, the silk manufacture after- wards flourished in Lucca ; and the weavers, having been ejected from that city in the earlier part of the fourteenth cen- tury, carried their art to Venice, Florence, Milan, Bologna, and even to Germany, France, and Britain. We have seen from different historical testimonies, that silk was known to the inhabitants of France and England as early as the sixth century. The fact of its introduction into all parts * " Deinde per nobilem civitatem, quae dicitur Almaria, ubi fit nobile sericum et delicatum, quod dicitur sericum de Almaria." Scriptores post Bedam, p. 671. t Vita Castruccii, in Muratori, Rer. Ital. Scriptores, t. xi. p. 1320. 80 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. of the North of Europe is manifest from the use of words for silk in several northern languages. These words appear, ac- cording to the inquiries of the learned orientalists, Klaproth and Abel Remusat*, to have been derived from those Asiatic countries, in which silk was originally produced. In the lan- guage of Corea silk is called Sir ; in Chinese Se, which may- have been produced by the usual omission of the final r. In the Mongol language silk is called Sirkek, in the Mandchou tSirghe. In the Armenian the silk-worm is called Cheram. In Arabic, Chaldee, and Syriac, silk was called Sericf. From the same source we have in Greek and Latin Eqw*^ Sericum. In the more modern European languages we find two sets of terms for silk, the first evidently derived from the oriental Seric, but with the common substitution of I for r, the second of an uncertain origin. To the first set belong, Chelfc, silk, in Slavonian. tSUke, in Suio-Gothic and Icelandic}:. fSilcke, in Danish. Siolc or Seolc, silk, in Anglo-Saxon. Also Siolcen or Seolcen, silken ; Gal reolcen, Holosericus ; Seolcpynm, silk- worm §. * Journal Asiatique, 1823, torn. ii. p. 246. Julius Klaproth (Tableau Historique de 1'Asie, Paris, 1826, p. 57, 58.) says, that in the year 165 B. C. the inhabi- tants of the country called by us Tangut, who constituted a powerful kingdom, were attacked by the Hioung Nou, and driven to the West, where they fixed themselves in Transoxiana, and that these events led to an uninterrupted com- munication with Persia and India, especially in regard to the silk trade. Klap- roth considers that the Seres of the ancients were the Chinese ; but he appears to include under that term all the nations which were brought into subjection to the Chinese. Professor Karl Ritter (Erdkunde, Asien, Band iv. 2 te Auflage, Berlin, 1835, p. 437.) observes, in allusion to the authority just quoted, that all the names of the silk-worm and its products are to be accounted for on the supposition (which he considers the true one) that they were first known and cultivated in China, and from thence extended through central Asia into Europe. t See Schindler's Pentaglott, p. 1951, D. % Silki trojo ermalausa, a silk tunic without sleeves. Knitlynga Saga, p. 114, as quoted by Ihre, Glossar. Suio-Goth. v. Armalausa. § iElfric's Glossary (made in the tenth century), p. 68. Appendix to Sumner's Dictionary. AFTER ITS FIRST INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE. 81 Silk, silk, in English*. Sirig, in Welshf. To the second set belong, Seda, silk, in the Latin of the middle ages. Seta, in Italian. Seide, in German. Side, in Anglo-Saxon. Also Sidene, silken, iElfric as quoted by Lye ; Sidpypm, silk-worm, Junius, 1. c. Sidan, in Welsh. Satin, in French and English! . According to Abel Remusat {Journal Asiat. I. c.) the mer- chandise of Eastern Asia passed through Slavonia to the North of Europe in the middle ages, even without the mediation of Greece or Italy. This may account for the use of the terms of the first class, while it is possible that those of the second have been derived from the South of Europe, from whence we have seen that silken commodities were also occasionally trans- ported to the North. To the evidence now produced from authors and printed documents respecting the history of silk from the earliest times to the period of its universal extension throughout Europe, an- other species of proof may be added, viz. that afforded by Relics preserved in churches, and by other remains of the antiquities of the middle ages. As examples of this method for illustrating the subject, the following articles may be enumerated. I. The relics of St. Regnobert, Bishop of Bayeux in the seventh century. These consist of a Casula, or Chasuble, a Stole, and a Maniple. They are yet preserved in the cathe- dral of Bayeux, and worn by the Bishop on certain annual fes- * Nicholas Fuller (Miscellanea, p. 248.) justly observes, Vocabulum Anglica- num Selk non nisi Sericum authorem generis sui agnoscit. Selk enim nuncnpa- tum est quasi Selik pro Serik, literas r in 1 facili commutatione facta. Minshew and Skinner give the same etymology. t Junius, Etymologicum, v. Silk. It appears doubtful, however, whether Ju- nius is here to be depended on. t Menage, Diction. Etym. de la Langue Franchise, torn. ii. p. 457, ed. Joult. 11 82 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK rivals. They are of silk interwoven with gold, and adorned with pearls*. II. Portions of garments of the same description with those of St. Regnobert were discovered A. D. 1827 on opening the tomb of St. Cuthbert in the Cathedral of Durham. They are preserved in the library of that church, and accurately described by the Rev. James Raine, the librarian, in a quarto volume. III. The scull-cap of St. Simon, said to have been made in the tenth century, and now preserved in the Cathedral of Treves. Its border is interwoven with gold. In regard to these interesting relics, they may with confi- dence be looked upon as specimens of the manufacture of silk from the seventh to the twelfth century. IV. In the Cathedral at Hereford is a charter of one of the Popes with the bull (the leaden seal), attached to it by silken threads. Silk was early used for this purpose in the South of Europef. The Danish kings began to use silk to append the waxen seals to their charters about the year lOOOt. Y 9 §ilk ? in the form of velvet, may be seen on some of the ancient armor in the Tower of London. VI. The binding of ancient manuscripts affords specimens of silk. A French translation of Ludolphus Saxo's Life of Christ in four folio volumes, among Dr. William Hunter's MSS. at Glasgow, still has its original binding covered with red velvet, which is probably as old as the fourteenth century. A curious source of information on the art of book-binding at that period is the Inventory, or Catalogue of the library col- lected by that ardent lover of books, Charles V. of France. As this catalogue particularly describes the bindings of about 1200 volumes, many of which were very elaborate and splen- did, it enables us to judge of the use made of all the most valu- able stuffs and materials which could be employed for this pur- pose, and under the head of silk we find the following : " soie," * See John Spencer Smythe's Description de la Chasuble de Saint Regnobert, in the Proces Verbal de PAcademie Royale des Sciences, Arts, et Belles Lettres, de la Ville de Caen. Stance d'Avril 14, 1820. t Mabillon de Re Diplomatic^, I. ii. cap. 19. § 6. X Diplomatarium Arna-MagnEeanum, a Thorkelin, torn. i. p. xliv. AFTER ITS FIRST INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE. 83 silk ; " veluyau," velvet ; " satanin," satin ; " damas," damask ; " taffetas," taffetas ; " camocas ;" " cendal ;" and " drap dor," cloth of gold, having probably a basis or ground of silk*. From the few examples of ancient Catholic vestments that have escaped destruction, the generality of persons are but little acquainted with the extreme beauty of the embroidery worked for ecclesiastical purposes during the Middle Ages. The countenances of the images were executed with perfect expression, like miniatures in illuminated manuscripts. Every parochial church, previous to the Reformation, was furnished with complete sets of frontals and hangings for the altars. One of the great beauties of the ancient embroidery was its appro- priate design ; each flower, leaf, and device having a signifi- cant meaning with reference to the festival to which the vest- ment belonged. Such was the extreme beauty of the English vestments in the reign of Henry III., that Innocent IY. for- warded bulls to many English bishops, enjoining them to send a certain quantity of embroidered vestments to Rome, for the use of the clergyf. * See Inventaire de l'Ancienne Biblioteque due Louvre, fait en 1'annee 1373. Paris, 1836, 8vo. t The art of embroidery seems to have attained a higher degree of perfection in France, than any other country in Europe ; — it is not, however, so much prac- tised now. Embroiderers formerly composed a great portion of the working pop- ulation of the largest towns ; laws were specially framed for their protection, some of which would astonish the working people of the present day. They were formed into a company as early as 1272, by Etienne Boileau, Prevot de Paris, under their respective names of " Brodeurs, Decoupeurs, Egratigneurs, and Chasubiters." In the last and preceding centuries, when embroidery, as an article of dress both for men and women, was an object of considerable importance, the Ger- mans, and more particularly those of Vienna, disputed the palm of excellence with the French. At the same period, Milan and Venice were also celebrated for their embroidery ; but the prices were so extravagantly high, that according to Lamarre, its use was forbidden by sumptuary laws. CHAPTER V, SILK AND GOLDEN TEXTURES OF THE ANCIENTS. HIGH DEGREE OF EXCELLENCE ATTAINED IN THIS MANUFACTURE. Manufacture of golden textures in the time of Moses — Homer— Golden tunics of the Lydians — Their use by the Indians and Arabians — Extraordinary display of scarlet robes, purple, striped with silver, golden textures, &c, by Darius, king of Persia — Purple and scarlet cloths interwoven with gold — Tunics and shawls variegated with gold — Purple garments with borders of gold — Golden chlamys — Attalus, king of Pergamus, not the inventor of gold thread — Bostick — Golden robe worn by Agrippina — Caligula and Heliogabalus — Sheets inter- woven with gold used at the obsequies of Nero — Babylonian shawls intermixed with gold — Silk shawls interwoven with gold — Figured cloths of gold and Ty- rean purple — Use* of gold in the manufacture of shawls by the Greeks — 4,000,000 sesterces (about $150,000) paid by the Emperor Nero for a Baby- lonish coverlet — Portrait of Constantius II. — Magnificence of Babylonian car- pets, mantles, &c. — Median sindones. The use of gold in weaving may be traced to the earliest times, but seems to be particularly characteristic of oriental manners. It was employed in connexion with woollen and linen thread of the finest colors to enrich the ephod, girdle, and breast-plate of Aaron*. The sacred historian goes so far as to describe the * " And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. It shall have the two shoulder-pieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together. And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel : six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel : thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold. And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel : and Aaron shall SILK AND GOLDEN TEXTURES OF THE ANCIENTS. 85 mode of preparing the gold to be used in weaving : " And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with cunning work." — Ex. xxxix. 2-8. The his- torian certainly does not intend to describe the process of wire- drawing, nor probably the art of making gold thread. It seems likely, that neither of these ingenious manufactures were invented in his time. The queen described in Ps. xiv., wears " clothing of wrought gold*." Homer mentions " a golden girdle," (Od. *. 232. *. 543.). He also describes an upper gar- ment, which Penelope made for Ulysses before going to Illium. On the front part of it a beautiful hunting piece was wrought in gold. It is thus described. " A dog holds a fawn with its fore feet, looking at it as it pants with fear and strives to make its escape." This, he says, was the subject of universal admi- rationf. Pisander, who probably lived at the same period with Homer, speaks of the Lydians as wearing tunics adorned with gold. Lydus, who has preserved this expression of the ancient cyclic poet, observes that the Lydians were supplied with gold from the sands of the Pactolus and the Hermust. Yirgil also represents the use of gold in weaving, as if it had existed in Trojan times. One of the garments so adorned was made by Dido, the Sidonian, another by Andromache, and a third was in the possession of Anchises§. In all these instances the reference is to the habits of Phoenice, Lycia, or other parts of Asia. Among all the Asiatics, none were more remarkable than bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial. And thou shalt make ouches of gold ; and two chains of pure gold at the ends ; of wreatken work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches. And thou shalt make the breast-plate of judgment with cunning work ; after the work of the ephod shalt thou make it ; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen shalt thou make it." — Ex. xxviii. 5-15. * " The king's daughter is all glorious within : her clothing is of wrought gold."— Ps. xlv. 13. t Od. r. 225-235. t De Magistratibus Rom. L. iii. § 64. § Mm. iii. 483. ; iv. 264. ; viii. 167. ; xi. 75. 86 SILK AND GOLDEN TEXTURES OF THE ANCIENTS. the Persians for the display of textures of gold, as well as every other kind of luxury in dress. A tiara interwoven with gold was one of the presents which Xerxes gave as an expression of his gratitude to the citizens of Abdera {Herod, viii. 120.). The Indians also employed the same kind of ornament (Strabo, L. xv. c. i. § 69.) ; and the Periegesis (/. 881.) of Priscian at- tributes the use of it to the Arabians*. The history of Alexander the Great affords frequent traces of the use of cloth interwoven with gold in Persia. Garments made of such cloth were among the most splendid of the spoils of Persepolisf. Justin (L. xii.) says that Alexander, to avoid offending the Persians, ordered his principal attendants to adopt for their dress " longam vestem auream purpureamque." The dress prescribed was therefore of fine woollen cloth, or probably of silk, dyed purple, and interwoven with gold. Among the vast multitudes which preceded the King of Persia when he ad- vanced to oppose Alexander, was the band of ten thousand called the Immortals, whose dress was carried to the ' ne plus ultra' of barbaric splendor, some wearing golden collars, others "cloth variegated with gold." Some idea of the extravagance and pomp of the Persians on this occasion may be formed from the following passage, taken from Rollin's " Ancient History." " The order Darius observed in his march was as follows. Before the army were carried silver altars, on which burned the fire, called by them sacred and eternal ; and these were followed by the magi, singing hymns, and 365 youths in scarlet robes. After these proceeded a consecrated car, drawn by white horsee and followed by one of an extraordinary size, which they called " The horse of the sun." The equerries were dressed in white, each bearing in his hand a golden rod. Next appeared ten sumptuous chariots, enriched with curious sculptures in gold and silver ; and then the vanguard of the horse, composed of twelve different nations, in various armor. This body was succeeded by those of the Persians, called " The Immortals," amounting to 10,000, who surpassed the rest of the barbarians in the extravagant richness and splendor of their dress ; for they all wore collars of gold, and were clothed in robes of gold tissue, having large sleeves, garnished with precious stones. About thirty paces from them came the * In Europe the nearest approach to oriental habits in regard to dress was made by the Gauls. Their principal men wore collars, armlets, and bracelets of gold, and clothes enriched with the same metal. — Strabo, L. iv. cap. 4. § 5. t Diod. Sic. L. xvii. 70. p. 214. Wessel. SILK AND GOLDEN TEXTURES OF THE ANCIENTS. 87 king's relations or cousins, to the number of 15,000, apparelled like women, and more remarkable for the pomp of their dress than the glitter of their arms ; and af- ter these Darius attended by his guards, seated on a chariot, as on a throne. The chariot was enriched, on both sides, with images of the gods in gold and silver ; and from the middle of the yoke, which was covered with jewels, rose two statues, a cubit in height ; the one representing War, the other Peace, having between them a golden eagle with wings extended. The king was attired in a garment of purple striped with silver ; over which was a long robe, glittering with gold and precious stones, and whereon two falcons were represented as if rushing from the clouds at each other. Around his waist he wore a golden girdle, from whence hung scimitar, the scabbard of which was covered with gems. On each side of Darius walked 200 of his nearest relations, followed by 10,000 horsemen, whose Jances were plated with silver, and tipped with gold. After these marched 30,000 foot, the rear of the army, and, lastly, 400 horses belonging to the king. " About 100 paces from the royal divisions of the army came Sisygambis, the mother of Darius, seated on a chariot, and his consort on another, with female at- tendants of both queens riding on horseback. Afterwards came fifteen chariots, in whieh were the king's children, and their tutors. Next to these were the royal concubines, to the number of 360, all attired like so many queens. These were followed by 600 mules, and 300 camels, carrying the king's treasure, and guarded by a body of bowmen. After these came the wives of the crown officers, and the lords of the court ; then the suttlers, servants ; and, lastly, a body of light armed troops, with their commanders." At the nuptials of Alexander purple and scarlet cloths, in- terwoven with gold, were expanded over the guests : and a pall of the same description covered the golden sarcophagus made to contain his body. Among the splendid ornaments of the tent erected not long after at Alexandria by Ptolemy Phil- adelphia, there were tunics interwoven with gold : and in the procession on the same occasion, the colossal statues of Bacchus and his nurse Nysa were attired ; the former in a shawl ; the latter in a tunic variegated with gold. Probably we may refer to the same country and age the a golden tunic" mentioned in one of the Arundle marbles (No. xxii. 2.). Also the tent pitch- ed by Arsace with hangings of gold and purple tissues, and the robe of similar materials worn by Arsace herself, as de- scribed by Heliodorus (JElthiop. vii.), relate to the customs of the same country. Another of the successors of Alexander, viz. Demetrius Poliorcetes, wore purple garments with borders of gold*. * Plutarch, Demet. 41. 88 SILK AND GOLDEN TEXTURES OF THE ANCIENTS. Themistius describes a portrait of one of the kings of Persia, who wore, together with the tiara and the collar or necklace, a purple shawl interwoven with gold {Or at. 24. p. 369. ed. Dindorf.). During the periods to which the preceding evidence has allu- sion, it is not probable that cloth of gold was in use among the Greeks and Romans except to a very limited extent. Never- theless it does not appear to have escaped the avidity for every species of excellence, which in early times distinguished the in- habitants of Magna Graecia. For, when Pythagoras became a teacher of wisdom and philosophy at Crotona, among other lessons of frugality he persuaded the matrons to put off their "golden garments" with other fashionable ornaments, and de- posit them in the temple of Juno as offerings to the goddess*. In a passage attributed to Menander we meet with the men- tion of a "golden or purple chlamys" as a suitable offering to the godst. Hedylus of Samos, a writer of the same age, de- scribes a woman of loose morals, by name Niconoe, as wearing a tunic striped with gold (Brunch's Analecta, i. 483.). Attalus, king of Pergamus, is said by Pliny (L. viii. cap. 48.) to have invented the art of embroidering with gold threadt. Nevertheless we have seen, that gold was thus used long before the time of Attalus. But there can be no doubt, that he es- tablished and maintained a great manufacture of these stuffs at Pergamus ; thus contributing greatly to improve the art, and bring these cloths into more general use. The next passage is from Dr. Bostock's translation of the 33rd Book, ch. xix. " Gold may be spun or woven like wool, without the latter being mixed with it. We are informed by Yerrius, that Tarquinius Priscus rode in triumph in a tunic of gold ; and we have seen Agrippina, the wife of the Emperor Claudius, when he exhibited the spectacle of a naval combat, sitting by him covered with a robe made entirely of woven gold. In what are called the Attalic stuffs, the gold is woven * Justin, L. XX. c. 4. t Menandri Reliquiae, a Meineke, p. 306. Bdekh, Gr. Trag. Principes, p. 157. t See Appendix A. SILK AND GOLDEN TEXTURES OP THE ANCIENTS. 89 with some other substance. This art was the invention of one of the kings of Asia." In Book xxxv. c. 36. Pliny says that Zeuxis, to display his wealth at Olympia, caused his name to be woven in gold in the compartments of his outer garment. Caligula once wore a tunic interwoven with gold. Heliogab- alus was far more profuse in regard to this kind of splendor. White sheets, interwoven with gold, were used at the funeral obsequies of Nero*. We may here observe, that the use of gold in dress almost invariably accompanied that of silk. The same Emperors who took delight in the one, indulged them- selves with the other also. On the contrary, Alexander Seve- rus, as we shall show when treating of linen in Part IV., was economical in both these respects. In Chapters II. and III., we quoted several passages which make mention of cloth of gold, from Tibullus, Ovid, Seneca the Tragedian, Lucan, Dio Cassius, Claudian, Virgil, Gregorius Nazienzenus, and Basil, all of which speak of cloth of gold. Ovid mentions purple garments variously colored and inter- woven with gold, as belonging to Bacchus. — Met. iii. 556. Publius Syrus was a writer of the same period. In the fol- lowing fragment preserved by Petronius Arbiter, he compares the train of the peacock to Babylonian stuffs enriched with gold and various colors : Thy food the peacock, which displays his spotted train, As shines a Babylonian shawl with feather'd gold ! Shawls, interwoven with gold, are mentioned by Galenf, and by Valerius Flaccust ; also by Lucan in the following passage, where he is describing the furniture of Cleopatra's palace (x. 125, 126.) : Part shines with feather'd gold, part sheds a blaze Of scarlet, intermixed by Pharian looms 1 The following passages also contain evidence on the same subject. * Suetonius, Nero, 50. t Quoted in Chapter II. X Auro depicta chlamys. 12 90 SILK AND GOLDEN TEXTURES OF THE ANCIENTS. SENECA, THE PHILOSOPHER. As yet figured cloths di L iter, ff.vt. Animalia Angita?, 4to. p. 7. 144 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. ject by some sense of which we are ignorant*. Kirby also says, that he once observed a small garden spider (Aranea re- ticulata) " standing midway on a long perpendicular fixed thread, and an appearance caught" his " eye, of what seemed to be the emission of threads." " I," therefore, he adds, " moved my arm in the direction in which they apparently proceeded, and, as I had suspected, a floating thread attached itself to my coat, along which the spider crept. As this was connected with the spinners of the spider, it could not have been formed" by breaking a " secondary threadt." Again, in speaking of the gossamer-spider, he says, " it first extends its thigh, shank, and foot, into a right line, and then, elevating its abdomen till it be- comes vertical, shoots its thread into the air, and flies off from its stationt." Another distinguished naturalist, Mr. White of Selborne, in speaking of the gossamer-spider, says, "Every day in fine weather in autumn do I see these spiders shooting out their webs, and mounting aloft : they will go off from the finger, if you take them into your hand. Last summer, one alighted on my book as I was reading in the parlor ; ran to the top of the page, and shooting out a web, took its departure from thence. But what I most wondered at, was, that it went off with consid- erable velocity in a place where no air was stirring ; and I am sure I did not assist it with my breath§." " Having so often witnessed," says Mr. Rennie, " the thread set afloat in the air by spiders, we can readily conceive the way in which those eminent naturalists were led to suppose it to be ejected by some animal force acting like a syringe ; but as the statement can be completely disproved by experiment, we shall only at present ask, in the words of Swammerdam — 'how can it be possible that a thread so fine and slender should be shot out with force enough to divide and pass through the air ? — is it not rather probable that the air w T ould stop its progress, and so entangle it and fit it to perplex the spider's operations I! V " * Phil. Mag. ii. p. 275. t Vol. i. Intr. p. 417. t Ibid. ii. p. 339. § Nat. Hist, of Selborne, vol. i. p. 327. [| Book of Nature, part i. p. 25. SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE SPIDER. 145 The opinion, indeed, is equally improbable with another sug- gested by Dr. Lister, that the spider can retract her thread within the abdomen, after it has been emitted*. De Geert very justly joins Swammerdam in rejecting both of these fancies, which, in our own earlier observations upon spiders, certainly struck us as plausible and true. There can be no doubt, indeed, that the animal has a voluntary power of permitting the ma- terial to escape, or stopping it at pleasure, but this is not pro- jectile. 3. " There are many people," says the Abbe de la Pluche, " who believe that the spider flies when they see her pass from branch to branch, and even from one high tree to another ; but she transports herself in this manner ; and places herself upon the end of a branch, or some projecting body, and there fastens her thread; after which, with her two hind feet, she squeezes her dugs (spinnerets), and presses out one or more threads of two or three ells in length, which she leaves to float in the air till it be fixed to some particular placet." Without pretending to have observed this, Swammerdam says, " I can easily com- prehend how spiders, without giving themselves any motion, may, by only compressing their spinnerets, force out a thread, which being driven by the wind, may serve to waft them from place to placei" Others, proceeding upon a similar notion, give a rather different account of the matter. " The spider," says Bingley, " fixes one end of a thread to the place where she stands, and then with her hind paws draws out several other threads from the nipples, which, being lengthened out and driven by the wind to some neighboring tree or other ob- ject, are by their natural clamminess fixed to it II." Observation gives some plausibility to the latter opinion, as the spider always actively uses her legs, though not to draw out the thread, but ascertain whether it has caught upon any object. The notion of her pressing the spinneret with her feet * Hist. Anim. Anglse, 4to. t Memoires, vol. vii. p. 189 X Spectacle de la Nature, vol. i. § Book of Nature, pt. i. p. 25. U Animal Biography, vol. iii. p. 475, 3d edition. 19 146 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. must be a mere fancy ; at least it is not countenanced by any- thing which we have observed. 4. An opinion much more recondite is mentioned, if it was not started, by M. D'Isjonval, that the floating of the spider's thread is electrical. " Frogs, cats, and other animals," he says, ' ; are affected by natural electricity, and feel the change of wea- ther ; but no other animal more than myself and spiders." In wet and windy weather he accordingly found that they spun very short lines, " but when a spider spins a long thread, there is a certainty of fine weather for at least ten or twelve days afterwards* '." A periodical writer, who signs himself Carolant, fancies that in darting out her thread the spider emits a stream of air, or some subtle electric fluid, by which she guides it as if by magic. A living writer (Mr. John Murray) whose learning and skill in conducting experiments give no little weight to his opinions, has carried these views considerably farther. " The aeronautic spider," he says, " can propel its thread both horizontally and vertically, and at all relative angles, in motionless air and in an atmosphere agitated by winds ; nay more, the aerial trav- eller can even dart its thread, to use a nautical phrase, in the 1 wind's eye.' My opinion and observations are based on many hundred experiments The entire phenomena are electrical. When a thread is propelled in a vertical plane, it remains perpendicular to the horizontal plane always upright, and when others are projected at angles more or less inclined, their direction is invariably preserved ; the threads never inter- mingle, and when a pencil of threads is propelled, it ever pre- sents the appearance of a divergent brush. These are elec- trical phenomena, and cannot be explained but on electrical principles." " In clear, fine weather, the air is invariably positive ; and it is precisely in such weather that the aeronautic spider makes its ascent most easily and rapidly, whether it be in summer or winter." " When the air is weakly positive, the ascent of the * Brez, Flore des Insectophiles. Notes, Supp. p. 134. t Thomson's Ann. of Philosophy, vol. hi. p. 306. SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE SPIDER. 147 spider will be difficult, and its altitude extremely limited, and the threads propelled will be but little elevated above the hori- zontal plane. When negative electricity prevails, as in cloudy weather, or on the approach of rain, and the index of De Saussure's hygrometer rapidly advancing towards humidity, the spider is unable to ascend*." Mr. Murray tells us, that " when a stick of excited sealing- wax is brought near the thread of suspension, it is evidently repelled ; consequently, the electricity of the thread is of a negative character," while " an excited glass tube brought near, seemed to attract the thread, and with it the aeronautic spiderf." His friend, Mr. Bowman, further describes the aerial spider as u shooting out four or five, often six or eight, extreme- ly fine webs several yards long, which waved in the breeze, di- verging from each other like a pencil of rays." One of them " had two distinct and widely diverging fasciculi of webs," and " a line uniting them would have been at right angles to the direction of the breeze*." " Such is the chief evidence in support of the electrical the- ory," says Mr. Rennie ; " but though we have tried these ex- periments, we have not succeeded in verifying any one of them. The following statements of Mr. Blackwall come nearer our own observations. 5. ' Having procured a small branched twig,' says Mr. Blackwall, ' I fixed it upright in an earthen vessel containing water, its base being immersed in the liquid, and upon it I placed several of the spiders which produce gossamer. When- ever the insects thus circumstanced were exposed to a current of air, either naturally or artificially produced, they directly turned the thorax towards the quarter whence it came, even when it was so slight as scarcely to be perceptible, and eleva- ting the abdomen, they emitted from their spinners a small por- tion of glutinous matter, which was instantly carried out in a line, consisting of four finer ones, with a velocity equal, or nearly * Loudon's Mag. of Nat. Hist., vol. i. p. 322. t Experim. Researches in Nat. Hist., p. 136 t Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. i. p. 324. 148 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. so, to that with which the air moved, as was apparent from observations made on the motion of detached lines similarly exposed. The spiders, in the next place, carefully ascertained whether their lines had become firmly attached to any object or not, by pulling at them with the front pair of legs ; and if the result was satisfactory, after tightening them sufficiently, they made them pass to the twig ; then discharging from their spinners, which they applied to the spot where they stood, a little more of their liquid gum, and committing themselves to these bridges of their own constructing, they passed over them in safety, drawing a second line after them, as a security in case the first gave way, and so effected their escape. 1 Such was invariably the result when spiders were placed where the air was liable to be sensibly agitated : I resolved, there- fore, to put a bell-glass over them ; and in this situation they re- mained seventeen days, evidently unable to produce a single line by which they could quit the branch they occupied, with- out encountering the water at its base ; though, on the removal of the glass, they regained their liberty with as much celerity as in the instances already recorded. ' This experiment, which, from want of due precaution, has misled so many distinguished naturalists, I have tried with sev- eral geometric spiders, and always with the same success*.' " Mr. Blackwall, from subsequent experiments, says he is " confident in affirming, that in motionless air, spiders have not the power of darting their threads even through the space of half an inchf." The following details are given in confirma- tion of this opinion. Mr. Blackwall observed, the 1st of Oct., 1826, a little before noon, with the sun shining brightly, no wind stirring, and the thermometer in the shade ranging from 55°. 5 to 64°, a profusion of shining lines crossing each other at every angle, forming a confused net-work, covering the fields and hedges, and thickly coating his feet and ankles, as he walked across a pasture. He was more struck with the pheno- menon because on the previous day a strong gale of wind had blown from the south, and as gossamer is only seen in calm * Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 456. t Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. ii. p. 397. SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE SPIDER. 149 weather, it must have been all produced within a very short time. " What more particularly arrested my attention," says Mr. Blackwall, " w as the ascent of an amazing quantity of webs of an irregular, complicated structure, resembling ravelled silk of the finest quality, and clearest white ; they were of various shapes and dimensions, some of the largest measur- ing upwards of a yard in length, and several inches in breadth in the widest part ; while others were almost as broad as long, presenting an area of a few square inches only. " These webs, it was quickly perceived, were not formed in the air, as is generally believed, but at the eartKs surface. . The lines of which they were composed, being brought into contact by the mechanical action of gentle airs, adhered to- gether, till, by continual additions, they were accumulated into flakes or masses of considerable magnitude, on which the as- cending current, occasioned by the rarefaction of the air con- tiguous to the heated ground, acted with so much force as to separate them from the objects to which they were attached, raising them in the atmosphere to a perpendicular height of at least several hundred feet. I collected a number of these webs about mid-day, as they rose ; and again in the afternoon, when the upward current had ceased, and they were falling ; but scarcely one in twenty contained a spider : though, on minute inspection, I found small winged insects, chiefly aphides, en- tangled in most of them. " From contemplating this unusual display of gossamer, my thoughts were naturally directed to the animals which pro- duced it, and the countless myriads in which they swarmed al- most created as much surprise as the singular occupation that engrossed them. Apparently actuated by the same impulse, all were intent upon traversing the regions of air ; accordingly, after gaining the summits of various objects, as blades of grass, stubble, rails, gates, fyc, by the slow and laborious process of climbing, they raised themselves still higher by strengthening their limbs ; and elevating the abdomen, by bringing it from the usual horizontal position into one air 150 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OP SILK. most perpendicular, they emitted from their spinning appa- ratus a small quantity of the glutinous secretion ivith which they construct their webs. This viscous substance being drawn out by the ascending- current of rarefied air into fine lines several feet in length, was carried upward, until the spi- ders, feeling themselves acted upon with sufficient force in that direction, quitted their hold of the objects on which they stood, and commenced their journey by mounting aloft. " Whenever the lines became inadequate to the purpose for which they were intended, by adhering to any fixed body, they were immediately detached from the spinners and so converted into terrestrial gossamer, by means of the last pair of legs, and the proceedings just described were repeated ; which plainly proves that these operations result from a strong desire felt by the insects to effect an ascent*." Mr. Blackwall has recently read a paper (still unpublished) in the Linnsean Society, confir- matory of his opinions. 6. " Without going into the particulars," says Mr. Rennie, " of what agrees or disagrees in the above experiments with our own observations, we shall give a brief account of what we have actually seen in our researches. So far as we have determined, then, all the various species of spiders, how differ- ent soever the form of their webs may be, proceed in the circum- stance of shooting their lines precisely alike ; but those which we have found the most manageable in experimenting, are the small gossamer spider (Aranea obtextrix, Bechstein), known by its shining blackish-brown body and reddish-brown semi- transparent legs ; but particularly the long-bodied spider ( Tfe- tragnatha extensa, Latr.), which varies in color from green to brownish or grey — but has always a black fine along the belly, with a silvery white or yellowish one on each side. The latter is chiefly recommended by being a very industrious and persevering spinner, while its movements are easily seen, from the long cylindrical form of its body and the length of its legs. " We placed the above two species with five or six others, in- cluding the garden, the domestic, and the labyrinthic spiders, * Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 453. SILKEN MATERIAL OP THE SPIDER. 151 in empty wine-glasses, set in tea-saucers rilled with water, to prevent their escape. When they discovered, by repeated de- scents from the brims of the glasses, that they were thus sur- rounded by a wet ditch, they all set themselves to the task of throwing their silken bridges across. For this purpose they first endeavored to ascertain in what direction the wind blew, or rather (as the experiment was made in our study) which way any current of air set, — by elevating their arms as we have seen sailors do in a dead calm. But, as it may prove more interesting to keep to one individual, we shall first watch the proceedings of the gossamer spider. " Finding no current of air on any quarter of the brim of the glass, it seemed to give up all hopes of constructing its bridge of escape, and placed itself in the attitude of repose ; but no sooner did we produce a stream of air, by blowing gently towards its position, than, fixing a thread to the glass, and laying hold of it with one of its feet, by way of security, it placed its body in a vertical position, with its spinnerets ex- tended outwards ; and, immediately we had the pleasure of seeing a thread streaming out from them several feet in length, on which the little aeronaut sprung up into the air. We were convinced, from what we thus observed, that it was the double or bend of the thread which was blown into the air ; and we assigned as a reason for her previously attaching and drawing out a thread from the glass, the wish to give the wind a point oVappui — something upon which it might have a purchase, as a mechanic would say of a lever. The bend of the thread, then, on this view of the matter, would be car- ried out by the wind, — would form the point of impulsion, — and, of course, the escape bridge would be an ordinary line doubled." Such is the opinion of Mr. Rennie, which is strongly corrobo- rated by what has been said by M. Latreille — than whom no higher authority could be given. " When the animal," says he, " desires to cross a brook, she fixes to a tree or some other object one of the ends of her first threads, in order that the wind or a current of air may carry the other beyond the obstacle* ;" * " L'un des bouts de ces premiers fils, arm que le vent ou un courant 152 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. and as one end is always attached to the spinnerets, he must mean that the double of the thread flies off. In his previous publications, however, Latreille had contented himself with copying the statement of Dr. Lister. " In order to ascertain the fact," says Mr. Rennie, " and put an end to all doubts, we watched, with great care and minuteness, the proceedings of the long-bodied spider above mentioned, by producing a stream of air in the same manner, as it perambulated the brim of the glass. It immediately, as the other had done, attached a thread and raised its body perpendicularly, like a tumbler standing on his hands with his head downwards ; but Ave looked in vain for this thread bending, as we had at first supposed, and going off double. Instead of this it remained tight, while another thread, or what appeared to be so, streamed off from the spinners, simi- lar to smoke issuing through a pin-hole, sometimes in a line, and sometimes at a considerable angle, with the first, according to the current of the air, — the first thread, extended from the glass to the spinnerets, remaining all the while tight drawn in a right line. It further appeared to us, that the first thread proceeded from the pair of spinnerets nearest the head, while the floating thread came from the outer pair, — though it is possible in such minute objects we may have been deceived. That the first was continuous with the second, without any perceptible joining, we ascertained in numerous instances, by catching the floating line and pulling it tight, in which case the spider glides along without attaching another line to the glass ; but if she have to coil up the floating line to lighten it, as usually happens, she gathers it into a packet and glues the two ends tight together. Her body, while the floating line streamed out, remained quite motionless, but we distinctly saw the spinnerets not only projected, as is always done when a spider spins, but moved in the same way as an infant moves its lips when sucking. We cannot doubt, therefore, that this motion is intended to emit (if eject or project be deemed words too strong), the liquid material of the thread ; at the same time, d'air pousse l'autre extremite de Tun d'eux au de la de l'obstacle." — Diet. Clas- sique d'Hist. Nat., vol. i. p. 510. SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE SPIDER. 153 we are quite certain that it cannot throw out a single inch of thread without the aid of a current of air. A long-bodied spider will thus throw out in succession as many threads as we please, by simply blowing towards it ; but not one where there is no current, as under a bell-glass, where it may be kept till it die, without being able to construct a bridge over water of an inch long. We never observed more than one floating thread produced at the same time ; though other observers mention several. " The probable commencement, we think, of the floating line, is by the emission of little globules of the glutinous material to the points of the spinnerules — perhaps it may be dropped from them, if not ejected, and the globules being carried off by the current of air, drawn out into a thread. But we give this as only a conjecture, for we could not bring a glass of sufficient power to bear upon the spinnerules at the commencement of the floating line. " In subsequent experiments we found, that it was not indis- pensable for the spider to rest upon a solid body when producing a line, as she can do so while she is suspended in the air by another line. When the current of air also is strong, she will sometimes commit herself to it by swinging from the end of the line. We have even remarked this when there was scarcely a breath of air. " We tried another experiment. We pressed pretty firmly upon the base of the spinnerets, so as not to injure the spider, blowing obliquely over them ; but no floating line appeared. We then touched them with a pencil and drew out several lines an inch or two in length, upon which we blew in order to extend them, but in this also we were unsuccessful, as they did not lengthen more than a quarter of an inch. We next traced out the reservoirs of a garden-spider (Epeira diadema), and immediately taking a drop of the matter from one of them on the point of a fine needle, we directed upon it a strong current of air, and succeeded in blowing out a thick yellow line, as we might have done with gum-water, of about an inch and a half long. " When we observed our long-bodied spider eager to throw a 20 154 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. line by raising up its body, we brought within three inches of its spinnerets an excited stick of sealing-wax, of which it took no notice, nor did any thread extend to it, not even when brought almost to touch the spinnerets. We experienced the same want of success with an excited glass rod ; and indeed had not anticipated any other result, as we have never observed that either these attract or repel the floating threads, as Mr. Murray has seen them do ; nor have we ever noticed the end of a floating thread separated into its component threadlets and diverging like a brush, as he and Mr. Bowman describe (See Fig. 11.). It may be proper to mention that Mr. Murray, in conformity with his theory, explains the shooting of lines in a current of air by the electric state produced by motion in con- sequence of the mutual friction of the gaseous particles. But this view of the matter does not seem to affect our state- ments." Nests, Webs, and Nets of Spiders. — " The neatest," says Mr. Rennie, " though the smallest spider's nest which we have seen, was constructed in the chink of a garden- post, which we had cut out the previous summer in getting at the cells of a carpenter-bee. The architect was one of the larger hunting-spiders, erroneously said by some naturalists to be incapable of spinning. The nest in question was about two inches high, composed of a very close satin-like texture. There were two parallel chambers placed perpendicularly, in which position also the inhabitant reposed there during the day, going, as we presume, only abroad to prey during the night. But the most remarkable circumstance was, that the openings (two above and two below) were so elastic, that they shut close- ly together. We observed this spider for several months, but at last it disappeared, and we took the nest out under the no- tion that it might contain eggs ; but found none, and therefore concluded that it was only used as a day retreat." The ac- count which Evelyn has given of these hunting spiders is so interesting that we must transcribe it. " Of all sorts of insects," says he, " none have afforded me more divertisement than the venatores (hunters), which are a sort of lupi (wolves) that have their dens in rugged SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE SPIDER. 155 walls and crevices of our houses ; a small brown and delicately- spotted kind of spiders, whose hinder legs are longer than the rest. Such I did frequently observe at Rome, which, espying a fly at three or four yards distance, upon the balcony where I stood, would not make directly to her, but crawl under the rail, till being- arrived to the antipodes, it would steal up, seldom missing its aim ; but if it chanced to want anything of being perfectly opposite, would, at first peep, immediate- ly slide down again, — till taking better notice, it would come the next time exactly upon the fly's back : but if this happened not to be within a competent leap, then would this insect move so softly, as the very shadow of the gnomon seemed not to be more imperceptible, unless the fly moved ; and then would the spider move also in the same proportion, keeping that just time with her motion, as if the same soul had animated both these little bodies ; and whether it were forwards, backwards, or to either side, without at all turn- ing her body, like a well-managed horse : but if the capri- cious fly took wing and pitched upon another place behind our huntress, then vjould the spider whirl its body so nimbly about, as nothing could be imagined more swift : by ivhich means she always kept the head towards her prey, though, to appearance, as immoveable as if it had been a nail driven into the wood, till by that indiscernible progress [being ar- rived within the sphere of her reach) she made a fatal leap, swift as lightning, upon the fly, catching him in the pole, where she never quitted hold till her belly was full, and then carried the remainder home." One feels a little sceptical, however, when he adds, " I have beheld them instructing their young ones how to hunt, which they would sometimes discipline for not well observing ; but when any of the old ones did (as sometimes) miss a leap, they woidd run out of the field and hide themselves in their cran- nies, as ashamed, and haply not to be seen abroad for four or five hours after ; for so long have I watched the nature of this strange insect, the contemplation of whose so wonderful sagacity and address has amazed me ; nor do I find in any chase whatsoever more cunning and stratagem observed. I 156 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. have found some of these spiders in my garden, when the weather, towards spring, was very hot, but they are not so eager in hunting as in Italy*." We have only to add to this lively narrative, that the hunt- ing-spider, when he leaps, takes good care to provide against accidental falls by always swinging himself from a good strong cable of silk, as Swammerdam correctly statest, and which any- body may recognise, as one of the small hunters (Salticus scenicus), known by its back striped with black and white like a zebra. Mr. Weston, the editor of " Bloomfield's Remains," falls into a very singular mistake about hunting-spiders, imagining them to be web-weaving ones which have exhausted their materials, and are therefore compelled to hunt. In proof of this he gives an instance which came under his own observation t ! " As a contrast," says Mr. Rennie, " to the little elastic satin nest of the hunter, we may mention the largest with which we are acquainted, — that of the labyrinthic spider (Agelena laby- rinthica, Walckenaer). Our readers must often have seen this nest spread out like a broad sheet in hedges, furze, and other low bushes, and sometimes on the ground. The middle of this sheet, which is of a close texture, is swung like a sail- or's hammock, by silken ropes extended all around to the higher branches ; but the whole curves upwards and back- wards, sloping down to a long funnel-shaped gallery which is nearly horizontal at the entrance, but soon winds obliquely till it becomes quite perpendicular. This curved gallery is about a quarter of an inch in diameter, is much more closely woven than the sheet part of the web, and sometimes descends into a hole in the ground, though oftener into a group of crowded twigs, or a tuft of grass. Here the spider dwells secure, fre- quently resting with her legs extended from the entrance of the gallery, ready to spring out upon whatever insect may fall into her sheet net. She herself can only be caught by getting behind her and forcing her out into the web ; but though we * Evelyn's Travels in Italy. t Book of Nature, part i. p. 24. t Bloomfield's Remains, vol. ii. p. 64, note. SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE SPIDER. 157 have often endeavored to make her construct a nest under our eye, we have been as unsuccesful as in similar experiments with the common house spider (Aranea domestica). " The house spider's proceedings were long ago described by Homberg, and the account has been copied, as usual, by almost every subsequent writer. Goldsmith has, indeed, given some strange mis-statements from his own observations, and Bingley has added the original remark, that, after fixing its first thread, creeping along the wall, and joining it as it proceeds, it l darts itself to the opposite side, where the other end is to be fasten- ed* !' Homberg's spider took the more circuitous route of trav- elling to the opposite wall, carrying in one of its claws the end of the thread previously fixed, lest it should stick in the wrong place. This we believe to be the correct statement, for as the web is always horizontal, it would seldom answer to commit a floating thread to the wind, as is done by other species. Hom- berg's spider, after stretching as many lines by way of warp as it deemed sufficient between the two walls of the corner which it had chosen, proceeded to cross this in the way our weavers do in adding the woof, with this difference, that the spider's threads were only laid on, and not interlaced!. The domestic spiders, however, in these modern days, must have forgot this mode of weaving, for none of their webs will be found thus regularly constructed !" The geometric, or net-working spiders (See Fig. 12. Plate IY.) are as well known as any of the preceding ; almost every bush and tree in our gardens and hedge-rows having one or more of their nests stretched out in a vertical position between adjacent branches. The common garden spider (Epeira dia- dema), and the long-bodied spider ( Tetragnatha extensa), are the best known of this order. " The chief care of a spider of this sort," says Mr. Rennie, " is, to form a cable of sufficient strength to bear the net she means to hang upon it ; and after throwing out a floating line as above described, when it catches properly, she doubles and * Animal Biography, iii. 470, 471. t Mem. de l'Acad. des Sciences, pour 1707, p. 339. 158 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. redoubles it with additional threads. On trying its strength she is not contented with the test of pulling it with her legs, but drops herself down several feet from various points of it, as we have often seen, swinging and bobbing with the whole weight of her body. She proceeds in a similar manner with the rest of the frame of her wheel-shaped net ; and it may be remarked that some of the ends of these lines are not simple, but in form of a Y, giving her the additional security of two attachments instead of one." In constructing the body of the nest, the most remarkable circumstance is the using of her limbs as a measure, to regu- late the distances of her radii or wheel-spokes (See Fig. 12. Plate IV., which represents the geometric net of the " Epeira diadema"), and the circular meshes interwoven into them. These are consequently always proportional to the size of the spider. She often takes up her station in the centre, but not always, though it is so said by inaccurate writers ; but she as frequently lurks in a little chamber constructed under a leaf or other shelter at the corner of her web, ready to dart down upon whatever prey may be entangled in her net. The centre of the net is said also to be composed of more viscid materials than its suspensory lines, — a circumstance alleged to be proved by the former appearing under the micoscrope studded with glo- bules of gum*. " We have not been able," says Mr. Rennie, " to verify this distinction, having seen the suspensory lines as often studded in this manner as those in the centre." At the commencement of the last century a method was discovered in France by Monsieur Bon, of procuring silk from spiders' bags, and its use was attempted in the manufacture of several articles. Mr. Bon has, however, noticed only two kinds of silk-making spiders, and these he has distinguished from each other as having either long or short legs, the last variety producing the finest quality of raw silk. According to this in- genious observer, the silk formed by these insects is equally beautiful, strong, and glossy with that formed by the silk-worm. When first formed, the color of these spiders' bags is gray, but, * Kirby and Spence, Intr. i. 419. SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE SPIDER. 159 by exposure to the air, they soon acquire a blackish hue. Other spider bags might probably be found of different colors, and af- fording silk of better quality, but their scarcity would render any experiment with them difficult of accomplishment; for which reason M. Bon confined his attention to the bags of the common sort of the short-legged kind. These always form their bags in some place sheltered from the wind and rain, such as the hollow trunks of trees, the cor- ners of windows or vaults, or under the eaves of houses. A quantity of the bags was collected from which a new kind of silk was made, said to be in no respect inferior to the produce of the silk-worm. It took readily all kinds of dyes, and might have been wrought into any description of silken fabric. Mr. Bon had stockings and gloves made from it, some of which he presented to the Royal Academy of Paris, and others he trans- mitted to the Royal Society of London. This silk was prepared in the following manner : — Twelve or thirteen ounces of the bags were beaten with a stick, until they became entirely freed from dust. They were next washed in warm water, which was continually changed, until it no longer became clouded or discolored by the bags under process. After this they were steeped in a large quantity of water wherein soap, saltpetre, and gum-arabic had been dissolved. The whole was then gently boiled during three hours, after which the bags were rinsed in clear warm water to discharge the soap. They were finally set out to dry, previous to the opera- tion of carding, which was then performed with cards differ- ing from those usually employed with silk, being much finer. By these means silk of a peculiar ash color was obtained, which was spun without difficulty. Mr. Bon affirmed that the thread was both stronger and finer than common silk, and that therefore fabrics similar to those made with the latter ma- terial might be manufactured from this, there being no reason for doubting that it would stand any trials of the loom, after having undergone those of the stocking frame. The only obstacle, therefore, which appeared to prevent the establishing of any considerable manufacture from these spider bags was the difficulty of obtaining them in sufficient abund- 160 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. ance. Mr. Bon fancied that this objection could soon be over- come, and that the art of domesticating and rearing spiders, as practised with silk- worms, was to be attained. Carried away by the enthusiasm of one who, having made a discovery, pur- sues it with ardor undismayed by difficulties, he met every ob- jection by comparisons, which perhaps were not wholly and strictly founded on fact. Contrasted with the spider, and to favor his arguments, the silk-worm in his hands made a very despicable figure. He affirmed that the female spider produces 600 or 700 eggs ; while of the 100, to which number he limit- ed the silk-worm, not more than one-half were reared to pro- duce balls. That the spiders hatched spontaneously, without any care, in the months of August and September ; that the old spiders dying soon after they have laid their eggs, the young ones live for ten or twelve months without food, and continue in their bags without growing, until the hot weather, by put- ting their viscid juices in motion, induces them to come forth, spin, and run about in search of food. Mr. Bon's spider establishment, was managed in the follow- ing manner : — having ordered all the short-legged spiders which could be collected by persons employed for the purpose, to be brought to him, he inclosed them in paper coffins and pots ; these were covered with papers, which, as well as the coffins, were -pricked over their surface with pin-holes to admit air to the prisoners. The insects were duly fed with flies, and after some time it was found on inspection that the greater part of them had formed their bags. This advocate for the rearing of spiders contended that spiders' bags afforded much more silk in proportion to their weight than those of the silk- worm ; in proof of which he observed, that thirteen ounces yield nearly four ounces of pure silk, two ounces of which w r ere sufficient to make a pair of stockings ; whereas stockings made of common silk were said bv him to weio-h seven or eiirht ounces. It was objected by some of Mr. Bon's contemporaries, that spiders were venomous ; and this is so far true that a bite from some of the species is very painful, producing as much swelling as the smart sting of a nettle. Mr. Bon, however, asserted that SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE SPIDER. 161 he was several times bitten, without experiencing any inconve- nience ; if so, he was more fortunate or less sensitive than any of the spider-tamers with whom we have been acquainted. It was further asserted, that this venom extended itself to the silk which the spider produced ; but this assertion was utterly ab- surd, as any one who has ever applied a cobweb to stop the bleeding from a cut ought to have known. Mr. Bon declared with perfect truth, that the silk, so far from being pernicious, was use t'ul in staunching and healing wounds, its natural glu- ten acting as a kind of balsam. The honest enthusiasm oi the projector, and the singularity of a regular establishment being formed for rearing and work- ing spiders, excited a considerable share of public attention. It was, indeed, an age of strange speculations, for nearly at the same time a German gentleman broached a scheme for turn- ing tame squirrels and mice to account in spinning ; and com- panies were formed in I airland, with large nominal capitals to carry out schemes still more preposterous. So important did Mr. Bon's project appear to the French Academy, that they deputed the eminent naturalist, M. Reaumur, to investigate the merits o( this new silk-filament. After a long and patient examination M. Reaumur stated the following objections to Mr. Bon's plan for raising spider-silk, which have ever since been regarded as insurmountable. 1. The natural fierceness of spiders renders them unfit to be bred together. On distributing four or five thousand o( these insects into cells or companies o( from tiftv to one or two hun- dred, it was found that the larger spiders quickly killed and ate the smaller, so that in a short space o( time the cells were depopulated, scarcelv more than one or two being found ia each cell. 2. The silk of the spider is inferior to that of the silk-worm both in lustre and strength ; and produces less material in pro- portion, than can be made available for the purposes of the manufacture. The filament ot the spider's-bag can support a weight ot only thirty-six grains, while that o( the silk-worm will sustain a weight of one hundred, and fifty grains. Thus four or five threads of the spider must he brought together t^> 21 162 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. equal one thread of the silk-worm, and as it is impossible that these should be applied so accurately over each other as not to leave little vacant spaces between them, the light is not equally reflected, and the lustre of the material is consequently inferior to that in which a solid thread is used. 3. A great disadvantage of the spider's silk is, that it cannot be wound off the ball like that of the silk-worm, but must ne- cessarily be carded. By this latter process, its evenness, which contributes so materially to its lustre, is destroyed. The ferociousness and pugnacity of the spiders are not ex- aggerated ; they fight like furies. Their voracity, too, is al- most incredible, and it is very questionable whether the mere collection of flies sufficient to feed a large number of the spi- ders would not involve an amount of expense fatal to the proj- ect as a lucrative undertaking. The strength of the spiders' filament is, if anything, overstated by Reaumur. Deficiency of lustre arising from the carding of the filaments is common to the spider-fabric and to spun silk ; this objection would, per- haps, not be of very great weight but for the decisive calcula- tion by which Reaumur showed the comparative amount of production between the spider and the silk-worm. The largest cocoons weigh four, and the smaller three grains each ; spider-bags do not weigh above one grain each ; and, after being cleared of their dust, have lost two-thirds of this weight ; therefore the work of twelve spiders equals that of only one silk-worm ; and a pound of spider-silk would require for its production 27,648 insects. But as the bags are wholly the work of the females, who spin them as a deposit for their eggs, it follows that 55,296 spiders must be reared to yield one pound of silk: yet this will be obtained only from the best spiders ; those large ones ordinarily seen in gardens, &c, yield- ing not more than a twelfth part of the silk of the others. The work of 280 of these would therefore not yield more silk than the produce of one industrious silk-worm, and 663,552 of them would furnish only one pound of silk ! Although Reaumur's report completely extinguished Mr. Bon's project in France, it was revived in England two or three times in the early part of the last century. Swift has SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE SPIDER 163 not neglected to make it a portion of his unrivalled satire against speculators and projectors, in his account of Gulliver's visit to the Academy of Lagado : " I went into another room, says he, where the walls and ceilings were all hung round with cobwebs, exept a narrow pass ge for the artist to go in and out. At my entrance he called out to me not to disturb his webs. He lamented the fatal mistake the world had been so long in, of using silk -worms, while we had such plenty of domestic insects, who infinitely excelled the former, because they under- stood how to weave as well as spin. And he proposed further, that, by employing spiders, the charge of dyeing silk should be wholly saved ; whereof I was fully convinced, when he showed me a vast number of flies most beautifully colored, wherewith he fed his spiders, assuring us that the webs would take a tincture from them, and as he had them of all hues, he hoped to suit every body's fancy, as soon as he could find proper food for the flies, of certain gums, oils, and other glutinous matter to give a strength and consistency to the threads." The Ingenuity of Spiders. — Mr. Thomas Ewbank of New York, in a letter to the Editor of the Journal of the Franklin Institute, bearing date September 20th 1842, gives us the following interesting description of the ingenuity of the Spider. " The resources of the lower animals have often excited admi- ration, and though no comprehensive and systematic series of observations have yet been made upon them(?), the time is, I believe, not distant when the task will be undertaken — perhaps within the next century. But whenever and by whomsoever accomplished, the mechanism of animals will then form the subject of one of the most interesting and useful volumes in the archives of man. "Among insects, spiders have repeatedly been observed to modify and change their contrivances for ensnaring their prey. Those that live in fields and gardens often fabricate their nets or webs vertically. This sometimes occurs in loca- tions where there is no object sufficiently near to which the lower edge or extremity of the web can properly be braced ; and unless this be done, light puffs or breezes of wind are apt to blow it into an entangled mass. Instead of being spread out, like the sail of a ship, to the wind, it would become clewed over the upper line, or edge, like a sail when furled up. Now how would a human engineer act under similar circumstances ? But 164 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. ere the reader begins to reflect(!), he should bear in mind that it would not do to brace the web by running rigging from it to some fixed or immovable object below — by no means ; — for were this done, it could not yield to impulses of wind ; the rigging would be snapped by the first blast, and the whole structure probably destroyed. " Whatever contrivances human sagacity might suggest, they could hardly excel those which these despised engineers some- times adopt. Having formed a web, under circumstances simi- lar to those to which we have referred, a spider has been known to descend from it to the ground by means of a thread spun for the purpose, and after selecting a minute pebble, or piece of stone, has coiled the end of the thread round it. Having done this, the ingenious artist ascended, and fixing himself on the lower part of the web, hoisted up the pebble until it swung sev- eral inches clear of the ground. The cord to which the weight was suspended was then secured by additional ones, running from it to different parts of the web, which thus acquired the requisite tension, and was allowed, at the same time, to yield to sudden puffs of wind without danger of being rent asunder. " A similar instance came under my notice a few days ago. A large spider had constructed his web, in nearly a vertical po- sition, about six feet from the ground, in a coiner of my yard. The upper edge was formed by a strong thread, secured at one end to a vine leaf, and the other to a clothes line. One part of the lower edge was attached to a Penyan sun-flower, and an- other to a trellis fence, four or five feet distant. Between these there was no object nearer than the ground, to which an addi- tional brace line could be carried ; but two threads, a foot asun- der, descended from this part of the web, and, eight or ten inches below it, were united at a point. From this point, a single line, four or five inches long, was suspended, and to its lower extrem- ity was the weight, a living one, viz. a worm, three inches long, and one-eighth of an inch thick. The cord was fasten- ed around the middle of the victim's body, and as no object was within reach, all its writhings and efforts to escape were fruit- less. Its weight answered the same purpose as a piece of in- animate matter, while its sufferings seemed not in the least to SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE SPIDER. 165 disturb the unconcerned murderer, who lay waiting for his prey above. " Whether the owner of the web found it a more easy task to capture this unlucky worm and raise it, than to elevate a stone of the same weight, may be a question(?). Perhaps in seeking for the latter, the former fell in his way, and was seized as the first suitable object that came to hand — like the human tyrant, (Domitian) who, to show his skill in archery, planted his arrows in the heads of men or cattle, in the absence of other targets. It may be, however, that a piece of stone, earth, or wood, of a suitable weight, was not in the vicinity of the web. " To observe the effect of this weight, I separated, with a pair of scissors, the thread by which it was suspended, and in- stantly the web sunk to half its previous dimensions — the lower part became loose, and with the slightest current kept shaking like a sail shivering in the wind. A fresh weight was not sup- plied by the next morning ; but instead of it two long brace lines extended from the lower part of the web to two vine ten- drils, a considerable distance off. These I cut away to see what device would be next adopted, but on going to examine it the following day, I found the clothes line removed, and with it all relics of the insect's labors had disappeared." Mason-Spiders. — A no less wonderful structure is com- posed by a sort of spiders, natives of the tropics and the south of Europe, which have been justly called mason-spiders by M. Latreille. One of these [My gale nidulans, Walckn.), found in the West Indies, " digs a hole in the earth obliquely down- wards, about three inches in length, and one in diameter. This cavity she lines with a tough thick web, which, when taken out, resembles a leathern purse ; but what is most curi- ous, this house has a door with hinges, like the operculum of some sea-shells, and herself and family, who tenant this nest, open and shut the door whenever they pass and repass. This history was told me," says Darwin, " and the nest, with its door, shown me by the late Dr. Butt, of Bath, who was some years physician in Jamaica*." * Darwin's Zoonomia, i. 253, 8vo. ed. 166 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. " The nest of a mason-spider, similar to this," says Mr. Ren- nie, " has been obligingly put into our hands by Mr. Riddle of Blackheath. It came from the West Indies, and is probably that of Latreille's clay-kneader {Mygale cratiens), and one of the smallest of the genus. We have since seen a pair of these spiders in possession of Mr. William Mello, of Blackheath. The nest is composed of very hard argillaceous clay, deeply tinged with brown oxide of iron. It is in form of a tube, about one inch in diameter, between six and seven inches long, and slightly bent towards the lower extremity — appearing to have been mined into the clay rather than built. The interior of the tube is lined with a uniform tapestry of silken web, of an orange-white color, with a texture intermediate between India paper and very fine glove leather. But the most won- derful part of this nest is its entrance, which we look upon as the perfection of insect architecture. A circular door, about the size of a crown piece, slightly concave on the outside and convex within, is formed of more than a dozen layers of the same web which lines the interior, closely laid upon one an- other, and shaped so that the inner layers are the broadest, the outer being gradually less in diameter, except towards the hinge, which is about an inch long ; and in consequence of all the layers being united there, and prolonged into the tube, it becomes the thickest and strongest part of the structure. The elasticity of the materials, also, gives to this hinge the remark- able peculiarity of acting like a spring, and shutting the door of the nest spontaneously. It is, besides, made to fit so accu- rately to the aperture, which is composed of similar concentric layers of web, that it is almost impossible to distinguish the joining by the most careful inspection. To gratify curiosity, the door has been opened and shut hundreds of times, without in the least destroying the power of the spring. When the door is shut, it resembles some of the lichens (Lecidea), or the leathery fungi, such as Polyporus versicolor (Micheli), or, nearer still, the upper valve of a young oyster-shell. The door of the nest, the only part seen above ground, being of a black- ish-brown color, it must be very difficult to discover." Another mason-spider {Mygale cosmeataria, Latr.), found SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE SPIDER. 167 in the south of France, usually selects for her nest a place bare of grass, sloping in such a manner as to carry off the water, and of a firm soil, without rocks or small stones. She digs a gallery a foot or two in depth, and of a diameter (equal throughout) sufficient to admit of her easily passing. She lines this with a tapestry of silk glued to the walls. The door, which is circular, is constructed of many layers of earth kneaded, and bound together with silk. Externally, it is flat and rough, corresponding to the earth around the entrance, for the purpose, no doubt, of concealment : on the inside it is con- vex, and tapestried thickly with a web of fine silk. The threads of this door- tapestry are prolonged, and strongly attach- ed to the upper side of the entrance, forming an excellent hinge, which, when pushed open by the spider, shuts again by its own weight, without the aid of spring hinges. When the spider is at home, and her door forcibly opened by an intruder, she pulls it strongly inwards, and even where half-opened often snatches it out of the hand ; but when she is foiled in this, she retreats to the bottom of her den, as her last resource*. The nest of this spider (the mason spider) is represented in Plate IV. Fig. 14., and shows the nest shut. Fig. 15., represents it open. Fig. 16. the spider (My gale comment aria). Fig. 17. the eyes magnified. Figures 18 and 19 parts of the foot and claw magnified. Rossi ascertained that the female of an allied species [Mygale sauvagesii, Latr.), found in Corsica, lived in one of these nests, with a numerous posterity. He destroyed one of the doors to observe whether a new one would be made, which it was ; but it was fixed immoveably, without a hinge ; the spider, no doubt, fortifying herself in this manner till she thought she might re-open it without dangerf. " The Rev. Revett Shepherd has often noticed, in the fen ditches of Norfolk, a very large spider (the species not yet de- termined) which actually forms a raft for the purpose of ob- taining its prey with more facility. Keeping its station upon a * Mem. Soc. d'Hist. Nat. de Paris, An. vii. t Mem. Soc. d'Hist. Nat. de Paris, An. vii. p. 125, and Latreille, Hist. Nat. Gener. viii. p. 163. 168 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. ball of weeds about three inches in diameter, probably held to- gether by slight silken cords, it is wafted along the surface of the water upon this floating island, which it quits the moment it sees a drowning insect. The booty thus seized it devours at leisure upon its raft, under which it retires when alarmed by any danger*." In the spring of 1830, Mr. Rennie found a spi- der on some reeds in the Croydon Canal, which agreed in ap- pearance with Mr. Shepherd's. Among our native spiders there are several, which, not con- tented with a web like the rest of their congeners, take advan- tage of other materials to construct cells where, " hushed in grim repose" they " expect their insect prey." The most simple of those spider cells is constructed by a longish-bodied spider (Aranea holosericea, Linn.), which is a little larger than the common hunting spider. It rolls up a leaf of the lilac or poplar, precisely in the same manner as is done by the leaf- rolling caterpillars, upon whose cells it sometimes seizes to save itself trouble, having first expelled, or perhaps devoured, the rightful owner. The spider, however, is not satisfied with the tapestry of the caterpillar, hut always weaves a fresh set of her own, more close and substantial. Another spider, common in woods and copses (Epeira quad- rata ?) weaves together a great number of leaves to form a dwelling for herself, and in front of it she spreads her toils for entrapping the unwary insects which stray thither. These, as soon as caught, are dragged into her den, and stored up for a time of scarcity. Here also her eggs are deposited and hatched in safety. When the cold weather approaches, and the leaves of her edifice wither, she abandons it for the more secure shel- ter of a hollow tree, where she soon dies ; but the continuation of the species depends upon eggs, deposited in the nest before winter, and remaining to be hatched with the warmth of the ensuing summer. The spider's den of united leaves, however, which has just been described, is not always useless when withered and de- serted ; for the dormouse usually selects it as a ready-made * Kirby and Spence, Intr. i. 425. SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE SPIDER. 169 roof for its nest of dried grass. That those old spiders' dens are not accidentally chosen by the mouse, appears from the fact, that out of about a dozen mouse-nests of this sort found during winter in a copse between Lewisham and Bromley, Kent (England), every second or third one was furnished with such a roof. The Water Spider. — We extract the following exqui- sitely beautiful and interesting fact in nature, connected with diving operations, from the Rev. Mr. Kirby's Bridgewater Treatise : — "The Water Spider is one of the most remarkable upon whom that office (diving) is developed by her Creator. To this end, her instinct instructs her to fabricate a kind of diving- bell in the bosom of that element. She usually selects still waters for this purpose. Her house is an oval cocoon, filled with air, and lined with silk, from which threads issue in every direction, and are fastened to the surrounding plants ; in this cocoon, which is open below, she watches for her prey, and even appears to pass the winter, when she closes the opening. It is most commonly, yet not always, entirely under water ; but its inhabitant has filled it with air for her respiration, which ena- bles her to live in it. She conveys the air to it in the following manner : she usually swims upon her back, when her abdomen is enveloped in a bubble of air, and appears like a globe of quicksilver* ; with this she enters her cocoon, and displacing an * Her singular economy was first, we believe, described by Clerck (Aranei Suecici, Stockholm, 1757.), L. M. de Lignac (Mem. des Araign. Aquat., 12mo. Paris, 1799.), and De Geer. " The shining appearance," says Clerck, " proceeds either from an inflated globule surrounding the abdomen, or from the space between the body and the water. The spider, when wishing to inhale the air, rises to the surface, with its body still submersed, and only the part containing the spinneret rising just to the surface, when it briskly opens and moves its four teats. A thick coat of hair keeps the water from approaching or wetting the abdomen. It comes up for air about four times an hour or oftener, though I have good reason to suppose it can continue without it for several days together. " I found in the middle of May one male and ten females, which I put into a glass filled with water, where they lived together very quietly for eight days. I put some duck-weed (Lcmna) into the glass to afford them shelter, and the fe- 22 170 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. equal mass of water, again ascends for a second lading, till she has sufficiently filled her house with it, so as to expel all the water. " The males construct similar habitations by the same ma- noeuvres. How these little animals can envelope their abdo- men with an air-bubble, and retain it till they enter their cells, is still one of Nature's mysteries that have not been explained. " We, however, cannot help admiring, and adoring, the wis- dom, power, and goodness manifested in this singular provision, enabling an animal that breathes the atmospheric air, to fill her house with it under water, and which has instructed her in a secret art, by which she can clothe part of her body with air as a garment : and which she can put off when it answers her purpose. " This is a kind of attraction and repulsion which mocks all our inquiries." Thus it appears, that by the successive descents of the little water-spider under the impulsion of its instinct, produce effects males began to stretch diagonal threads in a confused manner from it to the sides of the glass about half way down. Each of the females afterwards fixed a close bag to the edge of the glass, from which the water was expelled by the air from the spinneret, and thus a cell was formed capable of containing the whole animal. Here they remained quietly, with their abdomens in their cells, and their bodies still plunged in the water ; and in a short time brimstone -colored bags of eggs ap- peared in each cell, filling it about a fourth part. On the 7th of July several young ones swam out from one of the bags. All this time the old ones had no- thing to eat, and yet they never attacked one another, as other spiders would have been apt to do (Clerck, Aranei Suecici, cap. viii.)." " These spiders," says De Geer, " spin in the water a cell of strong, closely wo- ven, white silk in the form of half the shell of a pigeon's egg, or like a diving bell. This is sometimes left partly above water, but at others is entirely submersed, and is always attached to the objects near it by a great number of irregular threads. It is closed all round, but has a large opening below, which, however, I found closed on the 15th of December, and the spider living quietly within, with her head downwards. I made a rent in this cell, and expelled the air, upon which the spider came out ; yet though she appeared to have been laid up for three months in her winter quarters, she greedily seized upon an insect and sucked it. I also found that the male as well as the female constructs a similar subaqueous cell, and during summer no less than in winter (De Geer, Mem. des Insectes, vii. 312.)." "We have recently kept one of these spiders," says Mr. Rennie, "for several months in a glass oi water, where it built a cell half under water, in which it laid its eggs." SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE SPIDER. 171 in its subaqueous pavilion equivalent to those produced in the diving-bell, or diving helmet, by the successive strokes of the condensing air-pump of scientific man ! In the language of the book of Psalms, this insect " LAY- ETH THE BEAMS OF" her "CHAMBERS IN THE WATERS," and there secures her subaqueous chambers in the manner described. Cleanliness of Spiders. — "When we look at the viscid material," says Mr. Rennie, "with which spiders construct their lines and webs, and at the rough, hairy covering (with a few exceptions) of their bodies, we might conclude, that they would be always stuck over with fragments of the minute fibres which they produce. This, indeed, must often happen, did they not take careful precautions to avoid it ; for we have ob- served that they seldom, if ever, leave a thread to float at ran- dom, except when they wish to form a bridge. When a spider drops along a line, for instance, in order to ascertain the strength of her web, or the nature of the place below her, she invari- ably, when she re-ascends, coils it up into a little ball, and throws it away. Her claws are admirably adapted for this pur- pose, as well as for walking along the lines, as may be readily Been by a magnifying glass. Fig. 13. Plate 1Y. shows the tri- ple-clawed foot of a spider, magnified, the others being toothed like a comb, for gliding along the lines. This structure, how- ever, unfits it to walk, as flies can do, upon any upright polish- ed surface like glass ; although the contrary* is erroneously as- serted by the Abbe de la Pluche. Before she can do so, she is obliged to construct a ladder of ropes, as Mr. Blackwall re- markst, by elevating her spinneret as high as she can, and lay- ing down a step upon which she stands to form a second ; and so on, as any one may try by placing a spider at the bottom of a very clean wine glass. " The hairs of the legs, however, are always catching bits of web and particles of dust ; but these are not suffered to remain long. Most people may have remarked that the house-fly is ever and anon brushing its feet upon one another to rub off the * Spectacle de la Nature, i. 58. t Linn. Trans, vol. xv. 172 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. dust, though we have not seen it remarked in authors that spi- ders are equally assiduous in keeping themselves clean. They have, besides, a very efficient instrument in their mandibles or jaws, which, like their claws, are furnished with teeth ; and a spider which appears to a careless observer as resting idly, in nine cases out of ten will be found slowly combing her legs with her ma?idibles, beginning as high as possible on the thigh, and passing down to the daws. The flue which she thus combs off is regularly tossed away. "With respect to the house-spider (A. domestica), we are told in books, that ' she from time to time clears away the dust from her web, and sweeps the whole by giving it a shake with her paw, so nicely proportioning the force of her blow, that she never breaks any thing*.' That spiders may be seen shaking their webs in this manner, we readily admit ; though it is not, we imagine, to clear them of dust, but to ascertain whether they are sufficiently sound and strong. « We recently witnessed a more laborious process of cleaning a web than merely shaking it. On coming down the Maine by the steam-boat from Frankfort, in August 1829, we observed the geometric-net of a conic spider (Epeira conica, Walck.) on the framework of the deck, and as it was covered with flakes of soot from the smoke of the engine, we were surprised to see a spider at work on it ; for, in order to be useful, this sort of net must be clean. Upon observing it a little closely, how- ever, we perceived that she was not constructing a net, but dressing up an old one ; though not, we must think, to save trouble, so much as an expenditure of material. Some of the lines she dexterously stripped of the flakes of soot adhering to them ; but in the greater number, finding that she could not get them sufficiently clean, she broke them quite off, bundled them up, and tossed them over. We counted five of these packets of rubbish which she thus threw away, though there must have been many more, as it was some time before we dis- covered the manoeuvre, the packets being so small as not to be readily perceived, except when placed between the eye and the * Spectacle de la Nature, i. p. 61. SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE SPIDER. 173 light. When she had cleared off all the sooted lines, she began to replace them in the usual way ; but the arrival of the boat at Mentz put an end to our observations." Bloomfleld, the poet, having observed the disappearance of these bits of ravelled web, says that he observed a garden spider moisten the pellets before swallowing them ! Dr. Lister, as we have already seen, thought the spider retracted the threads within the abdomen. ** I could wish," says Addison, in « The Spectator,' " our Royal Society would compile a body of natural history, the best that could be gathered together from books and observations. If the several writers among them took each his partic- ular species, and gave us a distinct account of its original, birth, and education; its policies, hostilities, and alliances ; with the frame and texture of its inward and outward parts, — and particularly those which distinguish it from all other animals, — with their aptitudes for the state of being in which Providence has placed them ; it would be one of the best services their studies could do mankind, and not a little redound to the glory of the All-wise Creator." — ' Spectator,' No. iii. Although we do not consider Addison as a naturalist, in any of the usual mean- ings of the term, yet it would be no easy task, even for those who have devoted their undivided attention to the subject, to improve upon the admirable plan of study here laid down. It is, moreover, so especially applicable to the investigation of insects, that it may be more or less put in practice by any person who chooses, in whatever station or circumstances he happens to be placed. Nay, we will go farther ; for since it agrees with experience and many recorded instances that individuals have been enabled to investigate and elucidate particular facts, who were quite unacquaint- ed with systematic natural history, we hold it to be undeniable, that any person of moderate penetration, though altogether unacquainted with what is called "Natu- ral History," who will take the trouble to observe particular facts and endeavor to trace them to their causes, has every chance to be successful in adding to his own knowledge, and frequently in making discoveries of what was previously unknown. It is related of M. Pelissan, while a prisoner in the Bastille, that he tamed a spi- der by means of music. This in conjunction with Evelyn's observations on hunt- ing-spiders is strong proof of our position, and show that though books are often of high value to guide us in our observations, they are by no means indispensable to the study of nature, inasmuch as the varied scene of creation itself forms an inexhaustible book, which " even he who runneth may read." " It will be of the utmost importance, in the study here recommended, to bear in mind that an insect can never be found in any situation, nor make any move- ment, without some motive, originating in the instinct imparted to it by Provi- dence. This principle alone, when it is made the basis of inquiry into such mo- tives or instincts, will be found productive of many interesting discoveries, which, without it, might never be made. With this, indeed, exclusively in view, during an excursion, and with a little attention and perseverance, every walk — nay, every step — may lead to delightful and interesting knowledge." — " Insect Archi- tecture," p. 219. CHAPTER X. FIBRES OR SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE PINNA. The Pinna — Description of — Delicacy of its threads — Reaumur's observations — Mode of forming the filament or thread — Power of continually producing new threads — Experiments to ascertain this fact — The Pinna and its Cancer Friend — Nature of their alliance — Beautiful phenomenon — Aristotle and Pliny's account — The Greek poet Oppianus's lines on the Pinna, and its Cancer friend — Manner of procuring the Pinna — Poli's description — Specimens of the Pinna in the British Museum — Pearls found in the Pinna — Pliny and Athenaeus's ac- count — Manner of preparing the fibres of the Pinna for weaving — Scarceness of this material — No proof that the ancients were acquainted with the art of knitting — Tertullian the first ancient writer who makes mention of the manufacture of cloth from the fibres of the Pinna — Procopius mentions a chlamys made of the fibres of the Pinna, and a silken tunic adorned with sprigs or feathers of gold — Boots of red leather worn only by Emperors — Golden fleece of the Pinna — St. Basil's account — Fibres of the Pinna not manufactured into cloth at Tarentum in ancient times, but in India — Diving for the Pinna at Col- chi — Arrian's account. In the preceding chapter we have confined our remarks, principally, to the various attempts made to obtain a silken or filamentous material from the spider, and although those efforts have not been crowned with that degree of success which would render a speculation of the kind worthy of our attention in a pecuniary point of view, yet, it must be conceded, that the sub- ject is scarcely the less interesting ; and Mr. Bon, the gentle- man who first undertook the training of spiders, has at least given us matter for further interesting speculation. It is now about 104 years since Mr. Bon commenced his experiments. In this chapter, we shall proceed to describe the Pinna of the ancients, and upon which human ingenuity has been more successfully exercised in seeking, many feet below the surface of the Ocean, for the slender filaments, the produce of an ani- mal in almost a vegetative state of existence. FIBRES, OR SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE PINNA. 175 The Pinna is a bivalve* shell-fish, which, when full grown, is 18 inches long, and 6 wide at its broad end. It is found near the shores of South Italy, Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia ; also in the Bay of Smyrna, and in the Indian Ocean. It does not fasten itself to rocks in the same position as the muscle, but sticks its sharp end into the mud or sand, while the rest of the shell is at liberty to open in the water. In common with the muscle, it has the power of spinning a viscid matter from its body, conformably with that of the spider and caterpillar. Al- though the pinna is vastly larger than the muscle, its shell be- ing sometimes found two feet long, the threads which it produ- ces are more delicate and slender than those of the muscle, be- ing in fineness and beauty scarcely inferior to the single filament of the comparatively minute silk-worm. Threads so delicately thin, as may readily be imagined, do not singly possess much strength ; but the little power of each is made up by the aggre- gate of the almost infinite number which each fish puts forth to secure itself in a fixed situation, and preserve it against the rolling of the waves. The threads are, however, similar in their nature to those of the muscle, differing only in their supe- rior fineness and greater length. These fish have, therefore, been distinguished by some naturalists, the one as the silk- worm, the other as caterpillar of the sea. It has been from a very remote period well known, that mus- cles have the power of affixing themselves either to rocks or the shells of one another, in a very firm manner ; yet their method of effecting this was not understood until explained by the accu- rate observations of M. Reaumur, the first naturalist who as- certained that if, by any accident, the animals were torn from their hold, they possessed the power of substituting other threads for those which had been broken or injured. It was found by him, that if muscles, detached from each other, were placed in. any kind of vessel and then plunged into the sea, they con- trived in a very short time to fasten themselves both to the vessel's side and one another's shells : in this process, the ex- * An animal having two valves, or a shell consisting of two parts which open and shut. 176 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. tremity of each thread seemed to perform the office of a hand in seizing upon the body to which it would attach itself. The threads issue from the shell at that part where it natu- rally opens, and in affixing themselves to any substance, form numerous minute cables, by which the fish steadies itself in the water. Each animal is provided with an organ, which it is difficult to designate by any name, since it performs the office of so many members, and is the only indicator of the existence of vital powers in the creature. It is by turns a tongue, an arm, and sometimes a leg. Its shape resembles that of a tongue, and is, therefore, most frequently called by that name. Whenever the fish requires to change its place, this member serves to drag its body forward, together with its cumbrous hab- itation : in performing a journey, the extremity of this organ, which may then be styled a leg, is fixed to some solid body, and being then contracted in length, the whole fish is necessa- rily drawn towards the spot where it intends to station itself ; and by a repetition of these movements, the animal arrives at its destination. It is not often that the organ is put to this use, as the pinna is but little addicted to locomotion : some natural- ists indeed affirm that it is always stable. The purpose to which the tongue is most frequently applied, is that of spinning the threads. Although this body is flat, and in form similar to a tongue through the greater part of its length, it becomes cy- lindrical about the base or root, where it is much smaller than in any other part : at this lower end are several ligatures of a muscular nature, which keep the tongue firmly fixed against the middle of the shell ; four of these cords are very apparent, and serve to move the tongue in any direction according to the wants of the fish. Through the entire length of this member there runs a slit, which pierces so deeply into its surface, as al- most to divide it into two longitudinal sections ; this performs the office of a canal for the liquor of which the threads are formed, and serves to mould them into their proper form : the canal ap- pears externally like a small crack, being almost covered by the flesh from either side, but internally it is much wider, and sur- rounded by circular fibres. The channel thus formed extends regularly from the tip to the base of the tongue, where it par- FIBRES, OR SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE PINNA. 177 takes of the form of the member and becomes cylindric, pro- ducing there a tube or pipe in which the canal terminates. The viscid substance is moulded in this tube into the shape of a cord, similar to the threads produced from it, though much thicker, and from which all the minute fibres issue and disperse. The internal surface of the tube, wherein the large cord is formed, is furnished with glands for the secretion of the peculiar substance employed in its production, and which is always in great abun- dance in this animal as well as in muscles. Reaumur observed, " that although the workmanship of the land and sea animals when completed is alike, the manner of its production is very different. Spiders, caterpillars, &c, form threads of any required length, by making the viscous liquor of which the filament is formed pass through fine perforations in the organ appointed for spinning. But the way in which muscles form their thread is widely opposite ; as the former re- sembles the work of the wire-drawer*, so does the latter that of the founder who casts metals in a mould." The canal of the organ destined for the muscle's spinning is the mould in which its thread is cast, and gives to it its determinate length. Reaumur learned the manner of the muscle performing the operation of swimming by actually placing some of these fish under his constant inspection. He kept them in his apartment in a vessel filled with sea water, and distinctly saw them open their shells and put forth their tongues. They extended and contracted this organ several times, obtruding it in every direc- tion, as if seeking the fittest place whereon to fix their threads. After repeated trials of this kind, the tongue of one was ob- served to remain for some time on the spot chosen, and being then drawn back with great quickness, a thread was very * This remark of M. Reaumur confirms the observations of M. H. Straus, quoted in Chapter VII. that the thread of the silk-worm is not produced by a simple emis- sion of liquid matter through the orifices of the spinner, or that it acquires solidity at once from the drying influence of the air. Indeed, silk cannot be produced in this manner, but is secreted in the form of silk in silk vessels, and the spinning apparatus, so called, only unwinds it. Mr. Straus's observations on this head ad- mit of no argument. The discovery reduces all that has been heretofore written upon the subject to the character of old lumber. 23 178 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. easily discerned, fastened to the place : this operation was again resumed, until all the threads were in sufficient number : one fibre being produced at each movement of the tongue. The old threads were found to differ materially from those newly spun, the latter being whiter, more glossy, and transpa- rent than the former, and it was thence discovered that it was not the office of the tongue to transfer the old threads one by one to the new spots where they were fixed, which course M. Reaumur had thought was pursued. The old threads once severed from the spot to which they had been originally fixed were seen to be useless, and that every fibre employed by the fish to secure itself in a new position was produced at the time required ; and, in short, that nature had endowed some fish, as well as land insects, with the power of spinning threads, as their natural wants and instincts demanded. This fact was in- controvertibly established by cutting away, as close to the body as they could with safety be separated, the old threads, which were always replaced by others in a space of time as short as was employed by other muscles not so deprived. " The pinna and its cancer friend" have on more than one occasion been made subjects for poetry. There is doubtless some foundation for the fact of the mutual alliance between these aquatic friends which has been thus celebrated ; yet some slight coloring may have been borrowed from the regions of fancy wherewith to adorn the verse, and even the prose history of their attachment may be exposed to a similar objection. The scuttle-fish, a native of the same seas with the pinna, is its deadly foe, and would quickly destroy it, were it not for its faithful ally. In common with all the same species, the pinna is destitute of the organs of sight, and could not, therefore, unas- sisted, be aware of the vicinity of its dangerous enemy. A small animal of the crab kind, itself deprived of a covering, but extremely quick-sighted, takes refuge in the shell of the pinna, whose strong calcareous valves affords a shelter to her guest, ivhile he makes a return for this protection by going forth in search of prey. At these intervals the pinna opens her valves to afford him egress and ingress : if the watchful scuttle-fish now approach, the crab returns instanter with notice of the FIBRES, OR SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE PINNA. 179 danger to her hostess ; who, timely warned, shuts her door and keeps out the enemy. When the crab has, unmolested, suc- ceeded in loading itself with provisions, it gives a signal by a gentle noise at the opening of the shell, and when admitted, the two friends feast together on the fruit of its industry. It would appear an arduous, nay, a task almost impossible for the defenceless and diminutive crab, not merely to elude its enemies and return home, but likewise obtain a supply of provender sufficient to satisfy the wants of its larger companion. The following different account of the nature of this alliance is more credible : — Whenever the pinna ventures to open its shell, it is immedi- ately exposed to the attacks of various of the smaller kinds of fish, which, meeting with no resistance to their first assaults, acquire boldness and venture in. The vigilant guard, by a gentle bite, gives notice of this to his companion, who, upon such a hint, closes her shell, and having thus shut them in makes a prey of those who had come to prey upon her : when thus supplied with food, she never fails to share her booty with so useful an ally. We are told that the sagacious observer, Dr. Hasselquist, in his voyage, (about the middle of the last century,) to Palestine, which he undertook for objects connected with the study of nat- ural history, beheld this curious phenomenon, which, although well known to the ancients, had escaped the attention of the moderns. It is related by Aristotle* that the pinna keeps a guard to watch for her, which grows to her mouth, and serves as her caterer : this he calls pinnophylax, and describes as a little fish with claws like a crab. Pliny observes!, that the smallest spe- cies of crab is called the pinnotores, and being from its diminu- tive size liable to injury, has the prudence to conceal itself in the shells of oysters. In another place he describes the pinna as of the genus of shell-fish, with the further particulars that it is found in muddy waters, always erect, and never without a companion, called by some pinnatores, by others pinnophylax ; * Hist. lib. v. c. 15. t Lib. ix. 51. 66. 180 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK, this being sometimes a small squill, and at others a crab, which remains with the pinna for the sake of food. The description of the pinna by the Greek poet Oppianus, who flourished in the second century, has been thus given in English verse : — The pinna and the crab together dwell, For mutual succor in one common shell ; They both to gain a livelihood combine, That takes the prey, when this has given the sign ; From hence this crab, above his fellows famed, By ancient Greeks was Pinnotores named. It is said that the pinna fastens itself so strongly to the rocks, that the men employed in fishing for it are obliged to use con- siderable force to break the tuft of threads by which it is secu- red fifteen, twenty, and sometimes even thirty feet below the surface of the sea. It is fished up in the Gulf of Tarentum by the Pernonico, which consists of two semicircular bars of iron fastened together at the ends, at one of which is a wooden pole, at the other a ring and cord. The fishermen conduct their boat over the place, where the pinna is seen through the clear water, let down the Pernonico, and, having loosened the pinna by em- bracing it with the iron bars and twisting it round, draw it up to the boat. The pinna is also obtained by diving. Poli, in his splendid work on the Sicilian Testacea (Parma, 1795, folio,) gives beautiful representations of the several species and especially of the Pinna Nobilis*. The following description of submarine scenery and operations, is so vivid and pleasing that we quote it at length. Pinnis hujusmodi abundant prae caeteris litus Trinacriaa, sinus Tarentinus, oraque maritima Crateris Neapolitani, potissimum ultra Promontorium Pausilypi. Equidem persumma adficimur animi jucunditate, quoties illarum piscationis recor- damur, quam vere jam inchoato inibi facere iterum iterumque consuevimus. Est ad Insulam Nisitse, qua ilia ad septentrionem vergit, respicitque contra Pausilypi Promontorium, amcenissimi maris plaga, quoddam maris ocium. Ibi inter in- gentes, pulcherrimosque marinarnm stirpium saltus, quibus plaga ilia undique virescit, oculosque animumque recreat, Pinnarum greges sponte gignuntur ; qute * The figure (Fig. 7.) of the Pinna Nobilis, Plate III., is reduced from Plate XXXIV. in vol. ii. FIBRES, OR SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE PINNA. 181 mari tranquillo, umbrisque ab insula? summitate cadentibus, ab iis qui cymbis in- sistunt, ad triginta ferme pedum altitudiiiem, subrectae, inque fundo arenoso defixse perspicue cerni possuiit. Urinatores igitur, sese mari submergentes, illis arripien- dis destinantur. Quoniam vero, ne reiteratis quidem ictibus, ab arena, ubi con- sitae sunt, educi queunt ; arena etenim, et pondere suo et altissima aquarurn mole sibi incumbente fortiter stipata, urinatorum conatibus valide resistit ; hi maris fun- dum nacti, ibique veluti in solo sedentes, arenam Pinnae circumjectam manibus averrunt, Pinnamque deinceps ambabus manibus comprehensam divellere conan- tur. Et si diutius, quam par est, spiritum cohibere nequeunt, ad summa eequorum ascendunt, suberibusque aquas innatantibus inibi de industria positis innitimtur, donee tandem aeris haustu recreati, maris fundum iterum petant, operamque pe- nitus absolvant. v. ii. p. 230, 231. This species of Pinna is especially abundant on the shores of Sicily, in the Gulf of Taranto, and in the Bay of Naples, particularly beyond the Cape of Po- silipo. It always fills my mind with the greatest delight to recollect the manner of fishing for it, in which I have often taken a part at that spot in the com- mencement of spring. On the northern shore of the Isle of Nisida opposite Po- silipo, is a most agreeable expanse of water, where the sea appears to be ever at rest. Here, amidst those vast and most beauteous submarine forests, with which the coast is decorated in every direction so as at once to charm the mind and re- fresh the eye, the Pinna grows spontaneously in large groups, and in calm water, when the shadows fall from the summit of the island, is clearly seen by persons in boats growing nearly upright and fixed in the sandy bottom at the depth of about thirty feet. There are divers, whose business it is to bring it up. But, since it cannot be loosened even by repeated blows, (for the sand firmly resists the attempts of the diver, being supported by its own weight and by the super- incumbent water,) in these circumstances he sits down at the bottom of the sea, brushes away with his fingers the earth which encompasses the shell, and then endeavors to pull it up by seizing it with both hands. If he is thus likely to be detained at the bottom for a longer time than he can hold his breath, he ascends to the surface, supports himself upon corks, which are in readiness for him, and, when he has sufficiently recovered himself by breathing, he again dives to the bottom to complete his task. The specimens of Pinna in the British Museum show not only the tuft, but also the pearls and the mother of pearl. Poli found in one specimen of the Pinna Nobilis no less than twen- ty pearls, of which he has given figures in his splendid work. Pliny (1. ix. c. 35.) mentions the practice of diving for the Pin- na in the Mediterranean Sea in order to obtain pearls from it : and Athenseus (1. hi. p. 93 Casaub.) has preserved extracts from two historical writers, one of whom accompanied Alexander on his Indian expedition, and who informs us, that the Pinna was procured in the Indian seas, by diving and for the sake of the pearls. 182 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OP SILK. The Italians call the fibres Lana Pesce or Lana Penna { i. e. Fish Wool, or Pinna Wool. It is not equally good in all places. When the bottom of the sea is sandy, the shell with its bunch of fibres may be easily extracted, and they are silky and of a fine color. But in rushy and muddy bottoms so fast do they stick as to be generally broken in drawing up, and are of a blackish color without gloss. The Lana Penna is twice washed in tepid water, once in soap and water, and again in tepid water, then spread on a ta- ble to dry : while yet moist, it is rubbed and separated with the hand, and again spread on the table. When quite dry, it is drawn through a wide comb of bone, and then through a nar- row one. That which is destined for very fine works is also drawn through iron combs, called scarde (cards). It is then spun with a distaff and spindle. As it is impossible to procure much of this material of a good quality, the manufacture is very limited, and the articles produced, stockings and gloves, are expensive. They are es- teemed excellent preservatives against cold and damp, are soft and very warm, and the finest of a brown cinnamon, or glossy gold color. The manufacture is chiefly carried on at Taranto, the ancient Tarentnm* '. The Lana Penna, having been spun, is now almost uni- versally knit. But, as it does not appear that the ancients were acquainted with this process prior to the second century ; whatever garments they made of this material must have been woven. The first proof we possess of its use among them is in Ter tullian, who lived in the second century (JDe Pallio, iii. p. 115, Rigaltii). Speaking of the materials for weaving, he says, Nee fuit satis tunicam pangere et serere, ni etiam piscari vestitum contigisset nam et de mari vellera, quo mucosae lanusitatis plautiores conchse comant. Nor was it enough to comb and to sow the materials for a tunic. It was ne- * Riedesel's Travels through Sicily and Graecia Magna, translated by J- P» Forster, London, 1773, p. 178-180. De Salis, Travels in the Kingdom of Na- ples. Keppel Craven, Tour through the Southern Provinces of the Kingdom of Naples, p. 185. D'Argenville, Lit hoi. et Conchologie, p. 183, and Plato 25. FIBRES, OR SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE PINNA. 183 ceesary also to fish for one's dress. For fleeces are obtained from the sea, where shells of extraordinary size are furnished with tufts of mossy hair*. (See Fig. 7, Plate II.) Procopius informs us (De Edlf. lib. iii. c. 1.), that xlrmenia was governed by five hereditary satraps, who received their insignia from the Roman Emperor. Among these was a Chlamys made of the fibres of the Pinna. (XXa^? h it epfav ■nciroLquevri) ov% oia r<2v Ttpo(iaTioiv tKiitpVK€v r dXX' Ik OaXaaaris avvetXeynsvcov' xivvovq to. £wa xaXtiv vsvofiiKaai, iv ois fi tu>v eploiv eKtiwig yiverai.') 1 IllS CillamyS Was fastened with a fibula of gold, in which a precious stone was set, and three hyacinths were suspended from it by golden chains {x? vaa ~ i s T£ Kal x aXa P aTs d\6aeenv.) The chlamys was accom- panied by a silken tunic, adorned with sprigs or "feathers" of gold. It is thus described : rXovfijj.ia /caXfZV. With the chlamys and tunic were worn boots of red leather, such as only the emperors of Rome and Persia were allowed to wear. St. Basil mentions with admiration " the golden fleece " of the Pinna, which no artificial dye could imitate. Ucdev rd xpwow ipiov al Ttivvai rpi % «. He also says, " The wild mal- low is very common about Athens : the leaves are boiled and eaten as a pot-herb, and an ingredient in the Dolma." (Me- moirs relating to European and Asiatic Turkey, edited by Walpole, p. 245.) Dr. Holland mentions both Malva Silves- * Hist. Plant. 1. vii. c. 8. p. 142. Heinsii. 240. Schneider. 25 194 THE MALLOW, ITS USES BY THE ANCIENTS. tris and Althcea Officinalis among the officinal plants, which he found in Cephalonia. ( Travels in Greece, p. 543, Ato.). The Althaia Officinalis, or Marsh Mallow, is called by the Greek authors 'A\daia : by the Latin, Hibiscus. Theophrastus says, that it went also under the name of wild mallow*. Whilst the Common Mallow, though highly esteemed for its medicinal virtues, was principally regarded as a substantial article of food ; the Marsh Mallow, on the contrary, seems to have been rarely used except as an article of the Materia Medicat ; and, as its peculiar properties were likely to be more matured in the wild than cultivated state, it does not appear to have been grown in gardens*. Theophrastus describes it by comparing it with the Common Mallow, and mentions its application, both internally and externally, as a medicinei Dioscorides (I. iii. c. 139.) gives similar details. Besides mentioning the proper name of the plant in Greek and in Latin, he calls it, "a kind of wild mal- low." Palladius (I. xi. p. 184. Bip.) explains " Hibiscus" to be the same as "Althaa." See also Pliny, I. xx. c. 14. ed. Bip. Yirgil alludes to the use of it as fodder for goats, and as a ma- terial for weaving baskets}]. The Hemp-leaved Mallow, Alth&a Cannabina, is once men- tioned by Dioscorides {lib. iii. c. 141.). Giving an account of hemp, he distinguishes between the cultivated and the wild. He says of the wild hemp, that the Romans called it Canna- bis Terminalis%. After mentioning the medical properties of the plant, Dioscorides says, that its bark was useful for making ropes. The truth of this observation will be apparent to every botanist. The plants belonging to the natural order Malva- * Hist. Plant. 1. ix. cap. 15. p. 188. Heinsii. t Calpurnius (Eclog. iv. 32,) mentions the " Hibiscus" as used for food, but only by persons in a state of great destitution. X At a later period, however, we find the Althaea Officinalis under the name of " Ibischa Mis-malva" in a catalogue of the plants, which Charlemagne selected for cultivation in the gardens attached to his villas. See Sprengel, Hist. Rei Herb. i. 220. § Hist. Plant. 1. ix. cap. 19, p. 192. ed. Heinsii. || Eclog. ii. 30. and x. 71. See Servius, Heyne, and J. H. Voss., ad loc. T Meaning literally Hedge-hemp. FITNESS OF THE MALLOW FOR MAKING CLOTH. 195 cem are all remarkable for the abundance of strong and beau- tiful fibres in their bark*. But of the European species there is none superior in the fineness, the strength, the whiteness, and lustre of its fibres, to the Common Mallow, the Malva Silvestris. We have seen that the ancients were familiarly acquainted with this plant ; that it was commonly cultivated in their gardens ; and that they gathered it, when growing wild, to be taken as food or medicine. In these circumstances they could scarcely fail to ob- serve the aptitude of its bark for being spun into thread. More especially in places where they had no other native supply of fibrous materials ; in Attica, for example, which probably pro- duced neither hemp nor flax, it seems in the highest degree probable, that the fitness of the mallow to supply materials for weaving would not be overlooked. In producing the evidence, which establishes this as a posi- tive fact, we shall begin with the latest testimonies and proceed in a reverse order upward to the most ancient. According to this plan, the first authority is that of Papias, who wrote his Yocabulary about the year 1050. He gives the following ex- planations : Malbella vestis quae ex malvarum stamine conficitur, quam alii molocinam vo- cant. Molocina vestis quae albo stamine sit : quam alii malbellam vocant. These passages clearly describe a kind of cloth made of the white fibres of the common mallow. Malbella, the same with Malvella, is a Latin adjective, in the form of a diminutive, from Malva : Molocina, the same with Mo\6 X ivri, is a Greek adjective from Mo\6 X ri, and signifies made of mallow. Papias, who seems in compiling his dictionary to have made great use of Isidore, perhaps derived these explanations in part from the following passage of the latter author : * We have the following testimony respecting the actual fabrication of mallow- cloth in modern times : " Nous avons vu a Madrid, chez le savant pharmacien D. Casimir Ortega, de ces tissus, qui nous ont semble fort remarquables. lis 6taient faits avec Pe"corce des Altheas officinalis et cannabina, et avec celle du Malva sylvestris" Fee, Flore de Virgile, Paris 1822, p. 66. 196 THE MALLOW, ITS USES BY THE ANCIENTS. Melocinia (vestis est), quae mal varum stamine conficitur, quam alii molocinam, alii malvellam vocant. Isid. Hisp. Orig. xix. 22. The cloth called Melocinea is made of the thread of mallows, and is called by some Molocina, by others Malvella. The passages of Papias cannot be taken as a proof, that mal- low-cloth was woven in his day. But that it was in fashion as late as the age of Charlemagne appears from the following line, which is quoted by Du Cange (Glossar. Med. et Inf. Lett. v. Melocineus) from a poem in praise of that monarch, attributed to Alcuin : Tecta melocineo fulgescit femina amictu. Wrapt in a mallow shawl the lady shines. The word "fulgescit" aptly describes the lustre of the mate- rial under consideration. From the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea* we learn, that cloths made of mallow, were among the articles of export from India, being brought from Ozene (Ugain) and Tagara in the interior of the country to the sea-port of Barygaza (Baroch). P. 146. 169, 170, 171. The genus Hibiscus, Linn, is very abundant in India. The bark of a certain species of this genus, especially of H. Tilia- ceus and H. Cannabinus, is now very extensively employed for making cordage, and might unquestionably have been used for making clothf. H. Tiliaceus is also represented in Rheede's Hort. Malaban- cus (vol. i. fig. 30.). It grows about 15 feet high. Dr. Wallich (Cat. of Indian Woods, p. 18.) mentions two other species as used for making cordage from the bark. The late Mr. John Hare, who lived in India a long time, says, that a coarse kind of cloth, used for making sacks, rots ^LTaivioiai rols dpopyivoig Yvpval Ttapio'ipev, " And if we should present ourselves naked in shifts of amor- gos ;" showing that these shifts were transparent. Accordingly Mosris says, that the dpdpyivov was \arrdv tyao-pa, " a thin web." Bi- setus in his Greek commentary on this play, after quoting the explanations of Stephanus Byzantinus, Suidas, Eustathius, 200 THE MALLOW, ITS USES BY THE ANCIENTS. and the Etymologicum Magnum, judiciously concludes as fol- lows : " From all these it is manifest, that d^pyivoi x i ™ ve $, whether they took their name from a place, from their color, or from the raw material, were a kind of valuable robe, worn by the rich, fashionable, and luxurious women." A subsequent passage of the Lysistrata (v. 736-741) still further illustrates this subject. A woman laments, that she has left at home her dpopyis without being peeled (sao™*), and she goes to peel it (dmSrfpciv). The mallow no less than flax and hemp, would require the bark to be stript off, and doubtless the best time for stripping it is as soon as the plant is gathered. II. Cratinus died about 420 B. C. The following line, from his comedy called MaXOu^ represents a person spinning 'Appyrfs. 'A.jJiopydv Ivhov fipvTivrjv vrjQsiv Tiva. Cratina Fragmenta, a Runkel, p. 29. III. Julius Pollux, speaking of garments made of 'Apopyds (L. vii. c. 13.) quotes the Medea of Antiphanes thus ; y Hv x^rav dixopyivos. This author was contemporary with Aristophanes. IV. Eupolis wrote about the same time, and his authority may be added to the rest as proving that garments of Amorgos were admired by luxurious persons at Athens*. Y. Clearchus of Solit mentions the use of a cover of Amor- gos for inclosing a splendid purple blanket. This application of it is agreeable to the foregoing evidence, showing that the amorgine webs were transparent. The silky translucence of the lace -like web of mallow would have a very beautiful effect over the fine purple of the downy blanket. VI. iEschines in an oration against Timarchus, the object of which is to hold up to contempt the extravagancies of this Athenian spendthrift, in his enumeration of them, he mentions (p. 118, ed. Reiskii.) that Timarchus took to his house " a wo- man skilled in making cloths of Amorgos." * See Harpocration, p. 29. ed. Blancardi. 1683. 4to. Also Pher. et Eupolidis Fragmenta, a Runkel, p. 150. t Ap. Athenaeum, L. vi. p. 255, Casaub. Clearchus probably wrote about 100 years later than the before-mentioned authors, but the circumstances related by him may have occurred about the time when those authors flourished, and even at Athens. FITNESS OF THE MALLOW FOR MAKING CLOTH. 201 VII. Plato in the 13th Epistle, addressed to Dionysius, ty- rant of Syracuse, which, if not genuine, is at least ancient, proposes to give to the three daughters of Cebes three long shifts, not the valuable shifts made of Amorgos, but the linen shifts of Sicily. The mention of amorgine garments by the writers, who have now been cited, seems to prove, that the fashion of making and wearing them first came in among the Greeks at Athens in the time of Aristophanes, who lived, as the reader will have observed, in the fifth century before Christ. From them the fashion may have extended itself into Sicily and Italy, which will account, if Amorgina were the same with Molochina, for the striking agreement in this respect between the writers of Greek and of Latin Comedy. In subsequent ages the man- ufacture seems so have declined, probably in consequence of the abundance of silk and other rich and beautiful goods im- ported from Asia. But the mention of these stuffs in the wri- tings of Isidore and Alcuin renders it probable, that they were brought again into use in the fifth and following centuries of the Christian era. 26 CHAPTER XIII. SPARTUM, OR SPANISH BROOM. CLOTH MANUFACTURED FROM BROOM BARK, NETTLE, AND BULBOUS PLANT. TESTIMONY OF GREEK AND LATIN AUTHORS. Authority for Spanish Broom — Stipa Tenacissima — Cloth made from Broom- bark — Albania — Italy — France — Mode of preparing the fibre for weaving — Pliny's account of Spartum — Bulbous plant — Its fibrous coats — Pliny's transla- tion of Theophrastus — Socks and garments — Size of the bulb — Its genus or species not sufficiently defined — Remarks of various modern writers on this plant — Interesting communications of Dr. Daniel Stebbins, of Northampton, Mass. to Hon. H. L. Ellsworth. Pliny says, that " in the part of Hispania Citerior about New Carthage whole mountains were covered with Spartum ; that the natives made mattresses, shoes, and coarse garments of it, also fires and torches ; and that its tender tops were eaten by animals*." He also says, that it grows spontaneously where nothing else will grow, and that it is " the rush of a dry soil." The question now arises, what plant Pliny intended to de- scribe. Clusius, who travelled in Spain chiefly with a view to botany, supposed Pliny's " Spartum" to be the tough grass, used in every part of Spain for making mats, baskets, &c, which Linnaeus afterwards called Stipa Tenacissimaf. It is not surprising, that the opinion of so eminent a botanist as Clusius has been generally adopted. It is, however, far more probable, that the plant, which Pliny intended to speak of, was the Spartium Junceum, Linn., so familiarly known under the name of Spanish Broom. In the first place, the name Spartum should be considered as decisive of the question, unless some sufficient reason can be * L. xix. c. 2. t Clusii Plant. Rar. Historia, L. vi. p. 219. 220. ITS FITNESS FOR MAKING CLOTH. 203 shown for ascribing to it in this passage a sense different from that which it commonly bore. Spartus or Spartum, is ad- mitted to be used by all authors, Greek and Latin, and even by Pliny himself in another passage*, to denote the Spanish Broom. We learn from Sibthorp, that the Spanish Broom is still called Spar to by the Greeks, and that it grows on dry sandy hills throughout the islands of the Archipelago and the continent of Greece. Spar to was indeed properly the Greek name of this shrub, the Latin name being Genista, and the use of the Greek name in Hispania Citerior may have been owing to the Grecian settlements on that coast, colonized from Marseilles. Besides the passages of Latin authors referred to by Schnei- der and Billerbeck, and which it is unnecessary to repeat, the following from Isidore of Seville appears decisive respecting the acceptation of the term. " Spartus frutex virgosus sine foliis, ab asperitate vocatus ; volumina enim funium, quse ex eo flunt, aspera sunt." Orig- inum L. xvii. c. 9. This is the definition of a learned and observant author, who lived in Spain, and who must have been familiar with the facts. " Frutex virgosus sine foliis" is a clear and striking description of the Spanish Broom, the leaves of which are so small as easily to escape observation!. The Stipa Tenacissi- ma, on the other hand, is not a shrub with twigs, but a grass, which grows in tufts, the long leaves being as abundant and useful as the stems or straws. Clusius himself (I. c.) in lay- ing down the distinction between the Spartum of the Greeks, which he supposed to be the Spanish Broom, and the Spartum of Pliny, which he supposed to be the Stipa Tenacissima, as- serts that the former is a shrub (frutex), the latter a herb with grassy leaves (herba graminacea folia proferens). It is clear, therefore, that the inhabitants of Spain in the time of Isidore * See L. xi. 8. where Pliny says, that bees obtain honey and wax from " Spartum," and compare this with Aristotle, Hist. Anim. L. x. 40. t Dioscorides also describes the Spanish Broom to be " a shrub bearing long twigs without leaves." Isidore's etymology, deducing Spartus from Asper, is man- ifestly absurd. 204 SPARTUM OR SPANISH BROOM I still used the term Spartus in its original acceptation, viz. to denote the Spartium Junceum of Linnaeus. When the Stipa Tenacissima was brought into use for ma- king ropes and for other purposes, for which the Spanish Broom was employed, the name of the latter would naturally be ex- tended to the former, and we may thus account for the fact that the Stipa Tenacissima is now universally known in Spain by the name Esparto. Indeed it is possible, that the employ- ment of the Stipa Tenacissima for these purposes may have been as ancient as the time of Pliny ; and his use of the word " herb a" in describing it, as well as the locality which he as- signs to it, the hilly country about Carthage, favors the common interpretation, and perhaps even authorizes the conclusion, that his account is the result of confounding the two plants together, so that he says of one supposed plant things, which were partly true of both, and partly applicable either to the Spanish Broom, or to the Stipa Tenacissima only. But, even if this be admit- ted, it is still possible that the plant, from whose fibres the " pastor urn vestis" was manufactured, was not the grassy Sti- pa, but the shrub, the Spanish Broom. In order to establish this point we now proceed to mention the evidence respecting the application of it to such uses. It has been employed for making cloth in Turkey, in Italy, and the South of France, but in circumstances, which were either spe- cially favorable to the manufacture, or where flax could not be cultivated. It is manufactured into shirts in Albania according to Dr. Sibthorp*. Nearly a century ago, Pope Benedict XIY. brought a colony of Albanians to inhabit a barren and desolate portion of his territory on the sea-coast. Here they obtained a very fine, strong, durable thread from the Broom and the Net- tle, and used it, when woven, in place of linent. Trombelli, who relates this fact, also gives an account of the manufacture of broom-bark in the vicinity of Lucca, where the hills, called Monte Cascia, are covered with this plantt. " Formerly," he * Flora Graeca, No. 671. t Trombelli, Bononieiisis Scient. atque Artium Instituti Commentarii, torn. vi. p. 118. X Trombelli calls the plant Genista, and says it is the kind called by botanists ITS FITNESS FOR MAKING CLOTH. 205 says, " the people derived no other advantage from the shrub than to feed sheep and goats with it, and to heat their stoves and furnaces. But their ingenuity and industry have now made it far more profitable. They steep the twigs for some days in the thermal waters of Bagno a Acqua near Lucca. After this 'process the bark is easily stript off, and it is then combed and otherwise treated like flax. It becomes finer than hemp could be made ; it is easily dyed of any color, and may be used for garments of any kind*." In the vicinity of Pisa we find that the twigs of the Spanish Broom were in like manner soaked in the thermal waters, and that a coarse cloth was manufactured from the barkf. But the manufacture has been carried to a far greater extent in the South of France. In the Journal de Physique, Tom. 30. Ato. An. 1787. p. 294., is a paper by Broussonet Sur la culture et les usages economiques du Genet oV Espagne. A minute and highly curious account is here given of the mode of preparing the fibres, which is practised by the inhabitants of all the villages in the vicinity of Lodeve in Bas Languedoc. The shrub abounds on the barren hills of that region, and all that the people do to favor its growth is to sow the seed in the driest places, where scarce any other plant can vegetate. After being cut, the twigs are dried in the sun, then beaten, macera- ted in water, and treated in the same way as flax or hemp (See Zincke's process, Chapter XL). The coarser thread is used to make bags for holding the legumes, corn, &c. ; the finer for making sheets, napkins, and shirts. The peasants in this district use no other kind of linen, not being acquainted with the culture either of flax or hemp. The ground is too dry and unproductive to suit these plants. The linen made " Genista juncea flore luteo." This is the Spartium Junceum of Linnaeus. See Ray, Catal. Stirp. Europ. and Scopoli, Flora Carniolica, 1772, torn. i. No. 870. * Bononiensis Scientiarum atque Artium Instituti Commentarii, torn. iv. Bo- non. 1757, p. 349-351. A similar account of the manufacture of the " Teladi Ginestia" at Bagno a Acqua is given by Mr. John Strange, who says he had sent an account of it to the Society for encouraging Arts, Manufactures, and Com- merce. Lettera sopra POrigine della carta naturale di Cortona, Pisa 1764. p. 79. t Mem. de l'Academie des Sciences, Paris 1763. 206 SPARTUM OR SPANISH BROOM : of the Spanish Broom is as supple as that made from hemp * it might be even as beautiful as real linen, if more pains were taken with it. It becomes whiter, the oftener it is washed. It is rarely sold, each family making it for its own use. The stalks, after the rind has been separated from them, are tied in small bundles, and sold for lighting fires. Let us now see how far Pliny's account of the Spartum agrees with these representations of the mode of manufactu- ring Broom-bark. The Spartum, of which he speaks, is " the rush of a dry soil" a description far more applicable to the young twigs of the Spanish Broom than to the grassy stems of the Stipa Tenacissima, or indeed to any other plant. His Spartum was used for making fires and for giving light (hinc ignes facesque), purposes for which the Stipa Tenacissima is not at all adapted, but to both of which the stems and twigs of the Spanish Broom are applied. The tender tops of Pliny's Spartum served as food for animals. According to Trom- belli sheep and goats feed upon the Spanish Broom in Italy ; but we cannot find that this is the case with the Stipa Tena- cissima. Pliny's Spartum, after being steeped in water, was beaten in order to be made useful (Hoc autem tunditur, ut fiat utile) ; and this process was quite necessary in preparing the twigs of Spanish Broom, whereas the Stipa Tenacissima is most commonly manufactured without going through any such process. Clusius indeed states (I. c.) that by macerating it in water like flax, and then drying and beating it, the Span- iards of Valencia make a kind of shoes, which they call Alper- gates, also cords, and other finer articles ; but, at the same time, he says, that it is made into mats, baskets, ropes, and cables, merely by being dried, platted, and twisted, without any other operation. The same account is given by Townsend, who visited the country as late as 1787, and who further states, that " the esparto rush" had latterly " been spun into fine thread for the purpose of making cloth*." It seems, however, that this had only been done as an experiment, whereas the accounts which have been quoted show, that the manufacture of cloth * Journey through Spain, vol. iii. p. 129, 130. ITS FITNESS FOR MAKING CLOTH. 207 from broom-bark had been long established in Albania, Italy, and the South of France. In the latter district more especially, the entire dependence of the people on this material as a sub- stitute for flax and hemp, and the primitive mode in which this domestic manufacture was earned on in a retired and moun- tainous region, seem to indicate the high antiquity of the prac- tice. All the other authors, who mention the use of the Stipa Tenacissima, certainly give little countenance to the idea of its fitness to supply a thread for making cloth. Mr. Carter, adopt- ing the common opinion that the Spartum of Pliny is the Stipa Tenacissima, observes, that " at present the meanest Spaniard would think clothing made from this grass very rough and un- comfortable*." We shall only quote one other authority, that of Lofling, the favorite pupil of Linnaeus, who became botanist to the King of Spain, and whose Iter Hispanicum (Stockholm, 1758.) relates particularly to the plants of that country. He follows Clusius in supposing the Spartum of Pliny to be the Stipa Tenacissima of Linnaeus. He mentions, that its stem is two or three feet high, with leaves so long, thin, tough, and convoluted, that they are admirably adapted for the purposes to which they are applied. He adds, " Hispanis nominate Esparto. Usus hujus frequentissimus per universam Hispani- am ad storeas ob pavimenta lateritia per hyemem : ad funes crassiores pxo navibus ad que corbes et alia utensilia pro trans- portandis frwetibus." (p. 119.) Pliny's remark, that the Spartum, of which he speaks, could not be sown (quce non queat seri), is not true of the Spanish Broom ; but this is of little importance in the present inquiry, because it is coupled with the remark, that nothing else could be sown in the same situation (nee aliud ibi seri ant nasci potest) ; a remark, which is totally unfounded in fact. The Spanish Broom would unquestionably be propagated by its seed, which is very abundant. From these facts, the reader will have no difficulty in form- ing his decision. Notwithstanding the respect due to the. au- thority of Clusius, into which that of all the subsequent writers * Carter's Journey, vol. ii. p. 414, 415. 208 SPARTUM OR SPANISH BROOM : seems to resolve itself, it appears to us that the evidence pre- ponderates against the use of Stipa Tenacissima for making cloth in ancient times, and points to the conclusion, that the coarse garments, to which Pliny alludes, were fabricated from the fibrous rind of Spartium Junceum. One of the most interesting facts in the geography of plants is the frequent substitution in one country, of a plant of a cer- tain natural order for another of the same natural order in an- other country. The Indians have a plant, bearing a very close and striking resemblance to the Spartium Junceum, which they employ just as the natives of Bas Languedoc employ that plant. We refer to the Crotalaria Juncea, called by the natives Goni, Danapu, or Shanapu, and by us the Sun-plant, or Indian Hemp. From the bark are made all kinds of ropes, pack- ing-cloths, sacks, nets, &c. In order to improve the fibre, the plants are sown as close as possible and thus draw up to the height of about ten feet. According to Dr. Francis Buchanan, the plant thrives best on a poor sandy soil, and requires to be abundantly watered. After being cut down it is spread out, to the sun and dried. The seed is beaten out by striking the pods with a stick. After this the stems are tied up in large bundles, about twelve feet in circumference, and are preserved in stacks or under sheds. When wanted, the stems are mace- rated during six or eight days. They are known to be ready, when the bark separates easily from the pith. " The plant is then taken out of the water, and a man, taking it up by hand- fuls, beats them on the ground, and occasionally washes them until they be clean ; and at the same time picks out with his hand the remainder of the pith, until nothing except the bark be left. This is then dried, and being taken up by handfuls, is beaten with a stick to separate and clean the fibres. The hemp is then completely ready, and is spun into thread on a spindle, both by the men and women. The men alone weave it, and perform this labor in the open air with a very rude loom." The fabric made from it is a coarse, but very strong sack-cloth. " The fibres, when prepared," says Ironside, " are so similar ITS FITNESS FOR MAKING CLOTH. 209 to hemp, that Europeans generally suppose them to be the produce of the same plant*." Theophrastust (Hist. PI. viii. 13.) gives the following account of a bulbous plant, called by him Bo\pdg ipiofSpos, the root of which supplied materials for weaving : — " It grows in bays, and has the wool under the first coats of the bulb so as to be between the inner eatable part and the outer. Socks and other garments are woven from it. Hence this kind is woolly, and not hairy, like that in India." It is difficult to determine what plant is meant, though the description seems accurate and scientific. Billerbeck absurdly supposes it to be cotton-grass}:. By former botanists, men of great eminence, it was supposed to be Scilla Hyacinthoides. Sprengel objects, that this species does not grow in Greece§. Sir James Smith however {article Scilla in Reeds Cyclop.) represents it as growing in Madeira, Portugal, and the Levant. If this account be true, Theophrastus may have been acquaint- ed with it. In another article, Eriophorus, Sir J. Smith doubts whether either Scilla Hyacinthoides or any other bulb produces wool of such quality and in such quantity as to answer the description of Theophrastus. But, we learn from other well- * Account of the culture and uses of the Son- or Sun-plant of Hindostan by Ironside, in the Phil. Trans., vol. lxiv. : Dr. F. Buchanan's Journey, vol. i. 226, 227, 291. ; vol. ii.227, 235.: Wissett on Hemp, passim. : Roxburgh's Flora Indica, vol. iii. p. 259-263. The genus Lupinus (the Lupin), belonging to the same natural order as Spar- tium and Crotalaria, might probably afford materials of the same kind. Mr. Strange (Lettera, &c. p. 70.) mentions the filamentous substance of the Lupin as adapted for making paper. t " Theophrastus relates, that there is a kind of bulb growing about the banks of rivers, and that between its outer rind and the part of it which is eaten there is a woolly substance, out of which they make certain kinds of socks and cloths. But in the copies which I have found, he neither mentions in what country this is done, nor anything else with greater exactness, except that the bulb is called eriophoros ; nor does he make any mention at all of spartum, although he exam- ined the whole subject with great care 390 years before my time, as I have ob- served in another place (Viz., lib. xv. 1.), from which circumstance it appears, that spartum came into use since that time." X Flora Classica, p. 20. § German translation of Theophrastus, Notes, vol. ii. p. 283. 27 '210 5PARTUM OR SPANISH BROOM! informed botanists, that various bulbs have under the outer- most eoats a copious tissue of tough fibres,/*////// sufficient to be employed in iceaving-. This is particularly the ease with the genera Amaryllis, Crinum, and Pancratium, as well as SciUa. The fibrous eoats serve as a protection to the interior and more vital parts of the bulb. Hotnnansegg and Link, who travelled in Portugal, in the de- gciip Mi of Scilla llyaeinthoides, say, ••Bulbus tomento viscoso tectusV Sonnini says of the Scilla Maritima, ■• The Greeks of the Archipelago eall it Kourvara-skilla, k'ourvara signifying proper- ly -a tuft of thread' [peloton dctilj)" Docs this refer to the fibres mentioned by Theophrastus ? The size of this bulb, which is the common squill, used in pharmacy, seems to favor this supposition. It is often as large as a man's head*. Hotl- mansegg and Link§ say it grows abundantly on barren hills in Spain and Portugal ; but add, ''The name maritima is not quite proper : for the plant is seldom met with near the sea-shore, and sometimes very respite from it." On the other hand, it must have been so called, because it was reported by others to grow on the sea-shore; and Sir James Smith (in E s's Cyclopedia) expressly states, that it grows on •• sandy shores." Redoute says the same. From the account of Paneratium by Sir James Edward Smith (in JReess Cyclop.^, we learn that two speeies grow in Greeee. viz. P. Maritimum and Illyricimi. The remarks now offered appear to prove, that there cert a in- ly may have been a bulb, such as Theophrastus describes, though we have not sufficient information to decide its genus and speeies. It may have been the Scilla Maritima. It is to be observed, that he refers also to an Indian bulb, having similar properties. Perhaps he alluded to some plant of * Annals of Botany, by Konig and Sims, Lond. 1805, vol i p 101. t Voyage en Gr£ce, torn. i. ch. 14. p. 895. X " Bulbus ovatus, tunicatus. crassitie fere capitis humani" Desfontaines' Flora Atlantica, torn. i. p. 297. § An. of Bot. vol. i. p. 101. a kirui similar tn Ar/ave V j . re •., ••'./, ively uv;rj in fndia for ma . eannot \tt:W:t OOnchj/Je th \fr of ■. . 7 %\v\n% the ffA\f)Win% Jnto:e \\uv ■'.'■ r. ,-. i of h: l)i).r, • SleMi r of No ■ .U ' . f/> the Hon H L Elk , a r/onuernan ;'/!)<> na ; ; jo our oi f .':/ ■. J'.f/-. ; not Only to the J/-/,p)e of \o I r . ' world &t, larr>e. '..nee bj . ; ; ;. \ ./ '. be o.'.'.oo ',:' ( '.-.:: :... KJoner of Patent'-. 'i'/rlkwajji/ja. H/imjtuMu CU.fr<)tn the Patent Off! oe ' y ■:-. ftry a nolo;-; 7 for prooentir ; ' pap<<,y .<- mulberry foliage and bark. 1,'nf -, wlornal cuticl'i of the >ark bad not ibeen remo ■ ; . • out doe~, not injure th'; pa ; O0; for the U/; intended ' .',:. ',"<; '.',' the purpo '.o of d< /. - :/..'. on '.::..:.;• dark: and thj ;; unhlw,h/;d. . ■;/....'.-. ■■■/. ■.•. <■/: >.o .-.-, habito of the - . . no ■ jo >ooe ' J. '. per. a.ent "The four ; . . '; e of >ne •• o ; the darkest. ri'<;.vin% rno/o of thoouuide outiok- ; . .. me re e to . op and earne off hut. "A '.';....o.ti|^Pf ^/eni;.'ne Canton ' verdure in ^r4&ter perfeotjon and ''. tb<\ e e :. ;. o' r- gathered. e ■ ■■ • ent .o tne ::.. . Jo; makmr> paper \At.ur\«.t\ with,, fit MV,?:. fit ' r - ; ^ru-H- -,r,r J I in -endm;/ you a ,ampJe ; prefer, ed v/ith the ene o • -J bo^a/j. ; ;Orno ten or f.vejve ;. ■-• . .. -/- "o -,'.:;-• ture into- ooUoo arnon^ the /nornr/.. . of the i fa;:. . . '. ■ turaJ So^;iety. beljevjnv that jf r //e t/jed the :.; ; :.: kJnd of i'eo\. '; j ed :. Chjna. v/e oouJd -. r . .../ yet oould not af- ford f/j pay >;1 per tree, a; then ;; n\<\ .'. :."..,, . . •,.-..:.-. and layer-. L'nder thj;- view of the huoie^ I '/rote t/j the /lev. K. * \jt. Y . Hj'j . . ■ : ■ ■'■ t ■■■.. ?>/. ;> ^C 212 SPARTUM OR SPANISH BROOM : C. Bridgman, missionary at Canton, China, a native of Hamp- shire county, with the request that he would procure and for- ward me some mulberry seed of the most approved kind for growing in China, for the use of members of the agricultural society. He promptly attended to the request ; the seed was forwarded and sown in the spring of 1834 or 1835. It grew finely, and developed a splendid leaf. " About two years since, while Dr. Parker, with a Chinaman, was here on a visit, on being shown the Canton foliage, it was readily recognized. As the trees had grown here very luxuri- antly, and developed a larger leaf than in China, Dr. Parker suggested that our soil might be more congenial to the plant than even China, its native soil. " Soon after receiving the seed from Canton, a friend sent me another parcel from the South of Asia, with high commen- dations, that if it would grow here, it would be of essential ben- efit to the United States for raising silk. It succeeded well, and is more hardy than the white mulberry, very productive in small branches, and a good-sized leaf. I named the latter Asiatic Canton. These two kinds are highly approved of for feeding silk-worms — the Canton for leaf-feeding, and the Asi- atic for branch feeding. I have, however, almost every variety which was cultivated during the mulberry speculation — cover- ing, altogether, some ten or twelve acres, besides a large number of young Canton and Asiatic seedlings, of this year's sowing, from seed of my own raising, to enlarge the plantations. " A few days since, the Rev. William Richards, of the Sand- wich Islands, with the young prince, called on me. At a for- mer visit, I had supplied him with Canton mulberry-seed, silk- worms' eggs, and dry mulberry foliage to use in case the eggs should hatch on the passage ; but this they did not do until his arrival home. About the same time, other eggs had been re- ceived there from China ; but the cocoons raised from them were not one quarter as large as the American, and must have required some 10,000 to 12,000 to make a pound of silk, while in America 2,400 to 3,000 would make a pound. " Mr. Titcomb, also a silk-grower in one of the islands, having the American and Chinese, crossed them : but the crossing ITS FITNESS FOR MAKING CLOTH. 213 produced cocoons so small as to require from 5,000 to 6,000 to make a pound of silk, while not over 3,000 of the American would be required to do the same thing(!). " Mr. Richards was shown several pamphlets, newspapers, cap and writing paper, supposed to have been made of mul- berry bark. He said rags were not used in India*, China, or the islands, for making paper, but they always make it of some vegetable leaf; that the bark was too valuable for that, and was used to make fabrics. (See Chapters XL and XII. of this Part. Also Appendix A.) " We, as Americans, have the appropriate soil and climate for the Canton and Asiatic mulberry, with the pea-nut variety of worms, which, being managed with due care and attention, together with the skill, ingenuity, and perseverance of Ameri- cans — and, in addition, and could we have the aid of our country to encourage new beginners — we might hope to compete with any nation in the production of silk, their cheap labor and cheap living to the contrary notwithstanding. There is abun- dant evidence that worms fed exclusively on the Canton mul- berry have been larger, and produced heavier cocoons, by one- third in size of worms and weight of cocoons, than by other * Abdollatiph wjto visited Egypt A. D. 1200, informs us (Chapter iv. p. 188 of Silvestre de Sacy's French translation, p. 221 of Wahl's German translation.), " that the cloth, rags, $c. found in the catacombs, and used to envelope the mummies, was made into garments, or sold to the scribes to make paper for shop-keepers." This cloth is proved to be linen (See Part IV. p. 365), and the passage of Abdollatiph may be considered as decisive proof, which however has never been produced as such, of the manufacture of linen paper as early as the year 1200. Professor Tychsen in his learned and curious dissertation on the use of paper from Papyrus (published in the Commentationes Reg. Soc. Gottingensis Recentiores, vol. iv. A. D. 1820), has brought abundant testimonies to prove that Egypt supplied all Europe with this kind of paper until towards the end of the eleventh century. The use of it was then abandoned, cotton paper being em- ployed instead. The Arabs in consequence of their conquests in Bucharia, had learnt the art of making cotton paper about the year 704, and through them or the Saracens it was introduced into Europe in the eleventh century. Another fact should not be lost sight of, namely, " that most of the old MSS. in Arabic and other oriental languages are written on this sort of paper," and that it was first introduced into Europe by the Saracens of Spain. (For further proof, see Appendix A. Also Part IV. already referred to.) 214 SPARTUM OR SPANISH BROOM : feed. I have supplied an order of the peanut variety of eggs. to go to Guatemala ; and Canton seed, of my own raising, to go to Rio ; and now have an order for a number of the genu- ine Canton mulberry trees, roots, or cuttings, to go to Lima, where the applicant went on business, a few years since, taking with him a few multicaules, at $2 each — now multiplied to 50,000 ; who, without any practical knowledge of raising trees, reeling and manufacturing silk, or having seen a silk-worm or reel until he introduced them in 1843, has now presented me with beautiful samples of floss cocoons, reeled and sewing silk, done by ladies as a diversion, without any assistance, and very little instruction from him. The silk is of good quality. Sam- ples had been sent by a mercantile house in Lima to England, for an opinion of the quality ; but no return had been received when he came away. He has come to this place with a native Spaniard, to obtain more perfect information in all the branches of reeling, twisting, coloring(!), &c. ; to procure machinery, with a view of enlarging operations, so that he might turn off twenty-five pounds per day of sewings, cords, braids, &c. He represents the climate and soil as adapted to the culture of silk, and could feed every month in the year ; that the necessaries of living are procured with but little labor ; that the laboring population are indolent, the wealthy classes too proud, to labor. He feels confident of success, and that he can introduce habits of industry by silk culture, that would counteract their natural indolence ; and he will inform me of his success in due time, that may be more interesting than speculations upon what he intends doing. He has engaged several to perfect themselves in reeling, &c, to accompany him when he returns to Lima with his machinery. He has become so satisfied with the superiority of the genuine Canton mulberry, that he has engaged to take it on with him for propagation and use. " I have letters from widely different locations, rendering fa- vorable accounts of this year's success in growing silk, and in corroboration of the prevalent opinion that the silk cause will finally prevail. I have several letters on this subject — one from a gentleman presiding over one of our most eminent liter- ITS FITNESS FOR MAKING CLOTH. 215 ary institutions, under date of June, 1844. Discoursing about the culture of silk, he writes as follows : " £ If this earnest waking up to a scientific and practical con- sideration of the subject be not soon crowned with signal suc- cess, it will not be for want of enterprize or skill in our country- men, but merely from the high price of labor here, compared with the scanty wages given in other silk-growing countries. Even this consideration, though it may retard for a w^hile the complete success of this department of productive industry, will not prevent its ultimate triumph. 1 "Another gentleman, under date of August, 1844, writes from the far West, ' that the soil and climate of the Western and South-western States are admirably suited to the growth of the mulberry and raising silk-worms,' and that l eventually the two great staples of the Western and South-western States will be silk and wool. 1 It is the opinion of competent skilful silk manufacturers, who have made critical experiments upon the Pongee-silk (so called) of foreign make, by tests which they consider satisfactory and decisive, that it is only a vegetable production, and that the material was never operated upon by the silk-worm(l). There can be no reasonable doubt about the ultimate success of silk-culture in some future years ; but to accelerate that desirable event, which may constitute an import- ant American staple for revenue (which might not only enrich the Government, but reward the labor of personal enterprize), a bounty is deemed necessary to stimulate and encourage that portion of the agricultural population whose circumstances or health disqualifies them for the more laborious exercises of the fields, to commence operations upon a new and untried crop. Our extensive imports of raw and manufactured silks are en- couraged by us as consumers, instead of being producers. We now contribute to support foreign enterprize and industry, to produce the article of silk, which we might, with proper encour- agement, raise ourselves, not only for our own consumption, but for exportation." Yery respectfully, yours, &c. Henry L. Ellsworth, Esq., Daniel Stebbins. Commissioner of Patents. 216 SPARTUM OR SPANISH BROOM. The amount of silk imported into the United States annu- ally, nearly equals that of linen and woollen together, and is equal to one half of all other fabrics combined. Is it not then, an important consideration, that this expenditure be saved to the nation? PART SECOND, ORIGIN AND ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE SHEER CHAPTER I. SHEEP'S WOOL. SHEEP-BREEDING AND PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS ILLUS- TRATIONS OF THE SCRIPTTJKES, ETC. The Shepherd Boy — Sheep-breeding in Scythia and Persia — Mesopotamia and Syria — In Idumaea and Northern Arabia — In Palestine and Egypt — In Ethio- pia and Libya — In Caucasus and Coraxi — The Coraxi identified with the modern Caratshai — In Asia Minor, Pisidia, Pamphylia, Samos, &c. — In Caria and Ionia — Milesian wool — Sheep-breeding in Thrace, Magnesia, Thessaly, Euboea, and Boeotia — In Phocis, Attica, and Megaris — In Arcadia — Worship of Pan — Pan the god of the Arcadian Shepherds- -Introduction of his worship into Attica — Extension of the worship of Pan — His dances with the nymphs — ■ Pan not the Egyptian Mendes, but identical with Faunus — The philosophical explanation of Pan rejected — Moral, social, and political state of the Arcadians — Polybius on the cultivation of music by the Arcadians — Worship of Mercury in connection with sheep-breeding and the wool trade — Present state of Arca- dia — Sheep-breeding in Macedonia and Epirus — Shepherds' dogs — Annua! migration of Albanian shepherds. THE SHEPHERD BOY. The rain was pattering o'er the low thatch'd shed That gave us shelter. There was a shepherd boy, Stretching his lazy limbs on the rough straw, In vacant happiness. A tatter'd sack Cover'd his sturdy loins, while his rude legs Were deck'd with uncouth patches of all hues, Iris and jet, through which his sun-bumt skin Peep'd forth in dainty contrast. He was a glory For painter's eye ; and his quaint draperies Would harmonize with some fair sylvan scene, 28 218 SHEEP BREEDING AND Where arching groves, and flower-embroider'd banks, Verdant with thymy grass, tempted the sheep To scramble up their height, while he, reclin'd Upon the pillowing mess, lay listlessly Through the long summer's day. Not such as he, In plains of Thessaly, as poets feign, Went piping forth at the first gleam of morn, And in their bowering thickets dreamt of joy, And innocence, and love. Let the true lay Speak thus of the poor hind : — His indolent gaze Reck'd not of natural beauties ; his delights Were gross and sensual : not the glorious sun, Rising above his hills, and lighting up His woods and pastures with a joyous beam, To him was grandeur ; not the reposing sound Of tinkling flocks cropping the tender shoots, To him was music ; not the blossomy breeze That slumbers in the honey-dropping bean-flower, To him was fragrance : he went plodding on His long- accustomed path ; and when his cares Of daily duties were o'erpass'd, he ate, And laugh'd, and slept, with a most drowsy mind. Dweller in cities, scorn'st thou the shepherd boy, Who never look'd within to find the eye For Nature's glories ? Know, his slumbering spirit Struggled to pierce the fogs and deepening mists Of rustic ignorance ; but he was bound With a harsh galling chain, and so he went Grovelling along his dim instinctive way. Yet thou hadst other hopes and other thoughts, But the world spoil'd thee : then the mutable clouds, And doming skies, and glory-shedding sun, And tranquil stars that hung above thy head Like angels gazing on thy crowded path, To thee were worthless, and thy- soul forsook The love of beauteous fields, and the blest lore That man may read in Nature's book of truth. Despise not, then, the lazy shepherd boy : For his account and thine shall be made up, And evil cherish'd and occasion lost May cast their load upon thee, while his spirit May bud and bloom in a more sunny sphere. The inquiry into the origin and propagation of sheep, no less than of the silk-worm, may be justly regarded as a subject of the deepest interest. For the management and use of these PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 219 animals has, from the earliest dawn of human history, formed a striking feature in the condition of man. Of the materials employed by the ancients for making cloth, by far the most im- portant was the wool of sheep. We are able to trace with great probability the process of sheep-breeding and of the use of wool for weaving. Among the bones of quadrupeds, found in an- cient caves throughout Europe, we cannot find on consulting the works of Cuvier, Buckland, and De la Beche, that remains of sheep have ever been discovered. This fact affords some reason for presuming, that the sheep is not a native of Europe, but has been introduced there by man. It appears to have been a general opinion among Zoologists, that the Argali, or Ovis Ammon of Linnaeus, which inhabits in vast numbers the elevated regions of Central Asia, is the primitive stock of the whole race of domesticated sheep. Agree- ably to this supposition we find, that from the earliest times the inhabitants of Tartary, Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, and the North of Arabia, have been addicted to pastoral em- ployments. The tribes of wandering shepherds, which fre- quent those countries, are descended from progenitors, who led the same life thousands of years ago, and whose manners and habits are preserved to the present day with scarcely the slight- est change. As might be expected, we have little precise information re- specting the Scythians, who inhabited the elevated plains of inner Asia. Some of their hordes are distinguished by Herod- otus, Strabo, and others, under the name of Nomadic or pas- toral Scythians ; and that this denomination was understood to imply, that they tended sheep as well as larger cattle may be inferred from what Herodotus says of their use of felt (See Appendix B.). Strabo, moreover, says of a particular tribe of the Massagetse, that they had " few sheep," which implies that the rest were rich in flocks ; and of another tribe he says, " They do not till the ground, but derive their sustenance from sheep and fish, after the manner of the Nomadic Scythians*." But a much more distinct account of the manners of this people * Strabo, 1. xi. cap. 8. p. 486. ed. Siebenkees. 220 SHEEP BREEDING AND is given us by Justin, who says, that they were accustomed to wander through uncultivated solitudes, always employed in tending herds and flocks (armenta et pecora). He, however, adds, that they were strangers to the use of woollen garments, being clothed in skins and furs*. Hence it appears, that they were too rude and ignorant to have acquired the arts of spin- ning" and weaving. If we may trust to the authority of Strabo, the Medes did not tend sheep ; for he says of them, i: They eat the flesh of wild animals ; they do not bring up tame cattle"!"." Neverthe- less, their southern neighbors, the Persians, with whom they were united under one government, had sheep in abundance. These animals are strikingly represented in the bas-reliefs of Persepolis. In one of them, which represents a long proces- sion sculptured on the wall of a splendid staircase, two rams, attended by keepers, are accompanied in the same train by horses, asses, camels, and oxen*. Herodotus, in his account of the manners and institutions of the Persians (L. i. cap. 133.), mentions all these animals together in the following passage : " Of all days they are accustomed to observe most that on which each individual was born. On this day they set before their guests a more abundant feast than on any other. The wealthy provide an ox, a horse, a camel, and an ass, roasted whole in furnaces ; and the poor provide the smaller cattle." By " the smaller cattle" this author always means sheep and goats. The superior excellence of the rich plains of Mesopotamia for the pasture of sheep as well as oxen, is attested by Dionysius Periegetes§, and his account illustrates in an interesting man- ner the history of Jacob as contained in the book of Genesis, * Justin, 1. ii. cap. 2. t Strabo, 1. xi. cap 8. p. 567. % See Ancient Universal History, vol. vi. plates 6. 8. § Ovar, 6' Ev?crta KaXXiora yap ruv ttoivtcov, Kip aScrt 7wv J£.opa£u(6Jv 'lirnwvai; ovtcos upr/xe, p.tTpu> %oj\cov 'Ia^cov, J^copa^LKOU jxhv riiJi(ptecrjj.svr] Xw7roj.* " Of the Milesian fleeces many have spoken : and to the Coraxic Hipponax has alluded in his Choliambic measure, where he mentions ' a woman enveloped in a Coraxic shawl.' " Hipponax, who is here cited by Tzetzes, was a satirical poet of Ephesus, and flourished about 540 B. C. In confirmation of his testimony it may be proved, that his countrymen and contemporaries had constant intercourse with a port in the vicinity of the Coraxi. We learn from Pliny (1. vi. cap. 5.)f, that the Coraxi were situated near Dioscurias, which, though deserted in his time, had been formerly so illustrious that 300 nations, speaking different languages, resorted to it. As we learn from other authorities, Dioscurias was a colony of Mile- tus and one of its chief settlements. Miletus also in the time of Hipponax had risen to the summit of its prosperity, and was the greatest commercial city in the world next to Tyre and Car- thage*. Its chief trade was towards the north and as far as the extremity of the Euxine Sea. Among the numerous Asiatic tribes, which were accustomed to bring their productions to Dios- curias and exchange them for Grecian merchandise, the Coraxi were, as we may conclude from the evidence now produced, a nation of superior enterprize and intelligence, who sent to the shores of the iEgean in the vessels of Miletus their fine wool, as well as the carpets and shawls, which they made from it. If we had no more exact information than that which has been already cited, we might infer, that the Coraxi occupied part of the modern Circassia, a mountainous region admirably adapted to the breeding of sheep. The Circassians of the pres- ent day have numerous herds of cattle and vast flocks of sheep and goats. Their vallies are distinguished by beauty and fer- tility. A late traveller says, that from whatever country you * lb. 378-381. t See Appendix A. X Heeren, Handbuch, iii. 2. 2. p. 185. Mannert, Geographie, 6. 3. p. 253, &c. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 231 enter Circassia, " you are at once agreeably impressed with the decided improvement in the appearance of the popula- tion, the agriculture, and the beauty of their flocks and herds*" With respect to Dioscurias. we are informed, that " the memory of its ancient name is still preserved in the pres- ent appellation of Iskouriaht" Sir John Chardin, who visited it and calls it Isgaour, commends its safety in summer as a road for ships, but says that it is a complete desert, where he could obtain no provisions, the traders who anchor there being obliged to construct temporary huts and booths of the boughs of trees for their accommodation, whilst awaiting the arrival of the na- tives of Mingrelia and Caucasust But, besides the general inference that the Coraxi occupied part of the modern Circassia, we are able to determine their abode with still greater precision, and even obtain some insight into their distinctive characters as a nation. At the south-eastern extremity of Chirkess, or Circassia, on the northern declivity of Mount Elborus, and about the sources of the Kuban, the ancient Hypanis, we find a mountain clan, consisting of rather more than 250 families, which appeal's to retain not only the manners and habits, but even the very name of the Coraxi. Julius von Klaproth, to whom we are principally indebted for our knowledge of them, calls them the Caratshai§. From him we learn the following particulars re- specting their appearance, manners, aud employments. They * Travels in Circassia, &e. in 1835, by Edmund Spencer, Esq., vol ii. p. 355. Julius von Klaproth, in the work quoted below, says, (p. 582.), that the wealth of the Circassians consists principally in their sheep, from whose wool the women make coarse cloth and felt. In the summer they drive their sheep into the moun- tains, but feed them under cover in winter, and at other times in the plains. t Dr. Goodenough, in Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. i. p. 110. See also Major Rennell's Map of Western Asia. X Chardin's Travels, vol i. p. 7 7. 108. of the English Translation. London, * G86. § Reise in den Caucasus, cap. 24. The author thus spells the name in German characters, Ckaratschai. Father Lamberti, a missionary from the Society of the Propaganda at Naples, who remained twenty years in that part of Asia in the seventeenth century, calls them " i Caraccioli," in which name we observe the addition of an Italian termination. See his Relatione della Colchide, hoggi delta Mengrelia, Napoli, 1654, cap. 28. p. 196. 232 SHEEP BREEDING AND are among the most beautiful of the inhabitants of Caucasus^ and more like the Georgians than the wandering Tartars of the Steppe. They are loell formed, and have fine features, which are set off by large black eyes and a ivhite skin. Their language resembles that of the Nogay-Tartars. They live in very neat houses, built of pine. Their children are strictly and well educated ; and in general it may be said of them, that they are the most cultivated nation in Caucasus, surpassing all their neighbors in refinement of manners. They are very industrious, and subsist chiefly by agriculture. Their soil is productive, and, besides various kinds of grain, yields abundance of grass for pasture. The country around them is covered with woods, which abound with wild animals, such as bears, wolves, wild goats, hares, and wild cats, whose skins are much prized, and martins. Their dress is chiefly made of woollen cloth, which they weave themselves from the 'produce of their flocks, and which is admired throughout the whole of Caucasus. They sell their cloth, called by them Shal*, their felt for carpeting, and their furs, partly to the Nogay- Tartars and Circassians, from whom they purchase articles of metal, and partly at Souchom-Kale, a Turkish fort on the Black Sea, which contains shops and ware-houses, and carries on a considerable trade with the Western Caucasus. They re- ceive here in return goods of cotton and silk, tobacco and to- bacco-pipes, needles, thimbles, and otter-skins. While the men are employed out of doors, the women stay at home, make gold and silver thread, and sew the clothes of their fathers and brothers. Such is the account given by a recent and most competent witness of the actual condition of this interesting nation, who, though now perhaps reduced in number, occupy probably after the lapse of 2500 years their original seat at the distance of from forty to eighty miles to the north-east of the same coast, to which they have always resorted for commercial purposes!. * The origin of the English shawl. t Souchong-Kale* is only twelve miles from Iscuria, a single promontory inter- vening between the bay and river of the former harbor and those of the latter. See Spencer's Travels, vol. i. p. 295-297, and his Map at p. 209. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 233 We cannot survey the now deserted Iscuria without observ- ing, what a mournful contrast the Euxine presents under the sway of both Russia and Turkey to the useful energy, which more than 2000 years ago promoted life and the arts of life, and brought into close and peaceful contact the most refined and the most uncultivated nations, under the direction of the Ionians of Miletus. The beauty, the bravery, the activity, and the independence of a highland clan still represent the skill and enterprize of the ancient Coraxi ; but the commerce, which rewarded their industry, and extended their reputation through the civilized world, has sunk into insignificance. Besides the above notices of the Coraxi in Strabo and Tzet- zes we find little said concerning the breeding of sheep in this part of Asia. Aristotle, however, mentions the sheep of " Pon- tus near Scythia," and says that they were without horns*. The Melanchlaeni also, who are mentioned by Herodotus in his account of the Scythian tribes, and who lived to the north of the Coraxi, were so called, because they wore black palls. There can be no doubt, that the use and management of sheep were known from the earliest times throughout nearly the whole of Asia Minor, and that some nations in this region had attained to a superiority in the art before the settlement in it of the Grecian colonists. The imagery of the Homeric poems (supposed to be written about 900 B. C.) affords abundant evidence of these facts. They continually mention shepherds, who had the care of sheep, as well as goat-herds, who managed goats. They speak of the folds, in which the flocks were secured at night to pre- serve them from the attacks of wild beasts. The dangers to which the flocks were exposed from both wolves and lions, are in accordance with similar expressions and incidents in the Scriptures of the Old Testament, arising from the existence of the same ravenous and destructive quadrupeds in Palestine. Also, the language both of the Scriptures and of the Homeric poems is precisely the same, in which the king, ruling his peo- ple is compared to the shepherd tending his flock, or to the * Hist. Anim. viii. 30 234 SHEEP BREEDING AND strong and large ram, which leads the sheep*. It is to be ob- served, that the geographical knowledge expressed in the Ho- meric poems extended as far as the promontory of Carambis on the south coast of the Euxine Sea, and included all Phrygia, Ionia, and the western half of Asia Minor. The Greek mythology affords similar evidence. The well- known story of Paris, adjudging the golden apple, is founded on the pastoral scenes of Ida. Marsyas also was a shepherd on mount Idaf: the river Marsyas, famed for his contest with Apollo, was among the Phrygian mountains*. The historical evidence to which we now proceed, though re- ferring to times much posterior to the mythological, is more ex- act as well as more entitled to absolute credit. According to Strabo the branches of Mount Taurus in Pisidia were rich in pastures "for all kinds of cattle§." The chief town of this region was JSelge, a very flourishing city, and hence Tertullian, in a passage, mentions " oves Selgicse," Selgic sheep, among those of the greatest celebrity. The su- perior whiteness of the fleeces of Pamphylia is mentioned by Philostratus. We have reason to believe, that the Lydians and Carians bestowed the greatest attention on -sheep-breeding and on the woollen manufacture before the arrival of the Greek colonists among them. The new settlers adopted the employments of the ancient inhabitants, and made those employments subser- vient to a very extensive and lucrative trade. Pliny (viii. 73. * See Bochart's Hierozoicon, 1. ii. cap. 44. De Gregum Pastoribus. t Hyginus, Fab. 165. % It appears not impossible, that, when Theocritus in Idyll, iii. 46, represents Adonis as " tending flocks upon the mountains," he may have referred to the mountains of Phrygia or of Ionia. For in another Idyll, (i. 105-110,) he seems to connect the love of Venus for Adonis with her love for Anchises, as if the scene of both were in the same region. Among the various accounts of Adonis, one makes him the offspring of Smyrna ; and Cinyras, the father of Adonis, is said to have founded the city of Smyrna in Ionia, calling it by that name af- ter his daughter. (Hyginus, Fab. 58 and 275.) This supposition accounts most satisfactorily for the production of the beautiful elegy on the death of Adonis by Bion, who was a native of Smyrna. § Lib. xii. c. 7, § 3. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 235 ed. Bip.) mentions the wool of Laodicea (See Appendix A.) in Caria; and Strabo (xii. c. 7. p. 578. Casaub.) observes, that the country about this city and Colossse, which was not far from it, produced sheep highly valued on account of the fineness and the color of their fleeces. Aristophanes mentions a pall, made " of Phrygian fleeces* :" and Varro asserts, that in his time there were many flocks of wild sheep in Phrygiaf. The passages above quoted from Strabo and Joannes Tzetzes allude to the very great celebrity of the wool of Miletus and of the articles woven from it. The passages, which will now be produced from both Greek and Latin authors of various ages, conspire to prove the distin- guished excellence of the wool of Miletus, although in many of them the epithet Milesian may be employed only in a pro- verbial acceptation to denote wool of the finest quality. The animals, which yielded this wool, must have been bred in the interior of Ionia not far from Miletus. Ctesias describes the softness of camels'-hair by comparing it to Milesian fleeces}:. A woman in Aristophanes (Lysist. 732.) says, she must go home to spread her Milesian fleeces on the couch, because the worms were gnawing them. In a fragment of a Greek comedy, called Procris, of a somewhat later age (ap. Athen. 1. xii. p. 553), a favorite lap-dog is described, lying on Milesian fleeces ; Qvkovv viroarropeTrs jxaXaK&s tg3 kvvV Kara) fiiv vrro/3 aXeire tojv MiX»7aia)j/ 'Efnan'. Therefore make a soft bed for the dog : throw down for him Milesian fleeces. The Sybarites wore shawls of Milesian wool§. Palaephatus explains the fable of the Hesperides by saying, that their father Hesperus was a Milesian, and that they had beautiful sheep, such as those which were still kept at Miletusll. Eustathius says, the " Milesian carpets^" had become proverbial. Yirgil * Aves, 492. t De Re Rustica, ii. 1. X Ctesiae fragmenta, a Ba.hr, p. 224. § Timaeus apud Athenaeum, xii. p. 519. B. |] De Incred. § 19. IT In Dionysium, v. 823. 236 SHEEP BREEDING AND represents the nymphs of Cyrene spinning Milesian fleeces, dyed of a deep sea-green color : The nymphs, around her placed, their spindles ply, And draw Milesian wool, of glassy dye. Georg. iv. 334. He also alludes to the high price of Milesian fleeces in the following passage : Let rich Miletus vaunt her fleecy pride, And weigh with gold her robes in purple dyed. Georg. hi. 306. — Sotheby's Translation. The comment of Servius on the latter passage is as follows : Milesian fleeces, most valuable wools ; for Miletus is a city of Asia, where the best wools are dyed. The ancient Greek version of Ezekiel (xxvii. 18.) enume- rates Milesian fleeces among the articles of Tyrian importa- tion. Columella (vii. 2.) and Pliny (viii. 48.) assert the celebrity of the flocks of Miletus in former times, although in their time they were surpassed by the sheep of some other countries. In soft Milesian wool as fine as possible. — Hippocrates, vol. i. p. 689. ed. Foesii. Ye are hairs of sheep, although Miletus may boast of you, and Italy be in high repute, and though the hairs be guarded - under skins. — Clemens Alexandrinus, Prod. ii. 30. Lying on Milesian carpets. — Aristoph. Ranae, 1. 548. Nor do I speak of the sheep of Miletus and Selge and Altinum, nor of those, for which Tarentum and Bsetica are famous, and which are colored by nature. — Tertullian de Pallio, 3. If, from the beginning the Milesians were occupied in shearing sheep, the Se- res in spinning the produce of trees, the Tyrians in dyeing, the Phrygians in embroidering, and the Babylonians in weaving. — Tertullian de Habitu Muliebri. We may now notice Samos, as being near the Ionic coast. Athenseus (xii. p. 540. D.) cites two ancient authors who assert that, when Polycrates was introducing into Samos the most ex- cellent of the different breeds of animals, he chose the dogs of Laconia and Molossis, the goats of Scyros and Naxos, and the sheep of Miletus and Attica. Respecting the breeding of sheep in tSa??ios it may be proper to quote the remark of iElian (Hist. Anim. xii. 40.), that the PASTORAL LIFE OP THE ANCIENTS. 237 Samians gave some religious honor to this animal, because a consecrated utensil of gold, which had been stolen from one of their temples, was discovered by a sheep. It appears probable, that the shepherd life was established in Thrace as early as in any part of Europe ; for in the Homeric poems it is called " the mother of flocks" (II. v. 222.). In a much later age the sheep of Thrace are montioned by Nicander (Nicand. Ther. 50.). We learn from Plato (De Legibus, 1. vii. p. 36. ed. Bekker) that in Thrace the flocks were entrusted to the care of the women, who were there compelled like slaves to work out of doors. Aristotle speaks of the sheep of Magnesia, and says that they brought forth young twice a year*. A little further south we find sheep from the earliest times in Thessaly near the river Amphrysus. Here was Iton, which Homer also calls " the mother of flockst." It was celebrated for a temple of Minerva, who was called from it Itonis, or ItoniaX, and whose worship was transferred from hence to Boeotia. That Euboea was famous for sheep we know from the testi- mony of two different authors cited by Atheneeus. That of Callixenus Rhodius has been already produced ; and that of Hermippus occurs in his metrical enumeration of the most ex- cellent and characteristic productions of different countries§. Boeotia appears from very early times to have been rich in flocks. The tragic history of (Edipus supposes, that his father Laius, the king of Thebes, had flocks on Mount Cithaeron. Ac- cording to Sophocles ((Ed. Tyr. 1026-1140.) (Edipus was deliver- ed to one of the royal shepherds to be there exposed, and this shepherd through pity committed him to another, and thus saved his life!!. Seneca in his free version of Sophocles ((Ed. Act. iv. v. 815-850.) has added a circumstance, as it appears, from the * Problem, cap. x. sec. 46. t II. B. 696. X Strabo, 1. ix. c. 2. § 29. p. 458 ; and c. 5. § 14. p. 614. ed. Siebenkees. Apol- lonius Rhodius, Argon, i. 551 ; and Schol. ad locum. Alcgei Reliquiae, a Math- thiae, No. 54. § Athen. Deip. 1. i. p. 27. D. || This transaction is represented in Plate VIII. Fig. 5. 238 SHEEP BREEDING AND practice established in other cases. He says, that the shepherd of Laius, whom he calls Phorbas, had many others under him. But, although it may be doubted whether the flocks of Laius were so numerous as to require a head shepherd placed over many others, we learn that his possessions of this description excited contest and warfare among his descendants. Their country- man, Hesiod, represents them fighting at the gates of Thebes " for the flocks of QEdipus" (Op. et Dies, 163.), an expression, which must at least be understood to imply, that sheep consti- tuted a principal part of the king's wealth. Among the Elgin marbles in the British Museum we have an interesting inscription relating to a contract made between the city of Orchomenos in Boeotia and Eubulus of Elatea in Phocis, according to which Eubulus was to have for four years the right of pasturage for 4 cows, 200 mares, 20 sheep, and 1000 goats. In the opinion of Professors Bockh* and Ottfried Miillert this inscription may be referred to the time of the Pel- oponnesian war. The supposed effect of the waters of the Melas and Cephisos on the fleeces of sheep is a testimony of a much later date, but proves that sheep, both black and white, were bred in that country!. Varro (De Re Rust. ii. 2.) mentions the practice of covering sheep with skins in order to improve and preserve their fleeces. The Attic sheep, thus clothed with skins, are mentioned by Demosthenes under the name of " soft sheep§." The hilly part of Attica was of course particularly adapted for sheep as well as goats ; and accordingly a letter of Alciphron (iii. 41.) describes flocks of them at Decelia near Mount Parnes about fifteen miles to the north of Athens. The fame of the Attic wool is also alluded to by Plutarch (De au- * Corpus Inscrip. Graecar., vol. i. p. 740. t Orchomenos, p. 471. X Vitruvius, viii. 3. p. 218. ed. Schneider. See also Dodwell's Tour, vol. i. p. 242. It was imagined that the water of the Melas rendered the wool black, and that of the Cephisos white. Dr. Sibthorp, in crossing the plain of Boeotia near Plataea in November A. D. 1794, says, " Flocks of sheep, whose fleeces were of remarkable blackness, were feeding in the plain ; the breed was considerably superior in beauty and size to that of Attica." — Walpole's Memoirs on Eur. and As. Turkey, p. 65. § Contra Everg. et Mnesid. p. 1155. ed. Reiske. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 239 diendo, p. 73. ed. Steph.), and by the Roman poet Laberius, who died in the year 43 B. C. No matter whether in soft Attic wool, Or in rough goats'-hair you be clothed*. We learn from Theocritus, that the shepherds of Acharnse, one of the Attic demi, excelled in playing on the pipef. In the adjoining country of Megaris was a temple of great antiquity in honor of Afifxnmp MaXo^opos. It was said, that Ceres was worshipped under that title, The bringer of flocks, by those who first kept sheep in the country J. Theognis (v. 55.) mentions, that the people of Megaris used before his time to wear goat-skins, which shows the late introduction of the growth and manufacture of wool. Here, as in Attica, it was usual to protect the sheep with skins ; and, as the boys were sometimes seen naked after the Doric fashion, Diogenes, the cynic, said in reference to these practices, he would rather be the ram of a Megarensian than his son§. In the Peloponnesus, Arcadia was always remarkable for the attention paid to sheep. Arcadia claims our especial consideration, because in it the shepherd life assumed that peculiar form, which has been the subject of so much admiration both in ancient and modern times. Here the lively genius and imaginative disposition common to the Greek nation were directed to the daily contem- plation of the most beautiful and romantic varieties of moun- tain and woodland scenery, and hence their employments, their pleasures, and their religion, all acquired a rustic character, highly picturesque and tasteful, and, as it appears to us, gene- rally favorable to the development of the domestic and social virtues. To attempt a full investigation of this subject, and to show in what degree the want of higher attainments in relig- ious knowledge and moral cultivation was supplied by the pe- culiar rites, ideas, and customs of Arcadia, would lead us too far from our proper subject. We only wish to bring forward * Apud Non. Marcellum. t Idyll, vii. 71. $ Paus. i. 44. 4. § Diog. Laert. vi. 41. iEliani Var. Hist. xii. 56. 240 SHEEP BREEDING AND the principal facts and authorities, and to give a succint ac- count of the genuine Arcadian system of religion and manners without attempting to refute at length the opposite views, which have been adopted by ancient and modern writers. The peculiar Divinity of Arcadia, whose worship had a con- stant and manifest reference to the principal employments of the inhabitants, was Pan. Hence he is called by Yirgil and Propertius " the God of Arcadia*." According to Herodotus (ii. 145.), Pan, the son of Mercury (who was born at Cyllene in Arcadia, where Mercury was previously worshipped,) first saw the light after the Trojan war, and about 800 years before his own time. Thus we are able to refer the supposed birth of Pan, and consequently the commencement of his worship to about the year 1260 B. C.f. The circumstances of the birth of this divinity, with his hab- its and employments, are described as follows in the most an- cient document which we have relating to him, viz. Homer's Hymn to Pan. Mercury tended rough flocks at Cyllene in the service of a mortal man, being enamored of a beautiful nymph. In the course of time she bore him a son, having the feet of a goat, two horns upon his forehead, a long shaggy beard, and a beivitching smile. This was Pan, who became the god of the shepherds, and the companion of the mountain nymphs, penetrating through the densest thickets, and inhabit- ing the most wild, rough, and lofty summits of the sylvan Ar- cadia. There it is his business to destroy the wild beasts ; and when, having returned from hunting, he drives his sheep into a cave, he plays upon his reeds a tune sweet as the song of any bird in spring. The nymphs, delighting in melody, listen to him when they go to the dark fountain, and the god sometimes appears among them, wearing on his back the hide of a lynx, which he has lately killed, and he joins with them in the choral song and dance upon a meadow variegated with the crocus and the hyacinth. He is beloved by Bacchus, * Virg. Buc. x. 26. and Georg. iii. 385. See also Propert. i. 17 t Hist. d'Herodote, par Larcher, tome vii. p. 359. 582. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 241 and is the delight of his father Mercury, and he celebrates their worship beyond that of all the other gods. Callimachus (Hymn, in Dianam, 88.) represents Pan at his fold in Arcadia, feeding his dogs with the flesh of a lynx, which he has caught on Maenalus. It is to be observed, that the care of dogs to guard the flock was an indispensable part of the pas- toral office. Philostratus, in his Second Book of Pictures*, sup- poses the nymphs to have been reproving Pan for his want of grace in dancing, telling him that he leapt too high and like a goat, and offering to teach him a more gentle method. He pays no attention to them, but tries to catch hold of them. Upon this they surprise him sleeping at noon after the toils of the chase ; and he is represented in the picture with his arms tied behind him, and enraged and struggling against them, while they are cutting off his beard and trying to transform his legs and to humanize him. In the Bucolics and Georgics of Yirgil we find frequent invo- cations to Pan as the god of shepherds, the guardian of flocks, and the inventor of the syrinx, or Pandean pipes. Ipse, nemus linquens patrium, saltusque Lycaei, Pan, ovium custos, tua si tibi Maenala curse, Adsis, O Tegeaee, favens. Georg. i. 16-18. God of the fleece, whom grateful shepherds love, Oh, leave Lycaeus and thy father's grove ; And if thy Maenalus yet claim thy care, Hear, Tegeaean Pan, th' invoking prayer. Georg. i. 16-18. Delightful Maenalus, 'mid echoing groves, And vocal pines, still hears the shepherds.' loves ; The rural warblings hear of skilful Pan, Who first to tune neglected reeds began. Bucol. viii. 22-24. — Warton's Translation. O that you Wd the fields and shady grots, To dwell with me in bowers and lowly cots, To drive the kids to fold, the stags to pierce ; Then shouldst thou emulate Pan's skilful verse, * Philostrati Senioris Imag. 1. ii. c. 11. 31 242 SHEEP BREEDING AND Warbling with me in woods : 'twas mighty Pan To join with wax the various reeds began. Pan, the great god of all our subject plains, Protects and loves the cattle and the swains : Nor thou disdain thy tender rosy lip Deep to indent with such a master's pipe. Bucol. ii. 28-34. — Warton's Translation. Besides the four places in Arcadia, which are referred to in the above-cited passages of Virgil, Pausanias informs us of sev- eral others, in which he saw temples and altars erected to Pan. He says*, that Mount Msenalus was especially sacred to this deity, so that those ivho dwelt in its vicinity asserted, that they sometimes heard him playing on the syrinx. A con- tinual fire burnt there near his temple. Herodotus gives a very curious account of the introduction of the worship of Pan into Atticaf. He says, that before the battle of Marathon the Athenian generals sent Philippides as a herald to Sparta. " On his return Philippides asserted, that Pan had appeared to him near Mount Parthenius above Te- gea, had addressed him by name and with a loud voice, and commanded him to ask the Athenians why they did not pay any regard to him, a god, who was kind to them, who had been often useful to them and would be so in future. The Athenians, believing the statement of Philippides, when they found themselves prosperous, erected a temple to Pan below the Acropolis, and continued to propitiate him by annual sacri- fices and by carrying the torch." From various authorities we know, that this temple was in the cave on the northern side of the Acropolis below the PropylseaJ. * L. viiL c. 36. 5. and c. 37. 8. t Lib. vi. c. 105. % Eurip. Jon. 492-504. 937. Paus. i. 28. 4. Stuart's Ant. of Athens. ' Hob- house's Travels, p. 336. Dodwell's Tour, vol. i. p. 304. In Sir R. Worsley's collection of Antiques at Appledurcombe in the Isle of Wight is a bas-relief, in which Pan is reclining as if after the chase near the mouth of this cave. He holds the syrinx in the left hand, a drinking-horn in the right. A train of worshippers are conducting a ram to the altar within the cave. See Museum Worsleianum, Lon. 1794. plate 9. In the vestibule of the Univer- sity Library at Cambridge is a mutilated statue of Pan clothed in a goat-skin and holding the syrinx in his left hand. This statue was discovered near the PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 243 In later times a cave near Marathon was dedicated to Pan, the stalactitio incrustations within it being compared to goats, and to their stalls and drinking-troughs*. Chandler and Dodwell in their Travels describe another cave larger than that at Marathon and containing more varied stalagmitic concretions. It is near the summit of Mount Rap- sana between Athens and Sunium. ITANOC is inscribed on the rock near the entrance, proving that it was considered sacred to Pan. It is no doubt the Panlon mentioned by Strabof. The Corycian cave on Mount Parnassus was dedicated by the surrounding inhabitants to Pan and to the Nymphsl. Theocritus also (Idyll, viii. v. 103.) speaks of Homole, a moun- tainous tract in the south of Thessaly, as belonging to Pan. Altars were dedicated to Pan on the race-course at Olympia in Elis§, as we may presume, out of respect to the Arcadians, who resorted to the Olympic games. Pindar states]], that he had near his door a statue of Pan. Here, as his able commentators Heyne and Bockh observe, his daughters with other Theban virgins sung hymns in honor of the god. same cave, and from its style, (the iEginetic,) may be supposed to have been carved soon after the battle of Marathon. See Dr. E. D. Clarke's Greek Mar- bles, p. 9. No. xi. Wilkins's Magna Graecia, p. 71, and Dodwell's Tour, vol. i. p. 304. * Paus. 1. i. 32. 6. Dodwell's Tour, vol. ii. p. 162. Mapat, p. 330 of Mem. on Eur. and As. Turkey, edited by Walpole. t L. ix. cap. 1. § 21. It was consecrated to the Nymphs as well as to Pan, this association of the Nymphs with that deity being universally practised. Dod- well's Tour, vol. i. p. 550-555. " The countryman and shepherd, as well as the sportsman, has often repaired, it is likely, to this cave, to render the deities pro- pitious by sacrificing a she-goat or lamb, by gifts of cakes or fruit, and by liba- tions of milk, oil, and honey ; simply believing, that this attention was pleasing to them, that they were present though unseen, and partook without diminishing the offering ; their appetites as well as passions, caprices, and employments resem- bling the human. At noon-day the pipe was silent on the mountains, lest it •might happen to awake Pan, then reposing after the exercise of hunting, tired and peevish." Chandler's Travels in Greece, c. 32. p. 155. t Paus. 1. x. 32. 5. Strabo, 1. ix. cap. 3. § 1. p. 488. ed. Siebenkees Raikes's Journal in Memoirs edited by Walpole, p. 311 — 315. § Paus. 1. v. c. 15. § 4. 11 Pyth. iii. 137-139. 244 SHEEP BREEDING AND Time has spared the traces of hymns performed on such oc- casions, of which the following Scholion is the most entire spe- cimen. y £l TTav, 'A.pi Tlav, br' IfxaTg svtppoavvaig, doiSaTg KE^aprjjxEVog*. O Pan, Arcadia's sovereign lord, Dancing and singing with the nymphs ; Smile, Pan, responsive to my joys, O shout, delighted with my songs. On a vase of Greek marble in the Royal Museum at Naples (This vase was first described in Bayardi, Catalogo degliantichi monumenti dissottarretti da Ercolano. Napoli, 1754, p. 290. No. 914.), we see Pan dancing with the nymphs exactly as he is represented in the preceding song. The sculpture is in that very ancient style, which is called Etruscan. Pan is here ex- hibited with goats' feet and horns (Horn. Hymn, in Pana, 1. 2.). He wears the skin of an animal, and employs his right hand in drawing it up towards his left shoulder. In his left hand he holds the crook or pastoral staff, which is one of his usual em- blems. Pan and the three females, with whom he is dancing, form a distinct group by themselves. They are moving round a large stone, and the artist probably imagined them to be moving first in one direction, and then in the opposite, as if performing the Strophe and Antistrophe around an altar. We leam from Mr. Dodwell, that the modern Greeks in their circu- lar dances hold each other with a handkerchief, and not by the handf. That the Romans considered Pan and Faun to be the same, using the two names indiscriminately, the one as the Greek, the other as the Latin form, is evident from such passages as the following : Pan from Arcadia's hills descends To visit oft my Sabine seat, * Athenseus, 1. xv. 50. 1547. ed. Dindorf. Pindari Op. a Bockh. ii. 2. p. 592. Brunck, Analecta, vol. i. p. 156 ; and vol. iii. Lect. et. Emend, p. 27. t Dodwell's Tour, vol. ii. p. 21, 22. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 245 And here my tender goats defends From rainy winds and summer's heat. For when the vales, wide-spreading round, The sloping hills, and polish'd rocks, With his harmonious pipe resound, In fearless safety graze my flocks. Hor. Od. 1. i. c. 17. v. 1-12. The names Pan and Faun, scarcely differ except in this, that the one begins with P, the lenis, and the other with F, which is its aspirate : in the second place, both were conceiv- ed to have not only the same form and appearance, but the same habits, dispositions, and employments : thirdly, the goat was sacrificed to Pan in Greece* and to Faunus in Italyt, be- cause the Arcadian and Roman deity was conceived to be the guardian of goats as well as sheep, but this animal was not sacrificed to the Egyptian Mendes, because In safety through the woody brake The latent shrubs and thyme explore, Nor longer dread the speckled snake, And tremble at the wolf no more. Francis's Translation, abridged. in Egypt the goat itself was supposed to be Mendes, an incar- nation of the god ; and lastly, it is recorded as an historical fact, that the worship of Faunus was brought to Rome from Arcadia, whereas the supposition of the introduction of the same wor- ship into Arcadia from Egypt, though found in the pages of an historian, is not given by him as a matter of history, but only as a matter of opinion. The account of the origin of the worship of Faunus at Rome, is as follows : Evander, the Ar- cadian, introduced a colony of his countrymen into Italy, and established there the rights of Mercury and of the Ly- cean Pan on the hill, which was afterwards called the Pal- atine Mount and became part of the city of Rome. A cave * Longi Pastor. 1. ii. c. 17. In an epigram by Leonidas of Tarentum (No. xxx. Brunckii Analecta, torn. i. p. 228.) Bito, an aged Arcadian, dedicates offer- ings to Pan, to Bacchus, and to the Nymphs. To Pan he devotes a kid. t Ovid. Fasti, ii. See also Hor. Od. 1. i. 4. v. ii. 246 SHEEP BREEDING AND at the base of the hill was dedicated to Pan, as we have seen was the case some centuries afterwards at Athens*. In the preceding observations we have endeavored to give a correct representation of the real sentiments and practices of the Arcadians in regard to the proper divinity of their country ; and from this account we are naturally led to inquire what in- fluence this peculiar belief and worship had upon their manners and their social life. Whilst the elegant simplicity and inno- cence of the Arcadian shepherds, their graceful chorusses, their dance and song, their love for their fleecy charge, which they delighted and soothed with the melody of the pipe, have been the theme and ornament of poetry and romance from the ear- liest times, the question is highly important and interesting, whether these ideal visions are realised by historical testimony? whether the shepherds of the ancient Arcadia were so entirely and so favorably distinguished from men of the same class and employment in almost all other times and countries? One modern writer denies this fact. He says, " The refined and almost spiritualized state of innocence, which we call the pas- toral life of Arcadia, was entirely unknown to the ancients : n and he quotes in support of this assertion several expressions, used by Philostratus and other writers, and denoting contempt for the Arcadians as a rude, ignorant, stupid race of peoplef. Polybius, who was an Arcadian, confidently asserts, that they had throughout Greece a high and honorable reputation, not only on account of their hospitality to strangers and their benev- olence towards all men, but especially on account of their pie- ty towards the divine being ! It is true they make no figure in Grecian history, because they were too wise to take part in the irrational contests, which continually embroiled the sur- rounding states. Their division into small independent com- munities, each presenting a purely democratic constitution, rendered it impossible for them to acquire celebrity in legis- * Dionys. Halicarn. Hist. Rom. 1. i. p. 20, 21, ed. R. Steph. Paris 1546. Strabon 1. v. cap. iii. § 3. Aur. Victor, Origo Gentis Romanae. Livii 1. i. c. 5. Pausanias, viii. 43. 2. Virg. JEn. viii. 51-54. 342-344. Heyne's Excursus ad loc. Ovidii Fasti, ii. 268-452. v. 88, &c. t J. H. Voss, Virgil's Landliche Gedichte, torn. ii. p. 353. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 247 lation ; and yet we are informed of some of the citizens of Ar- cadia, who were reputed excellent lawgivers for the sphere in which they acted*. It appears to be no inconsiderable evidence of their progress in the art of government upon republican prin- ciples, that in the choice of onagistrates at Mantinea they •proceeded upon the plan of a double election^. We have the most decisive proofs of their public spirit in the splendid cities, which they erected, and which were adorned with thea- tres, temples, and numerous other edifices. We are informed by Pausaniast, that of all the temples in Peloponnesus the most beautiful and admirable were those of Minerva at Tegea and of Apollo at Phigalia ; and these were both cities of Arcadia. Now it should be observed, that the taste and splendor of their public edifices are the more decisive proofs of their national en- thusiasm, when it is considered, that among them property was exceedingly subdivided ; that they had no overpower- ing aristocracy, no princes or great landed gentry, who might seek for renown or court popularity by bestowing their wealth upon public institutions ; but that the noble temples, the sculp- tures, and other works of art, which ornamented their cities and were subservient to purposes of common interest, could have been produced only by the united deliberations and con- tributions of the mass of the inhabitants. They seem there- fore to prove the universal prevalence both of a liberal patri- otic feeling, and of a cultivated taste for the beautiful and the sublime. Virgil bears his testimony to their superior skill in vocal and instrumental music. Arcadian swains, Ye best artificers of soothing strains. Bucol. x. 32. — Warton's Translation. This must of course be understood as referring only to music and poetry of the pastoral kind. To the composition of the higher species of poetry, by which the Greeks of other coun- tries laid a foundation for the instruction and delight of all suc- * Wachsmuth, Hellen. Alterthumskunde, i. 1. p. 180 ; i. 2. p. 305. t Aristot. Polit 1. vi. 2. 2. % L. viii. c. 41. 5. p. 429, ed. Siebel. 248 SHEEP BREEDING AND ceeding ages, the Arcadians never aspired. At the same time there can be no doubt that they bestowed great care upon the exhibition of dramatic compositions, though they did not at- tempt to write them : of this fact we have sufficient proof in the remains of the theatres found upon the sites of their prin- cipal cities, and especially of the theatre of Megalopolis, which was the greatest in all Greece*. But with respect to their cultivation of music and its influ- ence on their national character, we have upon record the full and explicit testimony of one of their most distinguished cit- izens, the historian Polybius, whose remarks will appear espe- cially deserving of the reader's attention, when it is considered, that he must himself have gone through the whole course of discipline and instruction which he describes. Having had oc- casion to mention the turbulent character as well as the cruel and perfidious conduct of the Cynsetheans, who occupied a city and district in the north of Arcadia, he proposes to inquire why it was that, although they were indeed Arcadians, they had acted in a manner so entirely at variance with the usual habits and manners of the Greeks, and he then proceeds with earnest- ness and solemnity to explain upon the following principles the cause of this extraordinary contrast. It was, as he states, that the Cynsetheans were the only inhabitants of Arcadia who had neglected to exercise themselves in music ; and he then gives the following account of the established practice of the rest of the Arcadians in devoting themselves to the study of real music, by which he means the united arts of music, poetry, and dancing, of all those elegant and graceful performances, over which the Muses were supposed to preside. He informs us that the Arcadians, whose general habits were very severe, were required by law to go on improving themselves in music, so understood, until their thirtieth year. "In childhood," says he, " they are taught to sing in tune hymns and paeans in honor of the domestic heroes and divinities. They afterwards learn the music of Philoxenus and Timotheus. They dance to the pipe in the theatres at the annual festival of Bacchus ; and * Pausanias, 1. viii. 32. 1. Leake's Travels in the Morea,vol. ii. p. 32. 39, 40. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 249 they do this with great emulation, the boys performing mock- fights adapted to their age, and the young men the so-called manly fights. In like manner throughout the whole of life their pleasure at feasts and entertainments consists, not in lis- tening to singers hired for the purpose, but in singing them- selves in their turns when called upon. For, although a man may decline any other performance on the ground of inability and may thereby bring no imputation on himself, no one can refuse to sing, because all have been obliged to learn it, and to refuse to take a part, when able, is deemed disgraceful. The young men also unite together to perform in order all the mil- itary steps and motions to the sound of the pipe, and at the public expense they exhibit them every year before their fellow- citizens. Besides these ballets, marches, and mock-fights, the men and women unite in great public assemblies and in nume- rous sacrifices, to which are to be added the circular or choral dances by the boys and virgins." Polybius adds, that these musical exercises had been ordained as the means of communi- cating softness and refinement to the otherwise rough and la- borious life of the Arcadians, and he warns them by the exam- ple of the half-savages of Cynsethee never to abandon such wholesome institutions*. With how great benefit to our own social character might we adopt this counsel ! How greatly might we contribute both to the innocent enjoyment and to the more improved and elevated tastes of our rustics and artisans, if well-regulated plans were devised, by which graceful recrea- tions, providing at the same time exercise for the body, amuse- ment for the imagination, and employment for the finer and more amiable feelings, were made to relieve the degrading and benumbing monotony of their protracted labors, whether in the factory or in the field ! It will be readily perceived, that the education here described, and the tastes and habits which it produced, were immediately associated with the popular religion, and especially with the notions and rites entertained towards the peculiar god of the shepherds. Other deities indeed, such as Apollo, Diana, and * Polyb. L iv. c. 20, 21. 25Ck SHEEP BREEDING AND Minerva, who were also worshipped in Arcadia, may have con- tributed to the same effect ; and especially this may have been the case with Mercury, perhaps the only one of the higher Greek divinities, who was conceived to have a benevolent character, who was the father of Pan, and was himself reported to have been born in a cave of the same mountain in Arcadia, on which he was worshipped. He was a lover of instrumental music, having invented the lyre, and he was frequently represented on coins and gems, riding upon a ram, or with his emblems so connected with the figures of sheep, and more rarely of goats and of dogs, as to prove that in his character as the god of gain the shepherds looked up to him together with his offspring to bless the flocks and to increase their produce*. Hence Homer, in order to convey the idea that Phorbas was remarkably suc- cessful in the breeding of sheep, says that he was beloved by Mercury above all the other Trojansf. The inhabitants of one territory even in Arcadia, viz. the city of Phineos, honored Mercury more than all the other gods, and expressed this sen- timent by procuring a statue of him made by a celebrated * Buonaroti (Osservazioni sopra alcuni Medaglioni Antichi, p. 41.) has exhibit- ed brass coins, in one of which Mercury is riding on a sheep ; in a second the sheep is seen with Mercury's bag of money on its back ; and in a third the ca- duceus is over the sheep, and two spikes of corn, emblems of agricultural pros- perity, spring out of the ground before it. Among the gems of the Baron de Stosch, now belonging to the Royal Cabinet at Berlin, No. 381. Class II. repre- sents Mercury sitting upon a rock with a dog by his side : Winckelmann ob- serves, that " the dog is the symbol of Mercury as the protector of shepherds." Nos. 392, 393, 396-402, in the same collection, represent him with sheep, and one of them (399.) exhibits him standing erect in a chariot drawn by four rams, and holding the bag or purse in his right hand and the caduceus in his left. Some of the coins of Sicily appear to refer in like manner to the character of Mercury as the promoter of the trade in wool. The Honorable Keppel Craven (Excursions in the Abruzzi, London, 1838, vol. i. ch. 4. p. 109.) mentions a temple at Arpinum, a city of Latium, which was dedicated, as appears from an inscription found on its site, to MERCURIUS LA- NARIUS. This title evidently represented Mercury as presiding over the growth of wool and the trade in it. Perhaps the very ancient idea of Mercury making the fleece of Phryxus golden by his touch may have originated in the same view. See Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, 1. 11. 1144, and Scholion ad locum. t II. xiv. 490. See also Horn. Hymn to Mercury, 569. Hesiod, Theog. 444. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. . 251 sculptor in iEgina, in which he was represented carrying a ram under his arm, and which they placed in the great temple of Jupiter at Olympia*. At Corinth there was a brazen statue of Mercury in a sitting posture with a ram standing beside him. According to Pausanias (ii. 3, 4.) the reason of this representa- tion was, that of all the gods Mercury was thought most to take care of flocks and to promote their increase. But, as the Corinthians had little or nothing to do with the tending of sheep and were devoted to commerce, we may ask what inter- est had they in this attribute of Mercury ? It is very evident that it could only be an interest arising from the part which Cor- inth took in the wool-trade. That the Arcadians did not themselves consume their wool is manifest. How could they have built cities, which were so large, numerous, and handsome in proportion to the extent of their country, and have lived even in that degree of elegance and luxury, to which they at- tained, unless they had been able to dispose of the chief prod- uce of their soil in a profitable manner ? It is probable therefore, that the representation of Mercury or of his emblems in conjunction with the figure of the sheep on the coins of Cor- inth and Patrse may be regarded as an intimation, that the Arcadians disposed of their wool in those cities for exportation to foreign countries. But, notwithstanding the important share, which Mercury had in the religious sentiments and observances of the Arca- dians, the proper god of the shepherds of Arcadia was Pan, and we have already had abundant evidence to suggest the convic- tion, that their songs and dances were performed principally in honor of him, and were supposed to be taught, guided, and animated by him. Arcadia has for many centuries exhibited a most melancholy contrast to that condition of hardy and yet peaceful independ- ence, of rustic simplicity united with tasteful elegance, of so- cial kindness and domestic enjoyment undisturbed by the proj- ects of ambition, which has supplied many of the most beauti- ful pictures to the writers of poetry and romance. The great * Pans. 1. v. 27. 5. and 1. viii. 14. 7. 4 252 SHEEP BREEDING AND natural features of the country are unalterable. The pine-for- ests of Lycseus, its deep glens continually refreshed with spark- ling streams and cataracts, its savage precipices where scarce even a goat can climb, remain in their original beauty and grandeur. This region also affords pasture to flocks of sheep more numerous than those which feed in any other part of Greece*. But whatever depends on the moral nature of man is changed. The valleys, once richly cultivated and tenanted by an overflowing population, are scarcely kept in tillage. The noble cities are traced only by their scattered ruins. The few descendants of the ancient Arcades have crouched beneath a degrading tyranny. The thick forests and awful caverns but a few years ago served to shelter fierce banditti ; and the traveller startled at the sound of their fire-arms instead of being charmed with the sweet melody of the syrinxt. But a new dynasty has been established under the sanction of the most powerful and enlightened nations of Europe. It remains to be seen whether this or any other part of Greece will again be- come wise, virtuous, and renowned. The philanthropist, who amidst the gloom and desolation of the moral world depends with confidence upon an all-wise and all-disposing Providence, may console himself with the hope, that that great Being who bestowed such inestimable blessings upon Arcadian shepherds in their ignorance, will not abandon those of their descendants, who with superior means of knowledge, aim at corresponding attainments in the excellencies of political, social, and private fife. According to the representation in the Odyssey (xiv. 100.) * Bartholdy, Bruchstiicke zur Kenntniss des heut. Griechenlands, p. 238. t Dodwell's Tour, vol. ii. p. 388-393. Leake's Travels in the Morea, vol. i. p. 486-490. The latter author gives the following account of a visit which he paid to the family of a shepherd, consisting of twelve or fifteen individuals, who lived together in a tent on Mount Lycaeus : — " Milk and misithra (a preparation made by boiling milk and whey together) is their usual food. ' We have milk in plen- ty,' they tell me, ' but no bread.' Such is the life of a modern Arcadian shep- herd, who has almost reverted to the balanephagous state of his primitive ances- tors (Orac. Pyth. ap. Pausan. Arcad. c. 42.). The children, however, all look healthy and are handsome, having large black eyes and regular features with very dark complexion." PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 253 Ulysses had twelve flocks of sheep, and as many of goats on the continent opposite to Ithaca. At a much later period Neoptol- emuSj a king of Molossis, in possession of flocks and herds, which were superintended by a distinct officer appointed for the purpose*. In Macedonia also the king, though living in a state of so little refinement that his queen baked the bread for the whole household, was possessed at an early period of flocks of sheep and goats together with horses and herds of oxen, which were entrusted to the care of separate officers. We are informed that three Argive brothers, having taken refuge in the upper part of Macedonia bordering upon Illyria, became hired servants to the king, one of them having the custody of the horses, another of the oxen, and a third of the sheep and goatsf . Here then we find in Europe a state of society analo- gous to that which, as we have seen, existed in Palestine under David. Indeed we may observe, that all the countries bordering on Macedonia were contrasted with Attica and Arca- dia in this respect, that, while the Athenians and Arcadians were in general small landed proprietors, each shepherd tending his flock upon his own ground, Phrygian, Thrace, Macedonia, Epirus, and even Boeotia belonged probably to an aristocracy, the richest and most powerful individuals of which became shepherd kings, their landed possessions giving them a superi- ority over the rest of their countrymen, and leading to the em- ployment of numerous persons as their servants engaged in tending their cattle and in other rural occupations. Respecting the attention paid to sheep-breeding in Epirus we have the testimony of Yarro in his treatise De Re Rustica. He informs us (ii. 2.) that it was usual there to have one man to take care of 100 coarse-wooled sheep (oves hirtm\ and two men for the same number of K oves pellitce" or sheep which wore skins. The attention bestowed upon dogs is an indirect evidence of the care which was devoted to flocks. It is worthy * Plutarchi Pyrrhus, p. 705. ed. Steph. t Herod, viii. 137. X Theopompus, as quoted by Servius on Virgil, Buc. vi. 13, makes mention of the shepherds, who kept the flocks of Midas, king of Phrygia. 254 SHEEP BREEDING AND of remark, that the dogs used to guard the flocks in the modern Albania, appear to be the genuine descendants of the ancient " canes Molossici," being distinguished by their size as well as by their strength and ferocity*. Further notices respecting them may be found in Virgil's Georgics, 1. iii. 404-413, and in the Notes of his editors and translators, Heyne, Martyn, and J. H. Yoss. See also iElian de Nat. An. iii. 2. and Plautus, Capt. 1. i. 18. There is another important circumstance, in which probably the habits of the modern shepherds of Albania are similar to those of the ancient occupants of the same region, viz. the an- nual practice of resorting to the high grounds in summer and returning to the plains in winter, which prevails both here and in most mountainous countries devoted to sheep-breeding. The following extract from Dr. Holland's Travels in the Ionian Isles, Albania, &c. (p. 91-93.), gives a lively representation of this proceeding : " When advanced eight or nine miles on our journey (from Cinque Pozzi to Joannina ; October 31st, 1813,) and crossing another ridge of high and broken land, we were highly interested in a spectacle, which by a fortunate incident oc- curred to our notice. We met on the road a community of migrating shepherds, a wandering people of the mountains of Albania, who in the summer feed their flocks in these hilly regions, and in the winter spread them over the plains in the vicinity of the Gulph of Arta and along other parts of the coast. The many large flocks of sheep we had met the day before belonged to these people, and were preceding them to the plains. The cavalcade we now passed through was nearly two miles in length with few interruptions. The number of horses with the emigrants might exceed a thousand ; they were chiefly employed in carrying the moveable habitations and the various goods of the community, which were packed with remarkable neatness and uniformityt. The infants and smaller chil- dren were variously attached to the luggage, while the men, women, and elder children travelled for the most part on foot ; a healthy and masculine race of peo- ple, but strongly marked by the wild and uncouth exterior connected with their manner of life. The greater part of the men were clad in coarse white woollen garments ; the females in the same material, but more curiously colored, and generally with some ornamented lacing about the breast." He then adds, " These migratory tribes of shepherds generally come down from the moun- tains about the latter end of October, and return thither from the plains in April, * Holland's Travels, p. 443. Hughes's Travels, vol. i. p. 483, 484. 496. t No one has described this pastoral migration more minutely or more beauti- fully, than Mr. Charles Fellows, in his Discoveries in Lycia. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 255 after disposing of a certain proportion of their sheep and horses. In travelling, they pass the night on the plains or open lands. Arrived at the place of their destination, they construct their little huts or tents of the materials they carry with them, assisted by the stones, straw, or earth, which they find on the spot." According to Dr. Sibthorp (in Walpole's Memoirs, p. 141.), " a wandering tribe of Nomads" on the other side of Greece drive their flocks from the mountains of Thessaly into the plains of Attica and Bceotia to pass the winter. " They give some pecuniary consideration to the Pasha of Negropont and Vaivode of Athens. These people are much famed for their woollen manufactures, particularly the coats or cloaks worn by the Greek sailors." CHAPTER II. SHEEP-BREEDING AND PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS —ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES, &c. Sheep-breeding in Sicily — Bucolic poetry — Sheep-breeding in South Italy — 'An- nual migration of the flocks — The ram employed to aid the shepherd in con- ducting his flock — The ram an emblem of authority — Bells — Ancient inscription at Sepino — Use of music by ancient shepherds — Superior quality of Tarentine 6heep — Testimony of Columella — Distinction of the coarse and soft kinds — Names given to sheep — Supposed effect of the water of rivers on wool — Sheep- breeding in South Italy, Tarentum, and Apulia — Brown and red wool — Sheep- breeding in North Italy — Wool of Parma, Modena, Mantua, and Padua — Ori- gin of sheep-breeding in Italy — Faunus the same with Pan — Ancient sculptures exhibiting Faunus — Bales of wool and the shepherd's dress — Costume, appear- ance, and manner of life of the ancient Italian shepherds. Still shall o'er all prevail the shepherd's stores, For numerous uses known ; none yield such warmth, Such beauteous hues receive, so long endure ; So pliant to the loom, so various, none. — Dyer. We now pass over to Sicily. The pastoral life of the Sicil- ians was marked by peculiar characters as well as that of the Arcadians. The bucolic poems of Theocritus represent many of its circumstances in the most lively colors ; and, while their dramatic spirit and vivacity are unrivalledj they seem to be most exact copies of nature, the dialogues which they contain being in the style, the language, and the precise dialect of the Sicilian shepherds, and indeed only differing from their real conversation by being composed in hexameters. It is to be observed, that the mountains and pastures of Sicily were browsed by goats and oxen as well as by sheep. These ani- mals were, however, under distinct keepers, called respectively Shepherds, Goatherds, and Herdsmen. But the tastes, manner of life, and the superstitions of these three classes of rustics ap- pear to have been undistinguishable. ' They were probably not always independent proprietors of the soil, but in many cases the servants of a landed aristocracy who lived in Syracuse and PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 257 other splendid cities. They appear, however, to have enjoyed far greater comforts and advantages than the corresponding class of hired laborers in the countries to the north of the Pelo- ponnesus and of Attica. In composing pastoral verses and in playing on the pipe and the syrinx they probably equalled the Arcadians. Whilst they were watching their flocks and herds, it was a frequent amusement with them for two persons to con- tend for a stipulated prize, such as a goat, a carved wooden bowl, or a syrinx, which was to be awarded by an appointed judge to him who most excelled either in instrumental music, or in singing alternate and extemporaneous verses*. That this elegant recreation was of Sicilian origin we have clear and abundant evidence. Bion {Idyll vii. 1.) calls pasto- ral poetry " a Sicilian strain ;" which certainly implies, that of all places where the Greek language was used Sicily was the most noted for it, and that in fact it properly belonged to Sicily. So Moschus (Idyll iii.) speaks of " the Sicilian muses f and throughout this Idyll, which is the lament of Moschus on the death of Bion, he repeatedly speaks of the pastoral poetry, such as Bion cultivated, as proper to Sicily. In Yirgil's Bucolics we find frequent allusions to the same acknowledged fact. Thus he says, * According to the learned German traveller, Baron Riedesel, the custom was not extinct in his time ; for in his Travels through Sicily, page 148 of Forster's Knglish translation, he says, " The shepherds still sing with emulation to gain the crook or the purse, which is the prize of the best performer." Nevertheless, the modern can be only a very faint imitation of the ancient practice ; for thus the same author speaks in other passages. " Here I had an opportunity of pitying the wretched situation of modern Sicily in comparison with what it was in former ages. Many towns and different na- tions are destroyed ; immense riches are dissipated ; the whole island can at pres- ent scarce show 1,200,000 inhabitants, the number which Syracuse alone for- merly had. Many beautiful spots, which used to produce corn and fruits, are now deserted for want of laborers ; many spacious ports are without any ships for want of trade ; and many people want bread, whilst the nobility and the monks are in possession of all the lands." p. 112, 113. " To conclude, the climate, the soil, and the fruits of the country are as perfect as ever. But the precious Greek liberty, population, power, magnificence, and good taste, are now not to be met with as in former times, and the present inhab- itants can only say, Fuimus Troes." p. 151 33 i 258 SHEEP BREEDING AND " I will set my verses to the tune of a Sicilian shepherd." Buc. x. 51. The historian Diodorus, himself a Sicilian, who lived about the commencement of the Christian sera, supposes bucolic poet- ry and music to be the peculiar invention and exercise of his own country, and says, that it continued in use at his time and was held in the same estimation as formerly*. In less than 200 years fiom this period the art lost much of its original sim- plicity. Maximus Tyrius (Diss, xxi.) says, that "the Dori- ans of Sicily became, to use the mildest term, more weak in understanding? (more dissolute) " when instead of the simple Alpine music, which they used to employ in the presence of their flocks and herds, they began to love the tunes of the Syb- arites, and a style of dancing adapted to them, such as was re- quired by the Ionic pipe." But, although the rustic Dorians of Sicily had the full credit of this invention and were never surpassed in the practice of it by any other people, yet the imitation of it was attempted in various instances by the pastoral inhabitants of other countries. More especially, it appears to have been adopted in the neigh- boring district of Magna Grsecia ; for it is near Sybaris that Theocritus has placed the scene of "his Fifth Idyll, in which, a shepherd having staked a lamb and a goatherd a kid, they contend in alternate verses, whilst a wood-cutter, whom they have called from his labor, listens as judge, and awards the prize to the goatherd, who hereupon joyfully sacrifices his new- ly acquired lamb to the Nymphs. In the Seventh Idyll (v. 12, 27, 40.) Theocritus mentions the goatherd, Lycidas of Crete, who was his contemporary, and also his predecessors and supposed instructors, Asclepiades of Samos, and Philetas of Cos, as distinguished for skill in pastoral music. The bucolic poems of Theocritus prove, that the Arcadian belief in the attributes of Pan had extended itself into Sicily and the South of Italy, so that the rustics of those countries not only invoked him by name, but even sometimes offered * L. iv. c. 84, p. 283. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 259 sacrifices to him. Thus, in Idyll v. 58, the Lucanian goatherd already referred to says, that he will set aside for Pan eight dishes of milk and six of honey. But besides importing the belief in Pan from Arcadia the Sicilians recognized two demigods of native origin, who con- tributed, if not to excite feelings allied to religion, at least to amuse their imagination and to contribute greatly to the va- riety and liveliness of their poetry. These were the shepherd Polyphemus, who was horridly deformed, and the herdsman Daphnis, who was endowed with the most surpassing beauty. Polyphemus was the son of Neptune. Notwithstanding his forbidden aspect he is represented as susceptible of some tender emotions, and it is his misfortune to be deeply enamored of the beautiful Nereid or Mermaid Galatea, whom he sees sporting in the green waves, while he surveys the coast from the sum- mit of a mountain and plays upon the syrinx for the amuse- ment of himself and his flock*. The Sicilian Daphnis, like the Arcadian Pan, was the son of Mercury and of a mountain nymph, and excelled in playing on the syrinx ; but his form was entirely human and the most beautiful that could be imagined. The guardian of fair kine, himself more fair. Virg. Buc. v. 44. He tended his cattle upon the picturesque Hersean mountains to the north of iEtna, and did not mix in the society of men. At the time when the beard was beginning to grow on his up- per lip, the nymph Echenais became enamored of him, and enjoined him upon pain of losing his eye-sight not to approach any other female. He consented, and for some time persisted in obeying her ; but at length a Sicilian princess, having in- toxicated him with wine, accomplished her purpose. He shared the fate of Thamyras, the Thracian, and was thus punished for his follyt. He then pined away, and died of hopeless love * Theocritus, Idyll vi. and xi. Lucian, Dial. Doridis et Galateae. Ovid, Met. L. xiii. 739-870. t Timaeus, author of the Hist, of Sicily, as quoted by Parthenius, c. 29. iElian, Var. Hist. L. x. c. 18. Diod. Sic. L. iv. c. 84. p. 283. 260 SHEEP BREEDING AND for the nymph, whom he had offended*. According to Yirgil (Buc v. 56-71.) he was liaised to the stars, and sacrifices were offered to him by the shepherds. Daphnis was the frequent, subject of pastoral poetry, being regarded as an ideal representation of the perfection of the shepherd's culture and manner of life. Of this we have a proof in the epigram of Callimachus on the death of Astacides, and which concludes thus : u We (shepherds) will no longer sing of Daphnis, but of Astacides." The poet's design was to extol Astacides, by comparing him with Daphnis. According to iElian (I. c.) the first bucolic poems related to the blindness of Daphnis and its cause ; and the first poet, who composed verses upon this subject, was Stesichorus of Himera in Sicily. In Theocritus the allusions to the beautiful story of Daphnis are very frequentf, and his sad fate is described at length by contending shepherds or goatherds in the First and Seventh Idylls. We shall quote only his dying words, where he calls on Pan to leave the great Msenalus and the long ridges of Lycaeus, and to come to Sicily in order to receive from his own hand the syrinx, on which he had been accustomed to play. "Ev0' a>z/a£, Kal tolvSs d>sp' ev-Slktoco ^£\it:vovv 'E< uripui avpiyya s b QaXapog. Ho ! Sharphorn, Browning, leave those hurtful weeds, And come and graze this way, where Colly feeds. Creech's Translation. The passage has often been cited in illustration of the follow- ing verses from the Gospel of St. John. Our Savior, describing himself as a shepherd, here alludes to various indications of care and attachment, which distinguish the owner of a flock from the hireling, who, being engaged to tend the sheep only for a season, could not be so well known by them, nor so much interested in their security and welfare. " He calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth (from the fold) his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him ; for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him : for they know not the voice of strangers." — John, x. 3-5. In reference to this passage of Scripture the following remarks of a late traveller are instructive : " I asked my man if it was usual in Greece to give names to sheep. He in- formed me that it was, and that the sheep obeyed the shepherd when he called them by their names. This morning (March 5, 1828), I had an opportunity of verifying the truth of this remark. Passing by a flock of sheep, I asked the shepherd the same question which I put to my servant, and he gave me the same answer. I then bade him to call one of his sheep. He did so, and it instantly left its pasturage and its companions, and ran up to the hand of the shepherd, with signs of pleasure and with a prompt obedience which I had never before ob- served in any other animal. It is also true of the sheep in this country, that a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of the strangers. The shepherd told me that many of his 3heep are still wild ; that they had not yet learned their names ; but that by teaching they would all learn them. The others, which knew their names, he called tame." — Researches in Greece and the Levant, by the Rev. John Hartley, p. 321. The city of Sybaris stood between two rivers, the Sybaris and the Crathis. The ancients asserted that the sheep which drank of the Crathis, were white, and those which drank of the 270 SHEEP BREEDING AND Sybaris, black. They attributed similar virtues to other streams in various parts of the world*. According to Strabo (L. vi. cap. 3. § 9. p. 303. ed Siebenkees) the hilly promontory of Garganus was particularly celebrated for its sheep. He says, that their wool was softer than the Tarentine, but less shining. The Roman poets allude in various instances to the excel- lence of the Apulian wool, and especially to that of Tarentum. Horace in the following stanza expresses his predeliction for this celebrated city, and mentions its u soft" or " covered" sheep. He had been asserting his wish to end his days at Tibur, the modern Tivoli. But, should the partial Fates refuse That purer air to let me breathe, Galesus, thy sweet stream I'll choose, Where flocks of richest fleeces bathe : Phalanthus there his rural sceptre sway'd, Uncertain offspring of a Spartan maid. Od. I. ii. 6. — Francis's Translation. Martial alludes to the celebrity of the Tarentine wool in no less than five of his epigrams. Spartan Galesus did your toga lave, Or from a flock select fair Parma gave. L. ii. ep. 43. I. 3, 4. The poet intended here to describe a toga of the most ex- pensive and fashionable kind. You give, O Chloe, to Lupercus, Your tender favorite, lacernas Of Spanish, Tyrian, scarlet fleeces, And togas wash'd in warm Galesus. L. iv. ep. 28. Z. 1-3. Thou wast more sweet, O lovely child ! Than song of aged dying swans : Thy voice, thy mien were soft and mild As Phalantine Galesus' lambs. L. v. ep. 37. I. 1, 2. The last lines were written by Martial on the death of Ero * jElian, Nat. Anim. xii. 36. Plinii Hist. Nat. xxxi. 9. Kruse's Hellas, i. p. 369. (See Appendix A.) PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 271 tion in her sixth year. He describes her interesting qualities by comparing her to a lamb of the soft Tarentine breed, always clothed and usually kept in the house and hence remarkably tender and delicate. The following epigram (L. viii. ep. 28.) was written on the receipt of a handsome toga from the wealthy and munificent Parthenius, chamberlain to the emperor Domitian. In express- ing his admiration of it, the poet enumerates the places from which the Romans of his time obtained the best and most fashionable garments of this description. He next proceeds to extol its whiteness ; and in conclusion observes how ridiculous he would appear wearing his old lacema over this new and snowy garment, and he thus conveys a hint to Parthenius how acceptable and suitable would be the present of a lacerna in ad- dition to the toga. De Partheniana toga. Die, toga, facundi gratum raihi munus amici, Esse velis cujus fama, decusque gregis? Appula Led;ei tibi floruit herba Phalanthi, Qua saturat Calabris culta Galesus aquis? An Tartessiacus stabuli nutritor Iberi Bffitis in Hesperia te quoque lavit aqua ? An tua multifidum numeravit lana Timavum, Quem prius astrifero Cyllarus ore bibit ? Te nee Amyclaso decuit livere veneno ; Nee Miletus erat vellere digna tuo. Lilia tu vincis, nee adhuc dilapsa ligustra, Et Tiburtino monte quod albet ebur. Spartanus tibi cedet olor, Phaphiaeque columbae : Cedet Erythreeis eruta gemma vadis. Sed licet haec primis nivibus sint semula dona, Non sunt Parthenio candidiora suo. Non ego prcetulerim Babylonica picta superbe Texta, Semiramia quae variantur acu. Non Athamantaeo potius me mirer in auro, iEolium dones si mihi, Phryxe, decus. O quantos risus pariter spectata movebit Trita Palatina nostra lacerna toga ! Say, grateful gift of mine ingenious friend, What happy flock shall to thy fleece pretend ? For thee did herb of famed Phalantus blow, Where clear Galesus bids his waters flow ? 272 SHEEP BREEDING AND Did thy wool count the streamlets, more than seven, Of him, who slaked the warrior horse of heaven? Or did Tartessian Guadalquiver lave Thy matchless woof in his Hesperian wave ? Thou didst not need to taste Amyclffi's bane, And wouldst have tried Milesian art in vain. With thee the lily and the privet pale Compared, and Tibur's whitest ivory fail. The Spartan swan, the Paphian doves deplore Their hue, and pearls on Erythrean shore. But, though the boon leave new-fall'n snows behind, It is not purer than the donor's mind. I would prefer no Babylonian vest, Superbly br older* d at a queen's behest ; Nor better pleased should I my limbs behold, Phryxus, in webs of thine iEolian gold. But O ! what laughter will the contrast crown, My worn lacerna on th' imperial gown ! It may be observed, that in this ingenious epigram, as well as in two of the preceding, which relate to togas, Martial sup- poses the Tarentine wool to be white : for the Roman toga was of that color except in mourning, and one object of the last-cited epigram is to praise the whiteness of the particular toga, which it describes. The Tarentines therefore must have produced both dark-colored and white fleeces. The fifth passage of Martial (xii. 64.), which mentions the sheep of the Galesus, more directly refers to those of Spain, and will therefore be quoted under that head. Besides the epigrams, now cited, in which Martial commends the wool of Tarentum in particular, we find others, in which he celebrates that of Apulia in general. In Book xiv. Ep. 155» he gives an account of the principal countries, which yielded white wools, and informs us that those of the first quality were from Apulia. White Wools. The first Apulia's ; next is Parma's boast ; And the third fleece Altinum has engrost. Elphinston's Translation. Also in the following lines Martial alludes to the large and nu- merous flocks of Apulia, and to the whiteness of their wool. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 273 Of white thou hast to clothe a tribe sufficient stock, The produce fair of more than one Apulian flock. L. ii. Ep 46. I 5, 6. On the other hand the wool from the vicinity of Canusium was no less esteemed for its dark colors, whether inclining to brown or to red. These saved the expense of dyeing. The testimony of Pliny to their value has been already produced. In the two following Epigrams (I. xiv. 127 and 129.) Martial alludes to the peculiar recommendations and uses, first of the brown, and secondly of the reddish variety. This Canusine lacerna, it is true, Looks muddy : but it will not change its hue*. Rome in the brown delights, gay Gaul in red : This pleases boys, and whose is blood to shed. On referring to the passages produced from Pliny, Columella, and Martial, it will be seen that the Romans ascribed a very high value to the white wool of Gallia Cisalpina, i. e. of North Italy, or the region about the Po. Parma was considered sec- ond only to Apulia for the whiteness of its wool. Besides the two epigrams of Martial already cited, he refers to Parma as a great place for sheep-breeding in the following passage, address- ed to the wealthy Callistratus ; And Gallic Parma shears thy num'rous flocks. L. v. ep. 13. Columella speaks moreover (I. c.) of the superiority of the wool of Mutina, now Modena ; and Martial (I. v. ep. 105.) mentions the circumstance of a fuller, or clothier ', in that city having exhibited a show to the public, which is a presumptive evidence that he had a great business in manufacturing the produce of the surrounding country. Strabo in his account of the productions of Cisalpine Gaul divides the wool into three kinds ; First, the soft kind, of which the finest varieties were grown about Mutina and the river * It appears from this epigram that, when shaken, it had the color of the brown wool of Canusium, a kind of drab. The lacerna was a mantle, which the Ro- mans wore out of doors over their white toga, with which it was well contrasted, whether it was purple, scarlet, or brown ; but the last color, though less showy at first, must have had the advantage of durability. See Appendix A. 35 274 SHEEP BREEDING AND Scutana, which is the modern Scultenna, a tributary of the Po, rising in the Apennines ; Secondly, the coarse kind, grown in Liguria and the country of the Insubres, which was very much used for the common wearing apparel of the Italians ; and Thirdly, the middle kind, grown about Patavium (now Padua) and employed for making valuable carpets and various descriptions of blankets*. By comparing the statements of this author with those of Columella and Martial it will appear, that the whole region watered by the parallel rivers Parma, Gabellus, and Scultenna, and known by the name of Macri Campi, or the Barren Plains, was esteemed for the production of the fine white wool. That the tending of both sheep and goats was a principal occupation of the people of Mantua we learn from Virgil, a native of that city, who places the scene of most of his pasto- rals in its vicinity. His First and Ninth Eclogues more particu- larly relate to the calamities, which the Mantuans were com- pelled to sustain, when Augustus seized on their lands to re- ward his veteran soldiers after the battle of Philippi. These eclogues mention flocks both of sheep and goats, and show that those who had the care of them cultivated music and poetry after the manner of the Sicilians. The commencement of the Seventh Eclogue is especially instructive, because it gives us reason to believe, that while many of the Arcadians left their country in consequence of that excess of population, to which mountainous regions are subject, in order to become foreign mercenaries, others, on the contrary, entered into foreign service as shepherds and goatherds, and in this condition not only made themselves useful by their experience, skill, and fidelity, but also introduced at the same time their native music to- gether with that refinement of manners and feelings which it promoted. The poet thus describes two such individuals, who had been employed in tending flocks upon the banks of the Mincius (I. 12, 13), and who were either born in Arcadia, or were at least of Arcadian origin. Two blooming swains had join'd their flocks in one, Thyrsis his sheep, and tuneful Corydon * Strabo, L. v. c. 1. § 12. p. 119. ed. Siebenkees. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 275 His goats, which bore their treasur'd milk along ; Arcadians both, both skill'd in amcebean song. At a considerable distance to the North-East of Mantua lay Altinum, which is mentioned by Columella*, Tertullian, and Martial, as one of the principal places for the produce of white wool. Martial says, that it ranked in this respect next to Par- mat, and we must understand him as referring" to the same region in Book viii. Epig. 28, where he asks, " Did thy wool count the many streams of the Timavus, which Cyllarus pre- viously drank with his starry mouth ?" The Timavus w T as indeed a considerable way still further towards the North-East, and must have been very insignificant in connection with the sheep-breeding of the Altinates. The poet introduces it here only on account of its picturesque and mythological interest, just as we have seen that the Galesus, a small, though clear and very beautiful stream, is repeatedly named in order to designate the pastoral region about Tarentum. It may also be observed, that in this epigram, where Martial alludes to three of the prin- cipal places for the growth of white wool, he indicates each of them by its river, the three rivers being the Galesus, the Bsetis, and the Timavus ; and he probably did so on account of the sup- posed effect of the waters of these rivers in improving the wool. We can make no question, after what we have seen of the universal practice of both ancient and modern times, that the sheep, which in the winter were pastured in the plains and lower grounds about Altinum, were taken to pass the summer in the vallies of the Carinthian Alps about the sources of the Brenta, the Piave, and the Tagliamento. We may also trace the wool, after it was manufactured, in its progress towards Rome, where was the chief demand for garments of this de- scription. For Strabo says, that Patavium (Padua), which was situated at no great distance from Altinum on the way to Rome, was a great and flourishing mart for all kinds of mer- chandize intended to be sent thither, and especially for every kind of cloth*. It appears, therefore, that the wool-growers * L. vii. cap. 2. t L. xiv. Ep. 155. X L. v. cap. 1. § 6, 7. Strabo alludes to the pastoral occupations of the territory about Altinum and the Timavus. 276 SHEEP BREEDING AND and clothiers of the country to the North-East of Padua, the modern Trevisano, employed that city as an entrepot where they disposed of their goods to the Roman dealers. At the same time we learn, that this place served as a market for car- pets and blankets made of a stronger and more substantial material, which, according to the same authority*, was produced in its more immediate vicinity. In the North- Western portion of Cisalpine Gaul the wool was generally coarse, and according to Strabo (I. c.) the gar- ments made of it were used by the Italians for the ordinary clothing of their domestic establishments. Nevertheless, black wool of superior value was grown at Polentia, now Polenza, on the Stura, which is a tributary of the Pof. The following two Epigrams of Martial (I. xiv. 157 and 158.) allude to the use of the dark wool of Polentia for mourning and for the dress of in- ferior domestic servants. Polentine Wools. 1. Not wools alone, that wear the face of woe ; Her goblets once did proud Polentia show. 2. Our sable hue to croplings may belong, That tend the table, not of primal throng. Elphinstori's Translation. The country people about Modena and in other parts of the Northern Apennines still wear undyed woollen cloth of a gray color. Muratori quotes from the statutes of the city of Modena, A. D. 1327, a law to prevent the makers of such cloth from mixing with their gray wool the hair of oxen, asses, or other animalst. Before quitting Italy we may properly inquire, whence and how came the practice of sheep-breeding into Great Britain It has already been observed that the very improved state of the art at Tarentum may be in part ascribed to the intercourse * Strabo. t Pliny, L. viii. Columella, vii. 2. To these testimonies may be added Silius Italicus de Bello Punico, I. viii. 597. X Dissertazioni sopra le Antichita Italiane, Diss. 30. tomo ii. 48, 49, 4to edition. This author in his 21st Dissertation endeavors to assign reasons for the decline of the modern Italians in the growth and manufacture of wool. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 277 of its inhabitants with the Milesians. The reader will have noticed the fact that the worship of Pan was introduced into Italy from Arcadia by Evander, from which circumstance it may be reasonably inferred, that improvements in the manage- ment of sheep were also introduced at the same time. Accord- ing to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Evander with his compan- ions was said by the Romans to have migrated to Latium about sixty years before the Trojan war*. The same historian al- leges that this colony taught in Italy the use of letters, of in- strumental music and other arts, established laws, and brought some degree of refinement instead of the former savage mode of life. The story of the birth of Romulus and Remus sup- poses sheep-breeding to have been practiced at the period of that event, and in a state of society similar to that which we have found prevailing further eastward ; for it is stated, that Faus- tulus, who discovered them, kept the king's flocks. He was " magister regii pecorisf." According to Pausanias (/. viii. c. 3. § 2.) the first Greek col- ony, which went into Italy, was from Arcadia, being conducted thither by (Enotrus, an Arcadian prince*. This was several centuries before the expedition under Evander, and the part of Italy thus colonized was the southern extremity, afterwards oc- cupied by the Bruttiii If with Niebuhr we regard this tradi- tion only in the light of a genealogical table, designed to indicate the affinities of tribes and nations, still the simple fact of the colonization of South Italy by Arcadians certainly authorizes the conjecture, that Arcadia was one of the stepping-stones, by which the art of sheep-breeding was transported from Asia into Europe. * Hist. Rom. 1. i. p. 20, 21. ed. R. Stephani, Par. 1546. folio. As it has been a frequent error with nations to push back their annals into a higher antiquity than was consistent with fact, this may have been the case in the present instance. For it is to be observed, that according to Herodotus the worship of Pan did not arise in Arcadia until after the time when according to this latter statement it was introduced from Arcadia into Latium. t Livii 1. i. c. 4. X As further evidence for this tradition see Pherecydis Fragrnenta, a Sturtz, p. 190. Virg. iEn. i. 53-2, and iii. 165. Compare Heyne, Excursus vi. ad iEn. 1. Hi. § Heyne, Excursus xxi. ad iEn. 1. i. Niebuhr, Rom. Geschichte, i. p. 57.- 278 SHEEP BREEDING AND The reader will have perceived from the observations already made on the worship of Faunus in Italy, that the Roman Fau- nus was the same with the Arcadian Pan. It seems no suffi- cient objection to this hypothesis, that a few Roman authors have supposed Faunus to be either the son of Mars*, or of Picus and the grandson of Saturn, thus connecting him with their native mythology, or that his oracle was held by them in high reputef . It is here sufficient to remark, that we find him ex- tensively recognized in Italy as a pastoral divinity. Stretch'd on the springing grass, the shepherd swain His reedy pipe with rural music fills ; The god, who guards his flock, approves the strain, The god, who loves Arcadia's gloomy hills. Horat. Carm. iv. 12. 9-12. — Francis's Translation. The above stanza occurs in a description of the beauties of spring, and the poet no doubt alludes to the pastoral habits of his Sabine neighbors. From ancient monuments as well as from the language of the poets we find, that the worship of other divinities was asso- ciated with that of Faunus in reference to the success of all agricultural pursuits including that of sheep-breeding. Bois- sard, in the Fourth Part of his Antiquitates Romans, has pub- lished somewhat rude engravings of the bas-reliefs upon two altars, one of them (No. 130) dedicated to Hope, the other (No. 134) to Silvanus. The altar to Hope was erected, as the in- scription expresses, in a garden at Rome by M. Aur. Pacorus, keeper of the temple of Venus. He says, that he had been ad- monished to this deed of piety by a dream ; and, if the repre- sentation in the bas-relief was the image thus presented to his mind, his dream was certainly a very pleasant one. Hope, wearing on her head a wreath of flowers, places her right hand upon a pillar and holds in her left poppy-heads and ears of corn. Beside her is a bee-hive on the ground, and on it there is also fixed a bunch of poppy-heads and ears of corn. Above these emblems of the fruitfulness of the field and of the garden is the figure of a bale of wool. * Appian apud Photium. t Virgil, iEn. vii. 48, 81-105, and Heyne, Eecursus v. ad loc. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 279 The altar to Silvanus exhibits that divinity crowned with the cones and foliage of the pine. A pine grows moreover be- side his terminal statue, bearing the large cones, which were used for food at entertainments and carried in bacchanalian processions. Faunus, or Pan, sits at the foot of the pine, the syrinx and the double pipe being placed at his feet. In his right hand he holds an olive branch, while a young winged genius advances towards him as if to receive it, and another genius of the same kind appears to be caressing him and whis- pering into his ear. On the other side of the terminal statue of Silvanus we see the caduceus of Mercury and the bale of wool, manifest indications of success in the wool trade. In this sculpture the bale is surrounded with cords, which are twisted round one another where they cross. In the former instance the compression of the wool appears to be effected by the use of thongs instead of cords*. There is also introduced the figure of a shepherd of the same country. This statue was found in the vicinity of Rome and is now preserved in the Yaticant- The extremities are in part restorations. A cameo in the Flor- entine Museum* represents the shepherd Faustulus sitting upon a rock, and contemplating the she-wolf, which is suckling Romulus and Remus. It is of the Augustan age, and no doubt exhibits the costume and general appearance of a Roman shep- herd of that period. He wears a tunica cuctdlata, i. e. a tunic of coarse woollen cloth with a cowl, which was designed to be drawn occasionally over the head and to protect it from the in- juries of the weather. This garment has also sleeves, which Columella mentions (tunica manicata) as an additional com- fort. On his feet the shepherd wears high shoes, or boots, which, as we may suppose, were made of leather. The appearance of the shepherds, who are represented in these ancient works of art 7 is, doubtless, adapted to produce the * The bas-relief on the first altar is copied from Boissard by Montfaucon, Ant. Expliquee, tome i. p. 332. and that on the second, tome ii. p. 275. The latter is also represented by the Rev. Henry Moses, Collection of Antique Vases, &c. Plate 52. + Museo Pio-Clementino, tomo iii. tav. 34 and p. 44. X Museum Florentinum. Gemmae Antiquee a Gorio illustratee, tav. ii. No. 10. 280 SHEEP BREEDING AND impression, that their condition, even if it were that of slaves, was nevertheless one of comfort and respectability. Neither their garb, nor their attitude, suggests the idea of anything base or miserable. On the contrary, the countenance of each indicates trust-worthiness, steadiness, and care. That many of the agricultural laborers of ancient Italy had this character may be inferred also from written testimonies. In reference to this subject, and with a view to illustrate at the same time the habits and employments of the ancient farmer among the Sabine or Apulian mountains, we will here quote some parts of Horace's Second Epode, in which he de- scribes the pleasures of a country life. Like the first mortals blest is he, From debts, and usury, and bus'ness free, "With his own team who ploughs the soil, Which grateful once confess'd his father's toil. The sounds of war nor break his sleep, Nor the rough storm, that harrows up the deep ; lie shuns the courtier's haughty doors, And the loud science of the bar abjures. Either to poplars tall he joins The marriageable offspring of his vines ; Or lops the useless boughs away,- Inserting happier as the old decay : Or in a lonely vale surveys His lowing herds, safe-wand'ring as they graze ; Or stores in jars his liquid gold Prest from the hive, or shears his tender fold. * * * * And, if a chaste and prudent wife Perform her part in the sweet cares of life, Of sun-burnt charms, but honest fame, Such as the Sabine or Apulian dame ; If, when fatigued he homeward turns, The sacred fire, built up with faggots, burns ; Or if in hurdles she inclose The joyful flock, whence ample produce flows ; Though unbought dainties she prepare, And this year's wines attend the homely fare ; No fish would I from foreign shore Desire, nor relish Lucrine oysters more. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 281 Olives, fresh gather' d from the tree ; Mallows, the frame from heaviness to free*; A kid snatch'd from the wolf, a lamb To Terminus with due devotion slain ; Such is the meal, his labor o'er ; No bird from distant climes I'd relish more. Meanwhile how pleasant to behold His sheep well fed, and hasting to their fold ; To see his wearied oxen bow Their languid necks, and drag th' inverted plough ; And then his num'rous slaves to view Round his domestic gods their mirth pursue. * See chap. xii. p. 191. 36 CHAPTER III, SHEEP BREEDING AND PASTORAL LIFE OF THE AN- CIENTS—ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES, &c. Sheep-breeding in Germany and Gaul — In Britain — Improved by the Belgians and Saxons — Sheep-breeding in Spain — Natural dyes of Spanish wool — Golden hue and other natural dyes of the wool of Baetica — Native colors of Baetic wool — Saga and chequered plaids — Sheep always bred principally for the weaver, not for the butcher — Sheep supplied milk for food, wool for clothing — The moth. According to Tacitus*, the ancient Germans had abundance of cattle, although we have no reason to suppose that they had acquired any of that skill in sheep-breeding, by which their successors in Silesia and Saxony are now distinguished. On the contrary, we are informed by the same author that the only woollen garment, which they commonly wore, was the tSagum, a term implying the coarseness of the materialf. We find almost as little in any ancient author in favor of the wool of Gallia Transalpina, the modern France. Pliny men- tions a coarse kind, more like hair than wool, which was pro- duced in the neighborhood of Pezenas in Provence}:. Martial's account of the Endromis Sequanica, coarse, but useful to keep off the cold and wet, bears upon the same point ; The frousy foster of a female hand ; Of name Laconian, from a barb'rous land ; Though rude, yet welcome to December's snow, To thee we bid the homely stranger go : That into glowing limbs no cold may glide, That baleful Iris never drench thy pride : * Terra pecorum fecunda, sed plerumque improcera. — Germania, v. 2. t Nudi, aut sagulo leves. — Germania, vi. 3. Tegumen omnibus sagum. xvii. 1 t See Appendix A. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 283 This fence shall bid thee scorn the winds and showers ; The Tyrian lawn pretends no equal powers. Elpkinston's Translation. In the following epigram of Martial (vi. 11.), addressed to his friend Marcus, we observe a similar opposition between the fine and fashionable cloth of Tyre, and the thick coarse " sagum" produced in Gaul. Proud Tyrian thine, gross Gaulish mine array : In purple thee can e'er I love in gray ? Juvenal gives exactly the same account of the woollen man- ufactures of Gaul. In the following passage the needy depend- ant of a rich man is speaking of the lacernas from that coun- try, which were sometimes presented to him by his patron. Some coarse brown cloaks perhaps I chance to get, Of Gallic fabric, as a fence from wet. Satir. ix. v. 30. — Owen's Translation. To the same effect are several passages in the Epistles of Sidonius Apollinaris, who was Bishop of Clermont in Auvergne in the fifth century. He mentions, for example, that the at- tendants on Prince Sigismer at his marriage wore green Saga with red borders, and he describes a friend of his own as wear- ing the Endromis*. Also in an account of his own villa he speaks of the pipe with seven holes, as the instrument of the shepherds and herdsmen, who used to entertain themselves du- ring the night with musical contests, while their cattle were grazing with bells upon their necks. All these passages are confirmed and illustrated by the testi- mony of Strabo. According to him Gaul produced cattle of all kindsf. The Belgee, who occupied the most northern part, op- posite to Britain, excelled the rest of the Gauls in their manu- factures. Nevertheless their wool was coarse, and was spun and woven by them into the thick Saga, which were both worn by the natives of the country and exported in great quantities to Rome and other parts of Italy. The Roman settlers, indeed, * Viridantia saga limbis marginata puniceis. L. iv. Ep. 20. Tu endromida- tus exterius. L. iv. Ep. 2. t L. iv. cap. i. § 2. p. 6. ed. Siebenkees. 284 SHEEP BREEDING AND in the most northern parts had flocks of covered sheep, and their wool was consequently very fine*. Here also may be produced the evidence of Eumenius, who in his Oration, which will be quoted more fully hereafter, intimates the abundance of the sheep on the western banks of the Rhine by saying, that the flocks of the Romans were washed in every part of the streamf. Csesar informs us, that the ancient inhabitants of Britain had abundance of cattle (pecoris magnus numerus) ; under the word (pecus) " cattle," sheep must no doubt be understood to be included. It also appears, that in his time the Celts, or proper Britons, lived to the North of the Thames, the Belgians having expelled them and taken possession of the part to the South, called Cantium or Kent. These last were by far the most civilized inhabitants of the island, not much differing in their customs from the Gauls. With respect to the others, Csesar says, that for the most part they did not sow any kind of grain, but lived upon milk and flesh, and clothed themselves with skins*. It appears therefore, that before our sera, sheep, and probably goats, were bred extensively in England, their milk and flesh being used for food, and their skins with the wool or hair upon them for clothing ; and that the people of Kent, who were of Belgic origin, and more refined than the original Britons, had attained to the arts of spinning and weaving, although their productions were only of the coarsest description. Eumenius, the Rhetorician, who was a native of Augustodu- num, now called Autun, delivered his Panegyric in praise of the Emperors Constantius and Constantine in the city of Treves about A. D. 310. In the following passage he con- gratulates Britain on its various productions, and also on the * L. iv. cap. iv. § 3. pp. 56-59. ed. Siebenkees. t Arat illam terribilem aliquanclo ripam inermis agricola, et toto nostri greges flumine bicorni mersantur. p. 152. X Ex his omnibus longe sunt humanissimi, qui Cantium incolunt ; qiwe regio est maritima omnis ; neque multum a GalliccL differunt consuetudine. Interiores plerique frumenta non serunt ; sed lacte et carne vivunt, pellibusqe sunt vestiti. De Bello Gallico, 1. v. cap. 10. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 285 circumstance, that Constantine had been recently declared Em- peror at York on the death of his father : O fortunate Britain, now the happiest country upon earth ; for thou hast been the first to see Constantine made Emperor. It was fit that on thee Nature should bestow every blessing of climate and of soil. Suffering neither from the excessive severity of winter, nor the heat of summer, thy harvests are so fruitful as to sup- ply all the gifts both of Ceres and of Bacchus ; thy woods contain no savage beasts, thy land no noxious serpents, but an innumerable multitude of tame cattle, distended with milk, and loaded with fleeces*. The improvements in sheep-breeding which were first intro- duced into England by the Belgians, appear to have been ad- vanced still further by the Saxons. The only country, which now remains to be surveyed in re- -. lation to the production of sheep's wool, is Spain ; and, as this kingdom retains its pre-eminence at the present dayf, so we find none, in which sheep-breeding was carried to a greater ex- tent in ancient times. Of all the countries in Europe, says Mr. Low, Spain has been the longest distinguished for the excellence of its wool. This fine country, more varied in its surface and natural pro- ductions than any other region of the like extent in Europe, produces a great variety of breeds of sheep, from the larger ani- mals of the richer plains, to the smaller races of the higher moun- tains and arid country. Besides the difference produced in the sheep of Spain by varieties of climate and natural productions ; the diversity of character in the animals may be supposed to have been increased by the different races introduced into it : — first, from Asia, by the early Phoenician colonies ; secondly, from Africa by the Carthaginians, during their brief possession \ thirdly, from Italy by the Romans, during their dominion of six hundred years ; and fourthly, again from Africa, by the Moors, who maintained a footing in the country for nearly eight centuries. The large sheep of the plains have long wool, ofte» * Panegyrici Veteres, ed. Cellarii, Halae Magd. 1703. pp. 147, 148. t For accounts of the state of sheep-breeding in modern Spain, including the annual migration of the flocks, which is conducted there as in Italy, the readei is referred to " Travels through Portugal and Spain in 1772, 1773, by R. Twiss,'* pp. 72-82; and to De la Borde's View of Spain, vol. iv. pp. 45-61, English Translation. London, 1809. 286 SHEEP BREEDING AND colored brown or black. The sheep of the mountains, downs, and arid plains have short wool, of different degrees of fineness, and different colors. The most important of these latter breeds is the merino, now the most esteemed and widely diffused of all the fine-wooled breeds of Europe. Pliny not only refers in general terms to the various natural colors of the Spanish wool, but mentions more particularly the red wool produced in the district adjoining the river Beetis, or Guadalquiver*. Among the natural colors of the Bsetic wool, Columella, a native of Cadiz, (vii. 2.) mentions, as has been already stated, gray and brown. The latter is what we call drab, and the Spaniards fusco. It is now commonly worn by the shepherds and peasants of Spain, the wool being made into clothes with- out dyeing. Nonius Marcellus (cap. 16. n. 13), explaining the word pul- lus, which was called a native color, because it was the natural color of the fleece, also shows, that this was a common quality of the Spanish wool. Another testimony is that of Tertullian. The sheep of Tarentum were imported into this part of Spain, and there also their fleeces were protected by clothing. Columella (L. vii. 2.) gives a very interesting account of the experiments made by his uncle, a great agriculturalist of Beetica, in crossing his Tarentine breed with some wild rams of an ex- traordinary color, which had been brought from Africa to Cadiz. (See latter part of next, chapter.) We have a further evidence of the pains taken to improve the Spanish breed in the circumstance, that Italian shepherds passed into Spain, just as we have formerly seen, that they mi- grated into Italy from Arcadia. In the following lines of Cal- purnius (Eel. iv. 37-49.), Corydon, a young shepherd, tells his friend and patron, Melibceus, that he should have been trans- ported into Beetica, had not the times improved, and his mas- ter's favor enabled him to remain in Italy. Through thee I rest secure beneath the shade, Such plenty hath thy generous bounty made, * See Appendix A. PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS. 287 But for thy favor, Meliboeus, sent "Where Bsetis' waves the western plains indent, Plains at the earth's extremest verge, expos'd To the fierce Moors, which Geryon once inclos'd. There had I now been doom'd to tend for hire Iberian flocks, or else of want expire : In vain I might have tun'd my seven-fold reed : Mid thickets vast no soul my strains would heed : Not even Pan on that far-distant shore Would lend his vacant ear, or be my solace more. Juvenal in his Twelfth Satire (I. 37-42.) describes a mer- chant overtaken by a dreadful storm, and to save the ship throwing his most valuable goods into the sea. It will be ob- served, that the poet attributes the excellence and fine natural color of the woollen cloth of Beetica to three causes, the rich herbage, the occult properties of the water, and those of the air. " Over with mine," he cries ; " be nothing spar'd ;" To part with all his richest goods prepar'd ; His vests of Tyrian purple, fit to please The softest of the silken sons of ease, And other robes, which took a native stain From air and water on the Baetic plain. Owen's Translation. Strabo (iii. 144. p. 385. ed. Sieb.) gives the following account of the wool of Turdetania. IIoXXJ) 61 kcu laOrig nporspov rip^ero' vvv 6i KaX k'pia paWov rcov ~K.vpa^(jv, kclI vtttp@o\f) rig tort rov K&Wovg' ra\avriaiovg yovv ovovvrai rovg Kpiovg elg rag d^eiag : vnepPoXfj 61 koli T(Sv Xcttwj/ v SLY Of 00 AT. 295 and in the opinion of Pallas. which has been very eraOy adopted by zoologists, the goat is the same with the ;agrus, a gregarious quadruped which occupies the loftiest parts of the mountains extending from the Caucasus to the Sol the Caspian Sea, and thence to the North of Inc Indeed the history of these animals is so interwoven with the history of man, that those naturalists have not reasoned quite correctly; who have thought it necessary to refer the firs: . of either of them to any wild stock at all. They assume, that these cu i ipedV visted. in an undomestkated nat Is. e. apart from n of him; tha* he a fed in civilization, as his lultiplied and he be- ne more ingenious and active in in venting methods ,:' ig them, the thought st.ruck him. that he might ob. from these wild beasts the materials of his food and doth 3 thai he there! ight and confined some of them a in the course of time rendered them by cultivation more and ritabte to his purposes. We hare no reason to assume, that man and the two lesser kinds of horned catt. . ia] y independent c . geology's any evidence it h in of the supposition, that these quadrupeds and man belong v. the same epoch. No properly fossil bones either of the sheep or goat ha . . . been found, and we have no reason to behe . these animals were produced until the creation of man But, as we must suppose, that man was created perfect and fuD and with those means of - enee around him. which his nature and constitution require, there is no . . ... why the sheep and the goat may not have been created in such a s to he adapted immediately both for clothing and for food, or why it should be considered more probable that they B at first entirely wild. They may have been produced originally in the same abode, which was occupied by that va- riety of the human race, to whose habits and mode of life the nse of them has always been so essential: and. if we assume. * P^ c3egia Zo o l o gies, Faoneahii a pn, 43 5 14 8e« akn Bell'* His- tory of British Quadrupeds, London, 1837, p. 4.33. 296 ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE GOAT. that this abode was somewhere in the elevated land of central Asia, in the region, for example, of Armenia, we adopt an hy- pothesis, which explains in the most simple and satisfactory manner the apparent fact of the propagation not only of men, but of these quadrupeds with them, from that centre over im- mense regions of the globe. With regard to historical evidence, it is certainly very defec- tive. No express testimony assures us of the facts included in the above-named hypothesis. One thing, however, is certain, and it appears very deserving of attention, viz. that the sheep and the goat have always been propagated together. We find great nations, which had no acquaintance with either of these quadrupeds, but depended for their subsistence upon either oxen or horses. We find others, on the contrary, to whose mode of life the larger quadrupeds were of much less impor- tance than the smaller ; but we find none, which were accus- tomed to breed sheep without goats, or goats without sheep. The reader will find numerous illustrations of this fact on reviewing the evidence contained in the preceding chapters. General terms were employed in the ancient world to include both sheep and goats*. Where more specific terms are used, we still find " rams and goats," " ewes and she-goats" mentioned together. Sheep and goats were offered together in sacrifice, and the instances are too numerous to mention, in which the same flock, or the wealth of a single individual, included both these animals. In consequence of this prevailing association of sheep and goats, they are often represented together in ancient bas-reliefs and other works of art. Of this we have a beautiful example in the Rev. Robert Walpole's collection of " Travels in various countries of the East." At the end of the volume is a plate taken from a votive tablet of Pentelic marble dedicated to Pan, and representing five goats, two sheep, and a lamb. As the goats are in one group, and the sheep and lamb in another, the artist probably designed to represent a flock of each. For, * It should be observed, that the Hebrew word translated sheep in Ex. ix. 3. included Goats. ANCIENT ftlSTORY OF THE GOAT. 297 though sometimes mixed in the same flock, the two kinds of animals were generally kept apart ; and to this circumstance our Savior alludes in his image of the shepherd dividing the sheep from the goats*. A sheep and a goat are seen reposing together in a Roman bas-relief in the Monumenta Matthseiana, vol. hi. tab. 37. fig. 1. Rosselini gives two paintings from Egyptian tombs, which ex- hibit both sheep and goatsf ; and he mentions an inscription on the tomb of Ranni, according to which that person had 120 goats, 300 rams, 1500 hogs, and 122 oxen. In the account given in chapter II. of the Sicilian Daphnis, an epigram by Callimachus on Astacides, who was a goatherd in Crete, was partially quoted, probably remarkable for his beauty and his immature death. The translation of the passage will now be given. ' A.Vulstan§. that bearer- furs, as well as those of sables, fores, and other quadrupeds, were used by the Anglo-Saxons in very early times for lining their garments. Other modern authors speak of their occur- rence in Austria. Hungary, and the North of Italy!!. They are still found in Sweden.?! Strabo informs us. that in his time they frequented the rivers of Spain**. Buffon says (Hist. Nat. tome 26. p. 98.), "There are bea- vers in Languedoc in the islands of the Rhone, and great num- * Topographia Hibernia?. c. 21, and Itinerarium Cambria 1 . 1. ii. c. 3. t Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, vol. i. p. 177— 1ST. + Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, vol. i. part i. p. 175. § See Extracts in Henry's History of Britain, vol. iv. || Muratori. Antichita Italiane. tomo ii. p. 110. IS'apoli, 17S3. The authors, cited bv Muratori, are Gervase of Tilbury, and Mathioli. 11 Travels in Sweden, by Dr. Thomas Thomson, p. 411. ** Lib. iii. 163. vol. i. p. 737, ed. Siebenkees. BEAVERS-WOOL- 311 bers of them in the North of Europe. w "But as human popu- lation extends/' he observes, " beavers, like other animals, are dispersed, become solitary, fugitive, or conceal themselves in the ground : they cease to unite in bands, to engage in building 01 other undertakings." (: We have been unable to ascertain," says Cuvier* "after the most scrupulous comparisons, if the Castors or Beavers, which burrow along the Rhone, the Danube, and the Weser, are dif- ferent in species from those of North America, or if they are prevented from building by the vicinity of man," The same distinguished author in his work on Fossil Bones says, -The greater part of our European rivers having formerly supported beavers, and some of them doing so still, viz. the Garden and the Rhone in Prance, the Danube in Bavaria and Austria, and several small rivers in Westphalia and Saxony, we cannot be surprised to find their hones preserved in our mosses, or turba- ries." He then mentions instances of the heads and teeth of beavers, in the valley oi the Somme in Picardy,in the valley of Tennis stein near Andermach. and at L'rdingen on the Rhine in Rhenish Prussiaf. * Rdgne Animal, voL iii. p. 65. of Griffith'* Translation. t Cuvicr; ():i:-.<:rf><:nH Yn '<-:-,. torno v. partie Ifcre, p. 55. : partie 2nde, p. 518. Sec alee Anna!';'-; da Rfnsenni d'Hiti Natnrelle, tome xiw p. 47. CHAPTER VI, CAMELS-WOOL AND CAMELS-HAIR. Camels'-wool and Camels'-hair — Ctesia's account — Testimony of modern travel- lers — Arab tent of Camels'-hair — Fine cloths still made of Camels'-wool — The use of hair of various animals in the manufacture of beautiful stuns by the ancient Mexicans — Hair used by the Candian women in the manufacture of broidered stuffs — Broidered stuffs of the negresses of Senegal — Their great beauty. We are informed by Ctesias, in a fragment of the 10th Book of his Persic History, that there were camels in a part of Persia, whose hair, soft as Milesian fleeces, was used to make gar- ments for the priests and the other potentates*. John the Baptist wore a garment of camels'-hair ; but this must be supposed to have been coarse. [Matt. iii. 4., Mark i. 6.)f . This passage of scripture is illustrated by Harmer in the following observation* : " This hair, Sir J. Chardin tells us (in his MS. note on 1 Sam. xxv. 4.) is not shorn from the camels like wool from sheep, but they pull off this woolly hair, which the camels are disposed to cast off; as many other creatures, it is well known, change their coats yearly. This hair is made into cloth now. Chardin assures us the modern dervishes wear such garments." Campbell, the poet, mentions a tent of camels'-hair cloth, which he saw at an Arab encampment between Oran and Mas- cara in the kingdom of Algiers. It was 25 feet in diameter and very lofty. [Letters from the South, 1837, vol. ii. p. * Apollonii Mirabilia xx. iElian, Hist. An. xvii. 34. Ctesice Fragmenta, a Biihr, p. 224. t " And the same John had his raiment of camels'-hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins ; and his meat was locusts and wild honey." — Matt. iii. 4, also in Mark: " And John was clothed with camels'-hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins ; and he did eat locusts and wild honey. ' — Mark i. 6. X Ch. xi. Obs. 83. vol. iv. p. 416. ed. Clarke. CAMELS- WOOL AND CAMELS-HAIR. 313 212.) He also mentions (vol. i. p. 161.) that the Kabyles or Berbers, who live in the vicinity of Algiers, and are descended from the original occupants of the country, dwell in " tents of camels'-hair." We are informed that the Chinese make car- pets of the same material*. Coverlets of goats' or camels'-hair are used by the soldiers in Turkey to sleep underf. " The Cir- cassians, when marching, or on a journey, always add to their other garments a cloak made from camel or goats'-hair, with a hood, which completely envelopes the whole person. It is im- penetrable by rain ; and it forms their bed at night, and pro- tects them from the scorching sun by day+." Portunatus, in his life of St. Martin (1. iv.), describes a gar- ment of such cloth ; but it may be doubted whether he took his description from actual knowledge of the use of it, or only from the account in Matthew of the dress of John the Baptist already quoted. Camels'-hair of annual growth would vary in fineness ac- cording to circumstances, and might be used either for the coarse raiment of prophets and dervises, or for the costly shawls, to which Ctesias alludes. Fine wool, adapted to the latter purpose, might also grow, as in the goat and beaver, be- neath the long hair of the camel. It has been doubted whether cloth so fine and beautiful as Ctesias asserts, could pos- sibly be obtained from camels. The following accounts by modern travellers illustrate and justify the statement of the suspected ancient. Marco Polo, who travelled in the 13th century, in his account of the city of Kalaka, which was in the province of Tangut and subject to the Great Kahn, says§, " In this city they manu- facture beautiful camelots, the finest known in the world, of the hair of camels and likewise of fine wool." According to Pallas, (Travels, vol. ii. § 8.,) " From the hair of the camel the Tartar women in the plains of the Crimea manufacture a narrow * China, its Costume, Arts, Manufactures, &c, by Bertin : translated from the French. London, 1812, vol. iv. t Travels in Circassia, by Edmund Spencer, vol. i. p. 202. X Ibid. vol. ii. p. 219. § Book i. ch. 52. p. 235. of Marsden's Translation. 40 314 CAMELS'-Y^OOL AND CAMELs'-HAIR. cloth, which is used in its natural color, and is extremely warm, soft, and light." According to Prosper Alpinus, (Hist. Nat. JEgypti, I. iv. c. 7. p. 225.) the Egyptians manufactured from the hair of their camels not only coarse cloth for their tents, but other kinds so fine as to be worn not only by princes but even by the senators of Venice. Elphinstone, in his account of Cabul (p. 295. j, mentions, that " Oormuck, a fine cloth made of camels'-wool," is among the articles imported into Cabul from the Bokhara country. This country lies North of the Oxus, and East of the Southern extremity of the Caspian Sea, and is probably the country, to which Ctesias more especially referred. A still more recent au- thority is that of Moorcroft, who informs us, that " Cloth is now made from the wool of the wild camels of Khoten in Chinese Tartary," and that " at Astrakhan a fine cloth is manufactured from the wool of the camel foal of the first year*." * Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. i. p. 241, 242. It is customary in many parts of the East, as it was in Mexico in the time of Cortes (See Part Third, Chapter I.) to use the hair of various animals in em- broidering garments. The Candian women even embroider with their own hair, as well as that of animals, with which they make splendid representations of flowers, foliage, &c. : they also insert the skins of eels and serpents. According to M. de Busson, the negreeses'of Senegal, embroider the skins of various beasts, representing figures, flowers, and animals, in every variety of color. PART THIRD, ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE COTTON MANUFACTURE. CHAPTER I. GREAT ANTIQUITY OF THE COTTON MANUFACTURE IN INDIA — UNRIVALLED SKILL OF THE INDIAN WEAVER. ' Superiority of Cotton for clothing, compared with linen, both in hot and cold cli- mates — Cotton characteristic of India — Account of Cotton by Herodotus, Ctesias, Theophrastus, Aristobulus, Nearchus, Pomponius Mela — Use of Cot- ton in India — Cotton known before silk and called Carpasus, Carpasum, Car- basum, Sec. — Cotton awnings used by the Romans — Carbasus applied to linen — Last request of Tibullus — Muslin fillet of the vestal virgin — Linen sails, &c. called Carbasa — Valerius Flaccus introduces muslin among the elegancies in the dress of a Phrygian from the river Rhyndacus — Prudentius's satire on prido — Apuleius's testimony — Testimony of Sidonius Apollinaris, and Avienus — Pliny and Julius Pollux — Their testimony considered — Testimony of Tertullian and Philostratus-^Of Martianus Capella — Cotton paper mentioned by The- ophylus Presbyter — Use of Cotton by the Arabians — Cotton not common an- ciently in Europe — Marco Polo and Sir John Mandeville's testimony of the Cotton of India — Forbes's description of the herbaceous Cotton of Guzerat — Testimony of Malte Brun — Beautiful Cotton textures of the ancient Mexicans — Testimony of the Abbe Clavigero — Fishing nets made from Cotton by the inhabitants of the West India Islands, and on the continent of South Amer- ica — Columbus's testimony — Cotton used for bedding by the Brazilians. Among all the materials which the skill of man converts into comfortable and elegant clothing", that which appears likely to be the most extensively useful, though it was the last to be generally diffused, is the beautiful produce of the cotton-plant. The properties of cotton strongly recommend it for clothing, especially in comparison with linen, both in hot and cold coun- tries. Linen has, indeed, in some respects the advantage ; it forms a smooth, firm, and beautiful cloth, and is very agreeable wear in temperate climates ; but it is less comfortable than cot- 316 THE COTTON MANUFACTURE. ton, and less conducive to health, either in heat or in cold. Cotton, being a bad conductor of heat, as compared with linen, preserves the body at a more equable temperature. The func- tions of the skin, through the medium of perspiration, are the great means of maintaining the body at an equable temper- ature amidst the vicissitudes of the atmosphere. But linen, like all good conductors of heat, freely condenses the vapor of perspiration, and accumulates moisture upon the skin : the wetted linen becomes cold, chills the body, and checks perspira- tion, thus not only producing discomfort, but endangering health. Calico, on the other hand, like all bad conductors of heat, condenses little of the perspiration, but allows it to pass off in the form of vapor. Moreover, when the perspiration is so copious as to accumulate moisture, calico will absorb a great- er quantity of that moisture than linen. It has therefore a double advantage, — it accumulates less moisture, and absorbs more. From the above considerations, it is evident that in cold cli- mates, or in the nocturnal cold of tropical climates, cotton clothing is much better calculated to preserve the warmth of the body than linen. In hot climates, also, it is more conducive to health and comfort, by admitting of freer perspiration*. Wool, as we have seen, was principally used for weaving in Palestine and Syria, in Asia Minor, Greece, Italy and Spain ; hemp in the Northern countries of Europe ; flax in Egypt (The history of the two last, hemp and flax, is given in Part IV. to which the reader is referred.) ; silk in the central regions of Asiaf. In like manner cotton has always been charac- teristic of India. We find this circumstance distinctly noticed by Herodotus*. Among the valuable products, for which India was remarkable, he states, that " the wild trees in that country bear fleeces as their fruit, surpassing those of sheep in beauty and excellence ; and the Indians use cloth made from these * Bains's " History of the Cotton Manufacture," p. 12. t See Map Plate VII. at the end of Part IV. X L. iii. c. 106. THE COTTON MANUFACTURE. 317 trees." In the same book (c. 47.) Herodotus says, that the tho- rax or cuirass sent by Amasis, king of Egypt, to Sparta, was (: adorned with gold and with fleeces from trees." These sub- stances were perhaps used in the weft to form the figures (C«<*), which were woven into the thorax ; but it appears equally probable that the gold only was thus employed, the cotton being used as an inside lining or stuffing : and in this case it is possible, that the down of the Bombax Ceiba, a tree allied to the Cotton-plant (Gossypiwri), may have been used, since, though not fitted for spinning or weaving, it has long been used in India for the stuffing of pillows and similar purposes, and would be included under the phrase employed by Herodotus, u wool" or " fleeces from trees." The thorax may have been made in Egypt ; but the materials, used to enrich it, were prob- ably imported : for we have no proof, that either gold or cotton of any kind was found in that country as a native product in the time of Amasis. Ctesias, the contemporary of Herodotus, seems also to have known the fact of the use of a kind of wool, the produce of trees, for spinning and weaving among the Indians. It is evi- dent that Ctesias referred exclusively to cotton cloths, as may be inferred from the testimony of Yarro, as we find it in Servius (Comm. in Virgilii JEn. i. 649.). " Ctesias ait in India esse arbores, quae lanam ferant." The expedition of Alexander the Great into India contribu- ted to make the Greeks better acquainted than before with cot- ton. Hence it is distinctly mentioned by Theophrastus, the disciple of Aristotle. He says, " The trees, from which the Indians make cloths, have a leaf like that of the Black Mul- berry ; but the whole plant resembles the dog-rose. They set them in the plains arranged in rows, so as to look like vines at a distance*." In a succeeding part of the same book (c. 7. p. 143, 144. ed Schneider) he notices the growth of cotton, not only in India, but in Arabia, and in the island called Tylos, which he places in the Arabian Gulf, although it was probably * Hist. PI iv. c. 4. p. 132. ed. Schneider. 318 THE COTTON MANUFACTURE. in the Persian Gulf, near the Arabian coast*. According to his account in the latter passage, " The wool-bearing trees, which grew abundantly in this island, had a leaf like that of the vine, but smaller ; they bore no fruit, but the capsule cantaining the wool, was, when closed, about the size of a quince, when ripe, it expanded so as to emit the wool, which was woven into cloths, either cheap, or of great value." Sprengel in his German translation (p. 150. vol. ii.) sup- poses the Broussonetia Papyrifera to be meant in the former passage. But he gives no good reason for this supposition, and he admits, that the Broussonetia Papyrifera grows in China, not in India. The expression of Theophrastus, &nep eXs%0>7, which he employs in the latter passage (c. 9. p. 144. ed. Schneide?*), clearly proves, that he is speaking of the same plant in both passages, and Sprengel himself (p. 164.) supposes the Gossypium Arboreum of Linnaeus, the Cotton Tree, to be meant in the latter, though not in the former. The description of Theophrastus is remarkably exact, if we consider it as ap- plying, not to the Cotton Tree ( Gossypium Arboreum), but to the Cotton Plant ( G. Herbaceum), from which the chief sup- ply of cotton for spinning and weaving into cloth has always been obtained. Aristobulus, one of Alexander's generals, made mention . of the cotton-plant under the name of the Wool-bearing Tree, and stated that its capsule contained seeds, which were taken out, and that what remained was combed like woolf. The testimony of Nearchus, who was the admiral of Alexan- der, is also preserved to the following effect ; " that there were in India trees bearing, as it were, flocks or bunches of wool ; that the natives made linen garments of it, wearing a shirt, which reached to the middle of the leg, a sheet folded about the shoulders, and a turban rolled round the head ; and that the linen made by them from this substance was fine and whiter than any other." It is to be observed, that Nearchus, or * See the Map, — Plate vii. at the end of Part iv. Bochart, Geogr. Sacra, p. 766. Cadomi, 1651. Heeren, Ideen, i. 2. p. 214-219. t Strabo, L. xv. c. 1. vol. vi. p. 43. ed. Siebenkees. THE COTTON MANUFACTURE. 319 rather the two later authors who quote him, viz. Arrian and Strabo, use the terms for linen in a general sense, as including all fine light cloths made of vegetable substances*. We read in the account of India by Pomponius Mela (L. iii. c. 7.), that the woods produced wool, used by the natives for clothing. He distinctly mentions the use of flax likewise. It has been conjectured, that he may have taken his account from Nearchus, or some other Greek writer, and that he may have intended to speak only of the use of cotton. But in reply to this it is to be observed, that Pomponius Mela here mentions flax in opposition to cotton, and that his assertion, so understood, was probably true, since we have other evidence to show that flax grows in India as well as cotton. (See Part IY.) Never- theless it seems necessary to understand other authors of the same period as meaning cotton by the term x«w, or linum. Thus Dyonisius Periegetes (I. 1116), speaking of the employ- ments of the Indians, says, Ol Ss i 5 describe the rents, expressive of sorrow, which were made in the linen veil or shawl (irenXos) of an Oriental woman. In the Supplices (I. 120.) the leader of the chorus says, she often tears her linen, or her >Sido?iian veil. II. The next author in point of time, and one of the first in point of importance, is Herodotus. In his account of the mode of making mummies, he says (Z. ii. c. 86.) the embalmed body was enveloped in cotton. But the fillets or bandages of the mummies are proved by microscopic observations to be univer- sally linen ; at least all the specimens have been found to be linen, which have been submitted to this, the only decisive test. III. Herodotus also states (vii. 181.), that a man, wounded in an engagement, had his torn limbs bound aivS6 v os Pwatvns TcXa/iSoi. Now, supposing that the persons concerned had their choice between linen and cotton, there can be no doubt that they would choose linen as most suitable for such a purpose. Cotton, when applied to wounds, irritates them. Julius Pollux men- * Septem contra Thebas, I. 1041. See also Persa?, 1. 129. THE LINEN MANUFACTURE. 371 tions (I. iv. c. 20. 181. ; I. vii. c. 16. and 25. 72.) these ban- dages as used in surgery. The same fillets, which were used to swathe dead bodies, were also adapted for surgical purposes. Hence a Greek Epigram (Brunck, An. hi. 169.) represents a surgeon and an undertaker as leaguing to assist each other in business. The undertaker supplies the surgeon with bandages stolen from the dead bodies, and the surgeon in return sends his patients to the undertaker ! IV. Diodorus Siculus (I. i. § 85. torn. i. p. 96.) records a tra- dition, that Isis put the limbs of Osiris into a wooden cow, cov- ered with Byssina. No reason can be imagined, why cotton should have been used for such a purpose ; whereas the use of fine linen to cover the hallowed remains was in perfect accord- ance with all the ideas and practices of the Egyptians. Y. Plutarch, in his Treatise de Iside et Osiride (Opp. ed. Stephani, 1572, vol. iv. p. 653.) says, that the priests envelop- ed the gilded bull, which represented Osiris, in a black sheet of Byssus. Now nothing can appear more probable, than that the Egyptians would employ for this purpose the same kind of cloth, which they always applied to sacred uses ; and in addi- tion to all the other evidence before referred to, we find Plutarch in this same treatise expressly mentioning the linen garments of the priesthood, and stating, that the priests were entombed in them after death, a fact verified at the present day by the examination of the bodies of priests found in the catacombs. VI. The magnificent ship, constructed for Ptolemy Philopa- tor, which is described at length in Athenaeus, had a sail of the fine linen of Egypt*. It is not probable, that in a vessel, every part of which was made of the best and most suitable mate- rials, the sail would be of cotton. Moreover Hermippus de- scribes Egypt as affording the chief supply of sails for all parts of the worldf : and Ezekiel represents the Tyrians as obtaining cloth from Egypt for the sails and pendants of their ships*. VII. It is recorded in the Rosetta Inscription (I. 17, 18.), that * Deipnos. 1. v. p. 206 C. ed. Casaubon. t Apud. Athenaeum, Deipnos. 1. i. p. 27 F. X Ez. xxvii. 7. tynsaa rnapia mm. 372 ANCIENT HISTORY OF Ptolemy Epiphanes remitted two parts of the fine linen cloths, which were manufactured in the temples for the king's palace ; and (l. 29.) that he also remitted a tax on those, which were not made for the king's palace. Thus in an original and con- temporary monument we read, that 'OdMa pvaaiva were at a par- ticular time manufactured in Egypt. But we have no reason to believe, that cotton was then manufactured in Egypt at all, whereas linen cloth was made in immense quantities. VIII. Philo, who lived at Alexandria, and could not be igno- rant upon the subject, plainly uses Bvwos to mean flax. He says, the Jewish High-Priest wore a linen garment, made of the purest Byssas, which was a symbol of firmness, incorruption, and of the clearest splendor, since fine linen is most difficult to tear, is made of nothing mortal, and becomes brighter and more resembling light, the more it is cleansed by washing*. Here we may notice the tenacity of the cloth found in Egyptian mummies. A great part of it is quite rotten ; and its tender and fragile state is to be accounted for, not only from its great antiquity and exposure to moisture, but from the circum- stance, that much of it was old and worn, when first applied to the purpose of swathing dead bodies. Nevertheless pieces are found of great strength and durability. Hans Jac. Amman, who visited the catacombs of Sakara in 1613, found the bandages so strong, that he was obliged to cut them with scissorst. Professor Greavest and Lord Sandwich found them as firm as if they were just taken from the loom. Abdollatiph, who visited Egypt A. D. 1200, mentions that the Arabs employed the mummy cloth to make garments^ Much more recently the same practice has been attested as coming under his observation by Seetzenll. Caillaud discovered in the mummy, which he opened, several napkins in such a state of preservation, that he took a fancy to use one. He had it wash- ed eight times without any perceptible injury. " With a sort * De Somniis, vol. i. p. 653. Mangey. t Blumenbach's Beitriige, Th. 2. p. 74. t Pyramidographia. § P. 221 of the German translation ; p. 198 of Silvestre de Lacy's. See App. A. || See his letter to Von Hammer in the Fundgruben des Orients, 1 St. p. 72. as quoted by Blumenbach, 1. c. THE LINEN MANUFACTURE. 373 of veneration,"' says he, " I unfolded every day this venerable linen, which had been woven more than 1700 years." ( Voy- age a Meroe et au Fleuve Blanc.) IX. According to Josephus the Jewish priests wore drawers of spun flax, and over the drawers a shirt. He calls a garment made of BiWo? a linen garment. It had flowers woven into it, which were of three different substances*. He soon after mentions the same materials as used for making the curtains of the tabernacle. In all these instances the figures or orna- ments were of splendid colors upon a ground of white linen. We have no reason to believe, that either the Egyptians or the Israelites in the time of Moses knew anything of cotton : so that, if Josephus gives a true account, Bvaaos must have denoted a kind of flax. X. Jerome on Ezekiel xxvii. says, " Byssus grows principally in Egypt" [Byssus in JEgypto quam maxime nascitur). Of the celebrity of the Egyptian flax we have the most abun- dant proofs ; but, if by Byssus Jerome meant cotton, he here committed a strange mistake ; for, supposing cotton to have grown at all in Egypt, it certainly grew far more abundantly m other countries, and of this fact he could scarcely be ignorant. XL Martianus Capella plainly distinguishes between that substance and Byssust. He seems to have considered cotton as an Indian, Byssus as an Egyptian product. He certainly supposed, that they were not the same thing. XII. Isidorus Hispalensis expressly states, that Byssus was a kind of flax, very white and soft. Byssus genus est quoddam lini nimium candidi et mollissimi, quod Greeci papa- tem vocant. — Orig. I. xix. 27. Byssina (vestis) Candida, confecta ex quodam genere lini grossioris Sunt et qui genus quoddam lini byssum esse existiment. — Ibid. c. 22. Forster conjectures (p. 4.) that for genus quoddam lini we should read genus quoddam lance, and conceives tree-wool (as * Ant. Jud. iii. 7. 1, 2. p. 112. ed. Hudson. The shirt of the High Priest of the Jews was probably like that worn in the worship of Isis, which was of Byssus, but adormd with flowers, " Byssina, sed fioride depicta." Apuleius, Met. 1. xi. t Etym. L. Lat. v. Byssus. 374 ANCIENT HISTORY OF Pollux and some others call it), i. e. cotton, to be intended. His conjecture seems probable. The remark of Isidore intimates, that in his time it had already been a matter of dispute whether Byssus was a kind of flax or something' else. XIII. Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, testifies to the great strength of the threads of Byssus. Cloth made of Byssus indicates firm faith : For threads of Byssus, it is said, surpass E'en ropes of broom in firmness and in strength*. Ad Cytherium in Max. Biblioth. Patrum, vol. xl p. 264. Yossius also quotes the authority of Jerome and Eucherius to prove the great tenacity of Byssus. But, if Byssus were cotton, it certainly would not have been celebrated on that account. The arguments of Dr. J. R. Forster on the other side of the question will now be considered. See his Liber Singularis de Bysso Antiquorum, Lon. 1776, p. 11. 50. I. His first argument is as follows. Julius Pollux says (I. vii. c. 17.), that Bi^os was " a kind of flax among the In- dians." The Jewish rabbis indeed all explain the Hebrew luia (Shesh), which in the Septuagint is always translated B^™?, as signifying flax. But they use the term for flax in so loose and general a way, that they may very properly be supposed to have included cotton under it. In the same general sense we must suppose \ivov to be used by Julius Pollux ; and it is clear, that he must have meant cotton, because cotton grows abundantly in India, whereas flax was never known to grow in India at all. In proof of this last assertion Forster refers to Osbeck's Jour- nal, vol i. p. 383. He also appeals to a passage of Philostratus {Vita Apollonii, I. ii. c. 20. p. 70, 71.), which has been quoted in Part Third, p. 328., where that author certainly applies the term in question to the cotton of India. An answer to this argument, so far as it depends on the testi- mony of Julius Pollux, was furnished by Olaus Celsius in his Hierobotanicon, published in 1747, a work which Forster had better have consulted, when he was writing a treatise expressly * See Part First, Chapters XII. and XIII. THE LINEN MANUFACTURE. 375 intended to ascertain the meaning of one of the botanical terms employed in the Scriptures. The learned and accurate Swede gives on good authority an emendation of the text of Pollux, which entirely destroys the argument founded upon it by Forster and those who agree with him. According to this reading Pollux only asserts that Bwaog is a kind of flax, without adding that it grew among the Indians*. In a separate Appendix (E.), will be examined distinctly and fully the critical evidence for the correct state of the passages of Pollux, which it may be found necessary to cite. Pollux, in asserting that Byssus was a kind of flax, coincides with all the other witnesses who have been produced. Forster is also exceedingly incorrect in his mode of reasoning upon the passage of Pollux, supposing it to be accurate and genuine. He argues, that Pollux must have meant cotton by " a kind of flax among the Indians" because real flax does not grow in India at all ; " In India vero linum non erat, nee quidem nostra eetate linum reperitur in India, quod jam Osbeck- ius in Itinerario ostendit, p. 383. vol. i. edit. Anglicse." The " English edition?'' of Osbeck's Yoyage is a translation from the German by Forster himself. In the page referred to we find the following passage relative to flax, and no other : — " Flax is so rare a commodity in the East, that many have judged with great probability that the fine linen of the rich man, Luke xvi. 19, was no more than our common linen." This sentence implies that flax grew in the East, though rarely. Whether it grew in India, Osbeck does not inform us. Dr. Wallich, who travelled in India, states that flax grows in India, and that he remembered having seen there a whole field blue with its flowers. It is cultivated principally for its seed, from which oil is extracted, the stalks being thrown aside as useless. With respect to the passage from Philostratus, it is admitted, that he uses Bwwos to denote cotton. Besides its proper and original sense, this word was occasionally used, as xtwv, oddw, Sindon, Carbasus, and many others were, in a looser and more * Celsii Hierobot. vol. ii. p. 171 376 ANCIENT HISTORY OP general application. But the use of the term in this manner by a single writer, or even, if they could be produced, by several writers of so late an age as Philostratus, would be of little weight in opposition to the evidence, which has been brought forward to prove, that Btwos properly meant flax only. II. Forster produces a passage from the Eliaca of Pausanias* from which he argues, that pw&og was not flax, because Pausa- nias here distinguishes it from flax as well as from hemp. But we know, that all plants undergo great changes by cul- tivation and in consequence of the varieties of soil and climate. What can be more striking than the innumerable tulips derived from the original yellow tulip of Turkey, or all the varieties of pinks and carnations from a single species ? To make all the descriptions of cloth from the coarsest canvass or sail-cloth to the most beautiful lawn or cambric, there must have been, as there now are, great differences in the living plant. The best explanation therefore of the language of Pausanias seems to be, that he used \tvov to denote the common kind of flax, and Qwoos to signify a finer varietyt. In another passage, where he speaks of the Elean Byssus, his language shows, that its pecu- liar excellence consisted both in its fineness and in its beautiful yellow color ; for after expressing the admiration, to which this substance was entitled, as growing nowhere else in Greece, he says, that " in fineness it was not inferior to that of the He- brews, but was not equally yellow*." It may further be remarked in opposition to the idea, that (Mews meant cotton in these passages, that there is not the slightest ground for supposing, that cotton was cultivated either * Paus. 1. vi. cap. § 4. t Pausanias also distinguishes between \ivov and 0vcaos in his account of the clothing of a reputed statue of Neptune, 1. vi. c. 25. § 5. When flax is raised to be manufactured into cambric and fine lawn, twice as much seed is sown in the same space of ground. The plants then grow closer together ; the stalks are more delicate and slender ; and the fibres of each plant are finer in proportion. % L. v. 5. § 2. Others commend Byssus on account of its whiteness. See Philo. Apoc. xix. 14. Themistius (Orat. p. 57. ed. Paris, 1684. p. 68. ed. Dindorfii, Lips. 1832.) saw at Antioch " ancient letters wrapt in white Byssus" These, he says, were brought from Susa and Ecbatana. THE LINEN MANUFACTURE. 377 in Elis or in any other part of Europe so early as the time of Pausanias, nor indeed until a comparatively recent age. III. Forster (p. 69-71.) considers the testimony of Herodo- tus, that the embalmed bodies of the dead were wrapt in fillets of Byssus, as decisive in favor of his opinion, because those fil- lets are found on examination to be all cotton. It is presumed that the preceding testimony, proves that so far as they have been examined, in the only way which can settle the dispute, they are found universally to be linen. Of Forster's celebrated work it may be observed in general, that he rather from the very beginning" assumes his poifit, than endeavors to prove it. He continually speaks of it as demonstrated. Nevertheless the only arguments which can be found in his book, are those already stated. Little as these ar- guments amount to in opposition to the evidence, which has now been brought forward on the other side of the question, we find that the most learned authors since Forster's time, and es- pecially since the same opinion was embraced by Blumenbach, have generally been content to adopt it. But, although such eminent names as those of Porson*, Dr. Thomas Youngt, Mr. Hamilton*, Dr. T. M. Harris§, Mr. Wellbelovedll, E. H. Barker!, Dr. A. Granville**, Jomardtt, Wehrstt, J. H. Yoss§§, Heerenllll, SprengeHl", Billerbeck***, Geseniusttf, E. F. K. Rosenmul- lerUt, and Roselini§§§, stand arrayed against the evidence now * In his translation of the Rosetta Inscription, Clarke's Greek Marbles, p. 63 t Account of Discoveries in Hieroglyphic Literature, p. 101. 114. X iEgyptiaca, p. 321. § Natural History of the Bible, 2nd edition, p. 447. || Translation of the Bible, Gen. xli. 42. H Classical Recreations. ** As quoted at p. 364. tt Description des Hypogees, p. 35. XX Vom Papier, p. 201. §§ Virgil's Landliche Gedichte, iii. p. 313. Illl Ideen iiber die Politik, &c. IT IT Historia Rei Herbariae, torn. i. c. i. p. 15. *** Flora Classica, p. 177. ttt Thesaurus Philologico-Critieus, v. STO. XXX Biblische Alterthumskunde, 4. 1. p. 175. §§§ Monumenti dell' Egitto. Mon. Civili, tomo. i. Pisa, 1834, capo. iv. § 6. 48 378 ANCIENT HISTORY OF produced, i. e. to prove that /w 0f meant flax and not cotton, as those authors have supposed. Yet their evidence may be con- sidered as going all for nothing, because they express not their own opinion formed by independent inquiry and investigation, but merely the opinion which they have adopted from Forster and Blumenbach. There is, however, no reason to doubt, that Forster is right in considering Bua™?, or Byssus, as an Egyptian word with a Greek or Latin termination. In the Septuagint version it is al- ways used as equivalent to the Hebrew &JB (Shesh or Ses) } which according to the Hebrew Rabbis was a kind of flax, that grew in Egypt only and was of the finest quality*. Another term, used in the Pentateuch for linen cloth is *is (bad), which seems to be nearly the same as W2. The Egyptian term 22 or ann (puts) is very seldom found in the Hebrew Scriptures, and not until the intercourse became frequent between the Jews and other oriental nations. But it is continually employed by the Arabic, Persic, and Chaldee Translators, as equivalent to the Hebrew terms fc)iu and la. The distinction between Bwaos and the Egyptian terms for- merly explained is very obvious. $a> and he states, that on the shore to the north of Negropont " the rocks are composed of serpentine stone with veins of as- bestos and soapstone intermixed§." Tournefort speaks Gf Amiantus as brought from Cayslo in his time, but of inferior quality ||. Pausanias (i. 26. 7.) says, the wick of the golden lamp which was kept burning night and day in the temple of Minerva Polias at Athens, was "of Carpasian flax, the only kind of flax which is indestructible by fire." This " Carpasian flax" was asbestos from the vicinity of Carpasus, a town near the north-east corner of Cyprus, which retains its ancient name. Carp as. Dioscorides (L. v. c. 93.) gives a similar account of the quali- ties and uses of Amiantus, and says it was produced in CyprusT. Majolus says**, that in the year 1566 he saw at Venice Podo- cattarus, a knight of Cyprus, and a writer on the history of that island, who exhibited at Venice cloth made of the asbestos of his country, which he threw into the fire, and took it out unin- jured and made quite clean. Referring to Cyprus, Sonnini ( Toy age en Grece, i. p. 66.) says, L'amiante, asbestos, ou lin incombustible des anciens, est encore aussi abon- * De Oraculorum Defectu, p. 770. ed. H. Stephani, Par. 1572. t Travels in various Countries of the East, edited by Walpole, p. 288. X Ibid. p. 37. § Ibid. p. 38. — N. B. Asbestos is always found in rocks of Serpentine. || Voyage, English Translation, vol. i. p. 129. IT See p. 392. ** Dier. Canicular. Part I. Collog. xx. p. 453. 394 USES OF ASBESTOS. dant qu'il le fut autrefois ; la carriere qui le fournit est dans la montagne d'Aka- mantide, pres du cap Chromachiti. Le talc est commun, surtout pres de Larnaca, ou on l'emploie a blanchir les maisons ; et le platre a de nombreuses carrieres. The " talc " may be the same with the " Lapis specularis," which was found in Cyprus, according to Pliny (xxxvi. 45.). The testimony of Sonnini so far agrees with those of the ancients, that all the places mentioned were on the northern side of the island, so that the asbestos seems to have been found between Solee towards the West and Carpas towards the East. Pietro della Yalle, when he was at Larnaca, was presented with a piece of the amiantus of the country, but says that it was no longer spun and woven. Pliny, if we can rely upon his testimony as given in the ex- isting editions of his works, states, that Asbestos was obtained in Arcadia (H. N. xxxvii. 54.) and in India. " A kind of flax has been discovered which is incombustible by fire. It is called live flax ; and we have seen napkins of it burning upon the hearth at en- tertainments, and, when thus deprived of their dirt, more resplendent through the agency of fire than they could have been by the use of water. The funeral shirts made of it for kings preserve the ashes of the body separate from those of the rest of the pile. It is produced in deserts and in tracts scorched by the Indian sun, where there are no showers, and among dire serpents, and thus it is inured to live even when it is burnt. It is rare, and woven with difficulty on account of the shortness of its fibres. That variety which is of a red color becomes resplendent in the fire. When it has been found it equals the prices of excellent pearls. It is called by the Greeks Asbestine Flax, on account of its nature. Anaxilaus re- lates, that if a tree surrounded with cloth made of it be beaten, the strokes are not heard. On account of these properties this flax is the first in the world. The next in value is that made of byssus, which is produced about Elis in Achaia, and used principally for fine female ornaments. I find that a scruple of this flax, as also of gold, was formerly sold for four denarii*. The nap of linen cloths, ob- tained chiefly from the sails of ships, is of great use in surgery, and their ashes have the same effect as spodium. There is a certain kind of poppy the use of which imparts the highest degree of whiteness to linen cloths." — Pliny, Lib. xix. ch. 4. Besides the manufacture of napkins, this description exactly agrees with the accounts of Strabo, Sotacus, Dioscorides, and * i. e. eighteen grains of this flax were worth 2s. lOd. stg., being equal in value to its weight in gold. USES OF ASBESTOS. 399 city with himself. For there can be scarcely a doubt, but that Leo, who wrote the MS., was the same who was the author of the Chronicon. The author of the Chronicon, at the com- mencement of his history, calls himself " Frater Leo, cogno- mine Marsicanus*". He was made Bishop of Ostia A. D. 1101, so that we may suppose him to have been twenty or thirty years of age, when the MS. was made. Of his aptitude for such an employment we cannot doubt, when we consider his future labors as Librarian and author of the Chronicle. But if these facts be evident, it is equally manifest, that these two accomplished Benedictines could not have expressed their ven- eration towards their founder in any way better suited to their ideas and belief than by exhibiting in the manner described that relic, WHICH WAS SOLEMNLY DISPLAYED ONCE A YEAR WITH BURNING CANDLES AND ATTENDING ACOLYTHES TO THE ADMIRING AND ADORING CROWD OF DEVOTEES. On inquiry it is found that this relic exists no longer at Monte Casino, although the original copy of the Chronicon of Leo Ostiensis is still preserved in the Library!. It appears that the relic has long been lost, since there is no mention either of it, or of the casket which contained it in the " Descrizione Is- torica del Monastero di Monte Casino, Napoli, 1775." A large glove of this substance is in the Hunterian Museum at Glasgow. An English traveller states that he has lately seen at Parma a table-cloth, made of Amiantus from Corsica, for the use of the ex-Empress Maria Louisa, who resided there after the fall of Napoleon. In modern times cloth of asbestos is scarcely made. Indeed it is not probable that this material will ever be obtained in much abundance, or that it will cease to be a rarity except in the places of its production. It is never seen in Great Britain, or on the continent, save in the cabinets of the curious. * Marsicana (civitas) was in Marsica, the territory of the ancient Marsi. t Excursions in the Abruzzi, by the Hon. Keppel Craven, vol. i. p. 54. Mb The annexed Map (Plate VII.) is designed to indicate the divisions of the Ancient World as determined by the Raw- Materials principally produced and employed in them for weaving. The Red division produced Sheeps'-Wool and Goats'-Hair : also Beavers'- Wool in the portion of this division, which lies to the North of the Mediterranean Sea, and of the rivers Padus and Ister : and Camels'- Wool and Camels'-Hair in the portion lying South-East of a line drawn through the coast of Syria. The nations to the North of this division clothed themselves in skins, furs, and felt. The Yellow at the Eastern corner indicates the commence- ment of the vast Region, unknown to the Ancients, the inhabitants of which clothed themselves in Silk. The Green indicates the countries, all low and bordering on rivers, in which the cloth manufactured was chiefly Linen. The Brown is designed to show the cultivation of Hemp in the low country to the North of the Euxine Sea, and probably in other places, North of the Red division, which were adapted for its growth. Lastly, the Blue, which is the colour of the Baharein Isles and of India, shows that the inhabitants of these countries have from time immemorial clothed themselves in Cotton. m^ APPENDICES, APPENDIX A. ON PLINY'S NATURAL HISTORY. Sheep and wool — Price of wool in Pliny's time — Varieties of wool and where pro- duced — Coarse wool used for the manufacture of carpets — Woollen cloth of Egypt — Embroidery — Felting — Manner of cleansing — Distaff of Tanaquil — Varro — Tunic — Toga — Undulate or waved cloth — Nature of this fabric — Fig- ured cloths in use in the days of Homer (900 B. C.) — Cloth of gold — Figured cloths of Babylon — Damask first woven at Alexandria — Plaided textures first woven in Gaul — $150,000 paid for a Babylonish coverlet — Dyeing of wool in the fleece — Observations on sheep and goats — Dioscurias a city of the Colchians — Manner of transacting business. LIB. VIII. c. 47s. 72. 50s. 76.* " We are also much indebted to sheep both in sacrifices to propitiate the gods, and in the use of their fleeces. As oxen produce by cultivation the food of men, so we owe to sheep the protection of our bodies There are two prin- cipal kinds of sheep, the covered and the common. The former is softer, the lat- ter more delicate in feeding, inasmuch as the covered feeds on brambles. Its coverings are chiefly of Arabic materials. " The most approved wool is the Apulian, and that which is called the wool of Greek sheep in Italy, and the Italic wool in other places. The third kind in value is that obtained from Milesian sheep. The Apulian wools have a short staple, and are only celebrated for making psenulas. They attain the highest degree of excellence about Tarentum and Canusium. In Asia wools of the same kind are obtained at Laodicea. No white wool is preferred to those which are produced about the Po, nor has a pound ever yet exceeded a hundred sesterces (about $3,60.). Sheep are not shorn everywhere : in certain places the practice of pulling off the wool continues. There are various colors of wool, so that we want terms to denote all. Spain produces some of those varieties which we call native ; Pollentia, near the Alps, furnishes the chief kinds of black wool ; Asia * The edition here followed is that of Sillig, Lipsise, 1831-6, 5 vols., 12mo. 51 402 on pliny's natural history. and Baetica those ruddy varieties called Erythrean ; Canusium a sandy-colored* wool ; and Tarentum one of a dark shade peculiar to that locality. New-shorn greasy wools have all a medicinal virtue. The wool of Istria and Liburnia being more like hair than wool, is unsuitable for making the cloths which have a long nap. This is also the case with the wool of Salacia in Lusitania ; but the cloth made from it is recommended by its plaided pattern. A similar kind is pro- duced about Piscenae (i. e. Pezenas), in the province of Narbonne, and likewise in Egypt, the woollen cloth of which country, having been worn by use, is em- broidered and lasts some time longer. The coarse wool with a thick staple was used in very ancient times for carpets : at least Homer (900 B. C.) speaks of the use of it. The Gauls have one method of embroidering these carpets, and the Parthians another. Portions of wool also make cloth by being forced to- gether by themselves^. With the addition of vinegar these also resist iron, nay even fires, which are the last expedient for purging them ; for, having been taken out of the caldrons of the polishers, they are sold for the stuffing of beds, an in- vention made, I believe, in Gaul, certainly in the present day distinguished by Gallic names : for in what age it commenced I could not easily say, since the ancients used beds of straw, such as are now employed in camps. The cloths called gausapa began to be used within the memory of my father ; those called amphimalla within my own, (See Part First, p. 30,) as well as the shaggy cov- erings for the stomach, called ventralia. For the tunic with the laticlave is now first beginning to be woven after the manner of the gausapa. The black wools are never dyed. Concerning the dyeing of the others we shall speak in their proper places, in treating of sea-shells or the nature of herbs. " M. Varro says, that the wool continued to his time upon the distaff and spindle of Tanaquil, also called Caia Csecilia, in the temple of Sangus ; and that there re- mained in the temple of Fortune a royal undulate toga made by her, which Servius Tullius had worn. Hence arose the practice of carrying a distaff with wool upon it, and a spindle with its thread, after virgins who were going to be married. She first wove the straight tunic, such as is worn by tiros together with the toga pura, and by newly-married women. The undulate or waved cloth was origin- ally one of the most admired ; from it was derived the soriculate\. Fenestrella writes, that scraped and Phryxian togas came into favor about the end of the * This term is adopted as the best translation of the Latin fulvus, which, as well as the corresponding Greek adjective &vQdq, denoted a light yellowish-brown. Hence it was so commonly applied to the light hair, which accompanies a light complexion and often indicates mental vivacity, and which has consequently been always considered beautiful. Hence also it was used to denote the appearance of the Tiber and other rivers, when they were rendered turbid by the quantity of sand suspended in their waters. — See Fellows's Discoveries in Lycia. t See Appendix C. X It is probable that soriculate cloth was a kind of velvet, or plush, so called from its resemblance to the coat of the field-mouse, sorex, dim. soricula. So- riculata may have been changed into sororiculata by repeating or at the begin- ning of the word. on pliny's natural history. 403 reign of the Divine Augustus. The thick poppied togas are of remoter origin, be- ing noticed even so far back as by the poet Lucilius in his Torquatus. The toga pratezta was invented among the Etruscans. I find evidence that kings wore the striped toga*, that figured cloths were in use even in the days of Homer : and that these gave rise to the triumphal. To produce this effect with the nee- dle was the invention of the Phrygians, on which account cloths so embroidered have been called Phrygionic. In the same part of Asia king Attalus (see Part I. p. 88.) discovered the art of inserting a woof of gold : from which circumstance the Attalic cloths received their name. Babylon first obtained celebrity by its method of diversifying the picture with different colors, and gave its name to textures of this description. But to weave with a great number of leashes, so as to produce the cloths called polymita (i. e. damask cloths), was first taught in Alex- andria ; to divide by squares (i. e. plaids) in Gaul. Metellus Scipio brought it as an accusation against Cato, that even in his time Babylonian coverlets for triclinia were sold for 800,000 sesterces ($30,000), although the emperor Nero lately gave for them no less than 4,000,000 sesterces (about $150,000). The pratexta of Servius Tullius, covering the statue of Fortune which he dedicated, remained until the death of Sejanus, and it is wonderful that they had neither decayed of themselves nor been injured by the worms of moths through the space of 560 years. We have, moreover, seen the fleeces of living sheep dyed with purple, with the coccus, or the murex, in pieces of bark a foot and a half long, luxury appearing to force this upon them as if it were their nature. " In the sheep itself the excellence of the breed is sufficiently shown by the shortness of the legs and the clothing of the belly. Those which have naked bellies used to be called apices, and were condemned. The tails of the Syrian sheep are a cubit broad, and in that part they bear a great quantity of wool. It is thought premature to castrate lambs before they are five months old. In Spain, but especially in Corsica, there is a race of animals called musmons, resembling sheep, except that their covering is more like goats'-hair. The ancients called the mixed breed of sheep and musmons Umbri. Sheep have a very weak head, on which account they are obliged to turn from the sun in feeding. They arc most foolish animals. Where they have been afraid to enter, they follow one dragged along by the horn. They live ten years at the longest, but in ^Ethiopia thirteen years. Goats live there eleven years, and in other countries eight at the most In Cilicia and about the Syrtes, goats have a shaggy coat, which admits of being shorn." LIB. VI. c. 5. " The remaining shores are occupied by savage nations, as the Melanchlaeni and Coraxi, Dioscurias, a city of the Colchians, near the river Anthemus, being now deserted, although formerly so illustrious, that Timosthenes has recorded that three hundred nations used to resort to it, speaking different languages ; and that business was afterwards transacted on our part through the medium of one hun- dred and thirty interpreters." * The toga worn by the kings and other supreme magistrates among the Ro- mans was called trabea from the stripes, which were compared to the joists or rafters of a building (trabes). 404 ON THE ORIGIN AND MANUFACTURE OF APPENDIX B. ON THE ORIGIN AND MANUFACTURE OF LINEN AND COTTON PAPER. THE INVENTION OF LINEN PAPER PROVEN TO BE OF EGYPTIAN ORIGIN, COTTON PAPER MANUFACTURED BY THE BUCHARIANS AND ARABI- ANS, A. D. 704. Wehrs gives the invention of Linen paper to Germany — Schonemann to Italy — Opinion of various writers, ancient and modern — Linen paper produced in Egypt from mummy-cloth, A.D. 1200 — Testimony of Abdollatiph — Europe indebted to Egypt for linen paper until the eleventh century — Cotton paper — The knowledge of manufacturing, how procured, and by whom — Advantages of Egyptian paper manufacturers — Clugny's testimony — Egyptian manuscript of linen paper bearing date A. D. 1100 — Ancient water-marks on linen paper — Linen paper first introduced into Europe by the Saracens of Spain — The Wasp a paper-maker — Manufacture of paper from shavings of wood, and from the stalks or leaves of Indian-corn. No part of the Res Diplomatica has been more frequently- discussed than the question respecting the origin of paper made from linen rags. The inquiry is interesting on account of the unspeakable importance of this material in connection with the progress of knowledge and all the means of civilization, and it also claims attention from the philologist as an aid in determining the age of manuscripts. Wehrs refers to a document written A. D. 1308 as the oldest known specimen of linen paper ; and, as the invention must have been at least a little previous to the preparation of this document, he fixes upon 1300 as its probable date*. Yarious writers on the subject, as Yon Murr, Breitkopf, Schonemann, &c, concur in this opinion. Gotthelf Fischer, in his Essay on Paper-marksf, cites an * Vom Papier, p. 309, 343. t This Essay, translated into French, is published by Jansen, in. his Essai sur Torigine de la gravure en bois et en taille-douce, Paris 1808, tome i. p. 357-385. LINEN AND COTTON PAPER. 405 extract from an account written in 1301 on linen paper. In this specimen the mark is a circle surmounted by a sprig, at the end of which is a star. The paper is thick, firm, and well grained ; and its water-lines and water-marks (vergures et jjontuseaux) may readily be distinguished. The date was carried considerably higher by Schwandner, Principal Keeper of the Imperial Library at Vienna, who found among the charters of the Monastery of Goss in Upper Stiria one in a state of decay, only seven inches long and three wide. So highly did lie estimate the value of this curious relic as to publish in 1788 a full account of his discovery in a thin quarto volume, which bears the following title, '- Chartam linteam antiquissimam, omnia hactenas product a specimina cetate sua super ant em, ex cirnelus Blbliothecce Augusta Vindobo- nensis exponit Jo. Ge. Schivandner." fyc. The document is a mandate of Frederick II. Emperor of the Romans, entrusting to the Archbishop of Saltzburg and the Duke of Austria the determination of a dispute between the Duke of Carinthia and the Monastery of Goss respecting the property of the latter in Carinthia. Schwandner proves the date of it to be 1243. He does not say whether it has any lines or water-mark, but is quite satisfied from its flexibility and other qualities, that it is linen. Although on the first discovery of this document some doubt was expressed as to its genuineness, it appears to have risen in estimation with succeeding writers : and we apprehend it is rather from inadvertence than from any deficiency in the evi- dence, that it is not noticed at all by Schonemann, Ebert, Delandine, or by Home. Due attention is, however, bestowed upon it by August Friedrich PfeifTer Uber Bucher-Hand- schriften, Erlangen 1810, p. 39, 40. With regard to the circumstances which led to the invention of the paper now in common use, or the country in which it took place, we find in the writers on the subject from Polydore Virgil to the present day nothing but conjectures or confessions of ignorance. Wehrs supposes, and others follow him, that in making paper linen rags were either by accident or through design at first mixed with cotton rags, so as to produce a paper, which was partly linen and partly cotton, and that this led by 406 ON THE ORIGIN AND MANUFACTURE OF degrees to the manufacture of paper from linen only*. Wehrs also endeavors to claim the honor of the invention for Germany, his own country ; but Schonemann gives that distinction to Italy, because there, in the district of Ancona, a considerable manufacture of cotton paper was carried on before the fourteenth centuryf . All however admit, that they have no satisfactory evidence on the subject. A clear light is thrown upon these questions by a remark of the Arabian physician, Abdollatiph, who visited Egypt A. D. 1200. He informs us J, " that the cloth found in the catacombs, and used to envelope the mummies, was made into garments, or sold to the scribes to make paper for shop-keepers? Having shown (See Part IV. Chapter I.) that this cloth was linen, the passage of Abdollatiph, therefore, may be considered as a decisive proof, which, however, has never been produced as such, of the manufacture of linen paper as early as the year 1200. This account coincides remarkably with what we know from various other sources. Professor Tychsen, in his learned and curious dissertation on the use of paper from Papyrus (publish- ed in the Comment ationes Reg. Soc. Gottingensis Recenti- ores, vol. iv. A. D. 1820), has brought abundant testimonies to prove that Egypt supplied all Europe with this kind of paper until towards the end of the eleventh century. The use of it was then abandoned, cotton paper being employed in- stead. The Arabs in consequence of their conquests in Bucharia had learnt the art of making cotton paper about the year 704, and through them or the Saracens it was introduced * Vom Papier, p. 183. t Diplomatik, vol . i. p. 494. X Chapter iv. p. 188 of Silvestre de Sacy's French translation, p. 221 of Wahl's German translation. This interesting passage was translated as follows by Ed- ward Pococke, the younger : — " Et qui ex Arabibus, incolisve Rifse, aliisve, has areas indagant, haec integumenta diripiunt, quodque in iis rapiendum invenitur ; et conficiunt sibi vestes, aut ea chartariis vendunt ad conficiendam chartam em- poreaticam." Silvestre de Sacy (Notice, &c.), animadverting on White's version which is entirely different, expresses his approbation of Pococke's, from which Wahl's does not materially differ. LINEN AND COTTON PAPER. 407 into Europe in the eleventh century*. We may therefore con- sider it as in the highest degree probable, that the mode of making cotton paper was known to the paper-makers of Egypt. At the same time endless quantities of linen cloth, the best of all materials for the manufacture of paper, were to be obtained from the catacombs. If we put together these circumstances, we cannot but per- ceive how they conspire to illustrate and justify the statement of Abdollatiph. We perceive the interest which the great Egyptian paper-manufacturers had in the improvement of their article, and the unrivalled facilities which they possessed for this purpose ; and thus, we apprehend, the direct testimony of an eye-witness of the highest reputation for veracity and intel-i ligence, supported as it is by collateral probabilit ies , | cleju, a great measure the long-agitated question rj of paper such as we now commonly m The evidence being ca rries tion with it the follow paludi 408 ON THE ORIGIN AND MANUFACTURE OF curate. The expression " scrapings of old cloths" agrees ex- actly with the mode of making paper from linen rags, but is not in accordance with any facts known to us respecting the use of woollen or cotton cloth. The only objection against this view of the subject is, that, as Peter of Clugny had not when he wrote this passage travelled eastward of France, we can scarcely suppose him to have been sufficiently acquainted with the mann3 v s and productions of Egypt to introduce any allu- sion to their newly invented mode of making paper. But we know that the Abbey of Clugny had more than 300 churches, colleges, and monasteries dependent on it, and that at least two of these were in Palestine and one at Constantinople. The intercourse which must have subsisted in this way between the ■my and the Levant, may account for the Abbot r ith the fact. It is therefore probable that pe of paper in Egypt from the Tuition had been invented C C" ■ LINEN igetabta .NUFACTURE OF Ifcer linen or cotton, are in the formation of converting them Ions. In some |kers, for she :vhich she :anufac- LINEN AND COTTON PAPER. 411 known how to make paper. We are still behind in our arts and sciences, because we have not always been observers. If we had watched the operations of insects, and the structure of insects in general, with more care, we might have been far advanced in the knowledge of many arts which are yet in their infancy, for nature has given us abundance of patterns. We have learnt to perfect some instruments of sound by examining the structure of the human ear ; and the mechanism of an eye has suggested some valuable improvements in achromatic glasses. Reaumur has given a very interesting account of the wasps of Cayenne [Charter gus nidulans), which hang their nests in trees*. Like the bird of Africa called the social grosbeak (Loxia socia), they fabricate a perfect house, capable of containing many hundreds of their community, and suspend it on high out of the reach of attack. But the Cayenne wasp is a more expert artist than the bird. He is a pasteboard-maker ; — and the card with which he forms the exterior covering of his abode is so smooth, so strong, so uniform in its texture, and so white that the most skilful manufacturer of this substance might be proud of the work. It takes ink admirably ! The nest of the pasteboard-making wasp is impervious to water. It hangs upon the branch of a tree, and those rain- drops which penetrate through the leaves never rest upon its hard and polished surface. A small opening for the entrance of the insects terminates its funnel-shaped bottom. It is impossible to unite more perfectly the qualities of lightness and strength. Mr. J. Rennie, speaking of wasps' nests, gives us the following interesting account of one lately examined by him : — " The length," says he, " is about nine inches, six stout circular plat- forms stretch internally across, like so many floors, and fixed all round to the walls of the nest. They are smooth above, with hexagonal cells on the under surface. These platforms are not quite flat, but rather concave above, like a watch-glass reversed ; * Memoires sur les Insectes, torn, vi., mem. vii. See also Bonnet, vol. ix. 412 ON THE ORIGIN AND MANUFACTURE OF the centre of each platform is perforated for the admission of the wasps, at the extremity of a short funnel-like projection, and through this access is gained from story to story. On each platform, therefore, can the wasps walk leisurely about, attend- ing to the pupae secured in the cells, which, with the mouths downward, cover the ceiling above their heads — the height of the latter being just convenient for their work." Pendent wasps'-nests of enormous size are found in Ceylon, suspended often in the talipot-tree at the height of seventy feet. The appearance of these nests thus elevated, with the larger leaves of the tree, used by the natives as umbrellas and tents, waving over them, is very singular. Though no species of European wasp is a storer of honey, yet this rule does not apply to certain species of South America. In the " Annals and Magazine of Natural History" for June, 1841, will be found a detailed account, with a figure of the pendent nest of a species termed by Mr. A. White Myrcvptera scutellaris. The external case consists of stout cardboard covered with conical knobs of various sizes. The entrances are artfully protected by pent- roofs from the weather and heavy rains ; and are tortuous, so as to render the ingress of a moth or other large insect difficult. Internally are fourteen combs, exclusive of a globular mass, the nucleus of several circular combs, which are succeeded by others of an arched form — that is, constituting segments of circles. Good writing, printing and wrapping paper, may be procured from the shavings of common wood. The wood must be reduced to shavings by the ordinary jack-plain shaving size. The shavings are then placed in a cistern or boiler sufficiently large, and covered with water, which should be raised to the boiling-point. To every one hundred pounds of the wood so reduced, from twelve to eighteen pounds of alkali, either vege- table or mineral, is to be added, in proportion to its quality for strength. If salts are used they should be reduced before coming in contact with the wood. The salts may, however, be put in with the water and wood before reduction, but the first method is the most preferable. Should lime be used, there must LINEN AND COTTON PAPER. 413 be a sufficient, in all cases, to equal twelve pounds of pure black salts. One hundred pounds of wood will, if well attended to, make from five to seven reams of paper*. * Mr. Edmund Shaw, of Fenchurch Street, London, obtained a patent in Eng- land bearing date September 14, 1837, for a method of manufacturing paper from the leaves which cover the ears of Indian-corn. According to this patent the envelopes or leaves which cover the corn are in the first instance put into a vessel containing water. The water may be pure or slightly alkaline ; the water is then boiled in the vessel into which the aforesaid envelopes or fellicular leaves are thrown, after being macerated. When they have imbibed water and become thickened and swollen, so that the matter inter- posed between the fibres is reduced to a state of pulp or jelly, a slight beating by fulling, mallet, or other mechanical means will effect a separation of the fibre from the adherent glutinous matter, and washing or rinsing with water during the beating, will cleanse it entirely from the glutinous matter. The fibre is then bleached, by immersing, or immersing and beating or stirring it about in a solution of chloride of lime, or with beating engines, as at present practised for the bleaching of rags in paper mills, and the fibre is in like manner reduced to pulp, and paper manufactured therefrom, or the quality of the paper may be varied by the admixture of a portion of rags or other filamentous sub- stance. It may be well to remark, that some attempts to produce paper from the above mentioned material, have been made, but were abandoned from the incapability of producing good white paper. The patentee claims the mode, or process, above described of making white pa- per by the application of bleached pulp, produced from the stalks or leaves of In- dian-corn. 414 MANUFACTURE AND USE OP APPENDIX C. ON FELT. MANUFACTURE AND USE OF FELTING BY THE ANCIENTS. Felting more ancient than weaving — Felt used in the East — Use of it by the Tartars — Felt made of goats' -hair by the Circassians — Use of felt in Italy and Greece — Cap worn by the Cynics, Fishermen, Mariners, Artificers, &c. — Cleanthes compares the moon to a skull-cap — Desultores — Vulcan — Ulysses — Phrygian bonnet — Cap worn by the Asiatics — Phrygian felt of Camels' -hair — Its great stiffness — Scarlet and purple felt used by Babylonish decorators — Mode of manufacturing Felt — Northern nations of Europe — Cap of liberty — Petasus — Statue of Endymion — Petasus in works of ancient art — Hats of Thes- saly and Macedonia — Laconian or Arcadian hats — The Greeks manufacture Felt 9 jO B. C. — Mercury with the pileus and petasus — Miscellaneous uses of Felt. There seems no reason to question the correctness of Pro- fessor Beckmann's observation*, that the making of felt was in- vented before weavingt. The middle and northern regions of Asia are occupied by Tartars and other populous nations, whose manners and customs appear to have continued unchanged from the most remote antiquity I, and to whose simple aDd uni- form mode of existence this article seems to be as necessary as food. Felt is the principal substance both of their clothing and of their habitations. Carpini, who in the year 1246 went as ambassador to the great Khan of the Moguls, Mongals, or Tartars, says, " Their houses are round, and artificially made like tents, of rods and twigs interwoven, having a round hole in the middle of the roof for the admission of light and the pas- sage of smoke, the whole being covered with felt, of which * Anleitung zur Technologies p. 117, Note. t See Gilroy's Treatise on the Art of Weaving, p. 14. t Malcolm's Hist, of Persia, ch. vi. vol. i. pp. 123, 124. Hate TM. FELT BY THE ANCIENTS. 415 likewise the doors are made*." Very recently the same ac- count of these "portable tents of felt" has been given by Julius von Klaprothf. Kupffer says of the Caratchai, " Leurs larges manteaux de feutre leur servent en meme terns de matelas et de couverturet" The large mantle of felt, here mentioned, is used for the same purpose in the neighboring country of Cir- cassian One of these mantles now in the possession of Mr. Urquhart was made of black goats'-hair, and had on the out- side a long shaggy villus. The Circassians sleep under this mantle by night, and wear it, when required, over their other dress by day. A similar article is thus described by Colonel Leake II : the postillions in Phrygia " wear a cloak of white camels'-hair, half an inch thick, and so stiff that the cloak stands without support, when set upright on the ground. There are neither sleeves nor hood ; but only holes to pass the hands through, and projections like wings upon the shoulders for the purpose of turning off the rain. It is the manufacture of the country." The Chinese traveller, Chy Fa Hian, who visited India at the end of the fourth century, says, that the people of Chen Chen, a kingdom in a mountainous district situated about the Lake of Lob, wore dresses like those of the Chinese, except that they made use of felt and stuffs (du feutre et des etoffes^). In conformity with the prevailing use of this manufacture in * Kerr's Collection of Voyages and Travels, vol. i. p. 128. See also p. 167, where the same facts are related by William de Rubruquis. The account which Herodotus gives (iv. 23) of the habitations of the Argippaei evidently alludes to customs similar to those of the modern Tartars. He says, " They live under trees, covering the tree in winter with strong and thick undyed felt (ffiXw crzyvw \svku), and removing the felt in summer." Among the ceremo- nies observed by the Scythians in burying the dead, Herodotus also mentions the erection of three stakes of wood, which were surrounded with a close covering of woollen felt (iv. 73). Also, in the next section but one (iv. 75.) there is an evi- dent allusion to the practice of living under tents made of felt (iaro&ovowt {nrdrovs ni\ovs). t Reise in dem Kaucasus und nach Georgien, ch. vi. p. 161. t Voyage dans les Environs du Mont Elbrouz. St. Petersburg, 1829, 4to, p. 20. § Travels in Circassia, by Edmund Spencer. |] Journal of a Tour in Asia Minor, p. 38. V Ch. ii. p. 7, of Remusat's Translation, Par. 1836, 4to. 416 MANUFACTURE AND USE OF the colder regions of Asia, scarlet or purple felt (such as that lately re-invented at Leeds, in England), was used by the Babylonish decorators for the drapery of the funeral pile, when Alexander celebrated the splendid obsequies of Hephsestion : for so we must understand the expression $oiviki6cs m\nTai (Diod. Sic. xvii. 115. p. 251, Wess.). Xenophon (Cycrop. v. 5. § 7.) mentions the use of felt manufactured in Media, as a covering for chairs and couches. The Medes also used bags and sacks of felt (Athenseus, 1. xii. p. 540 c. Casaub.). The process, by which wool is converted into felt, was called by the Greeks mMo* (Plato de Leg. 1. viii. p. 115. ed. Bek- ker), literally a compression, from wAfta, to compress*. The ancient Greek scholion on the passage of Plato here referred tO thus explains the term : ILiX^ireas' rrjg Sia rrjs tS>v epiav nvicvcSoreas yivonsvm wdrjTos, %. e. " cloth made by the thickening of wool." With this definition of felt agrees the following description of a niTaaos in a Greek epigram, which records the dedication of it to Mercury : — Hoi tov in\r}QivTa Si' cv^dvTov rpij^os d/xvoVi 'Ep//a, KaXXmATjs l/cpC/iave iriracov. Brunck, Anal. ii. 41. The art of felting was called h m\nTitft (Plato, Polit. ii. 2. p. 296, ed. Bekker). According to the ancient Greek and Latin glos- saries, and to Julius Pollux (vii. 30), a felt-maker, or hatter, was ffiXoTroto? or ttiXutottoio?, in Latin coactiliarius. From n7\os [dim. irikiov, second dim. mXiSwv), the proper term forfeit in general, derived from the root of viM®, came the verb 7nX<>a>, signifying to felt, or to make felt, and from this latter verb was formed the ancient participle jriXarfc, felted, which again gave origin to TTi\o)T07:oi6g. It may be observed, that our English word felt is evidently a participle or a derivative, and that its verb or root Fel ap- pears to be the same with the root of TnXew. The Latin cogo, which was used, like the Greek mMa, to de- * Xenophanes thought that the moon was a compressed cloud (vt * Pileus or Pileum (Non. Marc, iii., pilea virorum sunt, Servius in Virg. Mn. ix. 6l6.) 3 dim. Pileolus or Pileolum (Colum. de Arbor. 25). t Tour through Greece^ vol. i. pp. 242, 243. 53 418 MANUFACTURE AND USE OF PdKrpov, cucrjirrpop) ; he is clothed in the blanket (pallium, x* aTva y T pi/3ov) with one end, which is covered, over his left breast, and another hanging behind over his left shoulder ; he wears the beard (barba, ^yuv') ; his head is protected by the simple skull- cap (pileus, n-rXos). All these were distinct characteristics of the philosopher, and more especially of the Cynic*. The dog also probably marked his sect. Leonidas of Tarentum, in his enumeration of the goods belonging to the Cynic Posocharesf, including a dog-collar (kwos^oi/), mentions, mi niXov Kefaxss ovx oatag vKeTravdv, i. e. " The cap of felt, which covered his unholy head." This passage may be regarded as a proof, that among the Greeks, though not among the Romans, the cap of felt was worn by very poor men. It also proves that this cap, which was the fess of the modern Greeks, was worn by philosophers, and therefore throws light on a passage of Antiphanes (ap. Aiken, xii. 63. p. 545 a) describing a philosopher of a different character, who was very elegantly dressed, having a small cap of fine felt {jeCkiim SuraXdv), also a small white blanket, a beautiful tunic, and a neat stick. When Cleanthes advanced the doc- trine, that the moon had the shape of a skull-cap (wiXoec^rM uxwolt^ Stobeei Eel. Phys. 1. 27. p. 554, ed. Heeren), he proba- bly intended to account for its phases from its supposed hemis- pherical form. A cap of a similar form and appearance, though perhaps larger and not so closely fitted to the crown of the head, was worn by fishermen %. In an epigram of Philippus§, describing the apparatus of a fisherman, the author mentions tttXov dufiKprjvov Uaaiaaey^ " the cap encompassing his head and protecting it from wet." Figure 2. in Plate VIII. represents a small statue of a fisherman belonging to the Townley Collection in the British Museum. His cap is slightly pointed and in a degree, which was probably favorable to the discharge of water from its surface. Hesiod recommends, that agricultural laborers should wear the same defence from cold and showers (Op. et * See the articles Baculus, Barba, Pallium, p. 703, in Smith's Diet, of Greek and Roman Antiquities. t Brunck, Anal. i. p. 223. Nos. x. xi. X Theocrit. xxi. 13. § Brunck, Anal. ii. p. 212. No. v. FELT BY THE ANCIENTS. 419 Dies, 545-547). The use of this cap by seamen was no doubt the ground, on which the painter Nicomachus represented Ulysses wearing one. " Hie primus," says Pliny (H. N. xxxv. 36. s. 22.), " Ulyssi addidit pileum*." For the same reason the cap is an attribute of the Dioscuri ; and hence two caps with stars above them are often shown on the coins of maritime cities and of others where Castor and Pollux were worshipped. Figure 3. of Plate VIII. is taken from a brass coin of Dioscurias in Colchis, preserved in the British Museum. On the reverse is the name AI02K0YPIAA0S. Figure 4. represents both sides of a silver coin in the same collection, with the legend BPETTIQN. It belongs to Bruttium in South Italy. On the one side Castor and Pollux are mounted on horseback. They wear the chlamys and carry palm branches in their hands. Their caps have a narrow brim. The reverse shows their heads only, and their caps, without brims, are surrounded by wreaths of myrtle. The cornucopia is added as an emblem of prosperity. Figure 5. is from a brass coin of Amasia (AMASSEIAS) in Pontus. It shows the cornucopia between the two skull-caps. Charon also was represented with the mar- iner's or fishermen's cap, as, for example, in the bas-relief in the Museo Pio-Clementino, torn. iv. tav. 35, and the painted vase in Stackelberg's Gr liber der Hellenen, t. 47, 48, which is copied in Becker's Charicles, vol. ii. taf. i. fig. 1, and in Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, p. 404. A pileus of the same general form was worn by artificers ; and on this account it was attributed to Vulcan and to Daedalus, who, as well as Ulysses and Charon, are commonly found wearing it in works of ancient art. Arnobius says, that Vul- can was represented " cum pileo et malleo" — " fabrili expedi- tione succinctus ;" and that on the other hand Mercury was represented with the petasus, or " petasunculus," on his headt- * Compare Eustathius in Horn. II. x. 265, as quoted below. t Adv. Gentes, lib. vi. p. 674, ed. Erasmi. When Lucian ludicrously represents Jupiter wearing a skull-cap, which we may suppose to have been like that of the philosopher in Plate VIII. figure l.he must have intended to describe the " Father of gods and men" as a weak old man ; AutXe rr\v Kt$akr\v KctreveyKuyv' K seems to mean the ireracros. FELT BY THE ANCIENTS. 427 by Lucian*. He sleeps upon it, holding the fibula in his left hand. His feet are adorned with boots [cothurni) and his sim- ple petasus is tied under his chin. In this form the petasus il- lustrates the remark of Theophrastus, who, in describing the Egyptian Bean, says, that the leaf was of the size of the Thessa- lian petasust. For the purpose of comparing these two objects, a representation of the leaves of the plant referred to, is intro- duced into the same Figure (3) ; taken from the " Botanical Magazine," Plates 903, 3916, and Sir J. E. Smith's " Exotic Botany," Tab. 31, 32. The petasus here shown on the head of Endymion, the original statue being as large as life, certain- ly resembles very closely both in size and in form the leaf of the Egyptian Bean, which is the Cyamus Nelumbo, or Nelum- bium Speciosum of modern botanists. The flowers of umbelliferous plants are aptly called by Pha- niast TT£Taaa)Sr], i. e. like a petasus. The petasus, as worn by the two shepherds, who discover Romulus and Remus, in a bas-relief of the Yatican§, is certainly not unlike the umbel of a plant. See Plate IX. Fig. 4. * In the Dialogues of the Gods (xi.), the Moon says in answer to Venus, that Endymion is particularly beautiful " when he sleeps, having thrown his scarf under him upon the rock, holding in his left hand the darts just falling from it, whilst his right hand bent upwards lies gracefully round his face, and, dissolved in sleep, he exhales his ambrosial breath." The recumbent statue, here represented, is of white marble, and is placed in room XI. of the Townley Gallery. It was found in 1774 at Roma Vecchia (Dal- laway's Anecdotes of the Arts, p. 303). It has been called Mercury or Adonis. But there are no examples or authorities in support of either of these suppositions. It is not sufficient to say that every beautiful youth may have been meant either for Mercury, who was never represented asleep, or for Adonis. We know that the fable of Endymion and the Moon was a favorite subject with the ancient art- ists. In the Antichita d'Ercolano, torn. iii. tav. 3, we find a picture, which was discovered at Portica, and which represents this subject. It is still more frequent in ancient bas-reliefs. See Mus. Pio-Clem. torn. iv. v. 8, pp. 38, 41 ; Sandrart, Sculp. Vet Adm. p. 52 ; Gronovii Thesaur. torn. i. folio O ; Proceedings of the Philological Society, vol. i. pp. 8, 9. t Hsracra QcrraXiKy. Hist. Plant, iv. 10. p. 147, ed. Schneider. t Apud Athen. ix. 12. p. 371 D. ed. Casaub. § Museo Pio-Clementino, torn. v. tav. 24. This bas-relief formerly belonged to the Mattei collection. See Monumenta Matthceinana, torn. iii. tab. 37. 428 MANUFACTURE AND USE OF Callimachus ascribes the same head-dress to shepherds in the following lines : "EirjDsrrc toi npoe^ovca Kaprjs tvpsta KaXvTrrprj, UuipeviKdv iriXr/jxa. — Frag. cxxv. The wide covering projecting from your head, the pastoral hat, became you. This " pastoral hat," if we may judge from the representa- tion of the two shepherds in the bas-relief just referred to (Fig. 4.), was in its shape very like the "bonny blue bonnet" of the Scotch. Figure 5 in Plate IX. is taken from a painted Greek vase, and represents the story of the delivery of (Edipus to be exposed. His name OIAIITOAAH is written beside him. The shepherd ET^OPBOS, who holds the naked child in his arms, wears a flat and very broad petasus hanging behind his neck. It is of an irregular shape, as if from long usage*. The shep- herd Zethus wears a petasus hanging behind his back in a bas-relief belonging to the Borghese collection, published by Winckelmann {.Mori. Inediti, ii. 85). See Plate IX. Fig. 6. The Athenian ephebi wore the broad-brimmed hat, together with the scarf or chlamyst. Meleager, in an epigram on a beau- tiful boy, named Antiochus, says, that he would be undistinguish- able from Cupid, if Cupid wore a scarf and petasus instead of his bow and arrows and his wings i. When a young Greek conquered in the games, his friends semetimes bestowed a hat (petasus) upon him as a presents In consequence of the use of the petasus as a part of the ordinary costume of the Athenian youth, we find it in a great variety of works of ancient art illustrative of the religion and mythology of Greece. For example : — 1. In the inner frieze of the Parthenon, the remains of which are now in the- British Museum, it is worn by many of the riders on horseback. Figure 7, iu Plate IX. shows one of * See Monumenti Inediti pubblicati dalV Institute di Correspondenza Archeo- logica, vol. ii. tav. 14. t Pollux, Onom. x. 164 ; Philemon, p. 367. ed. Meineke ; Brunck, Anal. vol. ii. p. 41 ; Jacobs in Athol. Grcec. i. 1. p. 24. X Brunck, Anal. vol. i. p. 5. § Eratosthen. a Bernhardy, p. 249. 250. FELT BY THE ANCIENTS. 429 these horsemen (from the slab No. 54.) with his petasus tied under his chin. 2. It is worn by Theseus, as represented on a vase in the Yatican collection. See Winckelmann, Mon. Inediti, vol. ii. 98, and Fig. 8, Plate IX. 3. Also by (Edipus, as represented on one of Sir William Hamilton's vases (vol. ii. Plate 24.), standing before the sphinx. 4. The coins of iEtolia exhibit Meleager wearing the petasus. Five of these have been selected from the collection in the British Museum, which are engraved according to the size of the originals in Plate IX. Figures 9, 10, and 11, are of silver. In each of them the petasus has the form of a circular disc with a boss at the top like that on a Scotch bonnet : on the reverse is the Calydonian boar, with a spear head beneath it, and the word AIT&AQN. Figure 12, which is of gold*, and Figure 13, which is of silver, have the head of Hercules on the reverse. The hero, supposed to be Meleager, wears a petasus, a scarf, and boots, as we have seen to be the case with Endymion (Fig. 3), this being the attire of hunters. In these two coins he also holds a spear in his right hand, and is seated upon a shield (see Fig. 13.) and other pieces of armor. AIT&A12N is written by the side. The gold coin (see Fig. 12.) represents him with a Yictory in his left hand, and with a small figure of Diana Lucifera in front. The broad-brimmed hat, or petasus, was more especially worn by the Greeks when they were travellingf . Its appearance is well shown in Fig. 14, taken from a fictile vase belonging to the late Mr. Hope*. It represents a Greek soldier on a journey, wearing his large blanket, and holding two spears in his right hand. This figure also shows one of the methods of fastening on the hat, viz. by passing the string round the occiput. The comedies of Plautus, being translated from the Greek, contain allusions to the same practice. In the Pseudolus (ii. 4. 55, and iv. 7. 90,) the petasus and the scarf are supposed to be * This is engraved by Taylor Combe, Vet. Populorum Nunmi. tab. v. No. 23 t Brunck, Anal, ii. 170, No. 5. t Hope, Costume of the Ancients, vol. i. pi. 71. 430 MANUFACTURE AND USE OF worn by a person to indicate that he was coming from a journey. In the prologue to the Amphitryo, Mercury says. Ego has habebo hie usque in petaso pinnulas, Turn meo patri autem torulus merit aureus Sub petaso : id signum Amphitruoni non erit. Mercury and his father Jupiter are here supposed to be attired like Sosia and Amphitryo his master, both of whom had been travelling and were returning home. At the same time there is an allusion to the winged hat of Mercury, of which more hereafter. Again, in act i. scene i. 1. 287, the petasus is attributed to Sosia, because he is supposed to be coming from a journey; and to Mercury, both because it was commonly attributed to him, and because on this occasion he was person- ating Sosia. The Romans were less addicted to the use of the petasus than the Greeks : they often wore it when they were from home ; but that they did not consider it at all necessary to wear hats in the open air is manifest from the remark of Suetonius about the Emperor Augustus, that he could not even bear the winter's sun, and hence " domi quoque non nisi petatasus sub divo spatiabatur." (August. 82.) Caligula permitted the senators to wear them at the theatres as a protection from the sun (Dio. Cass. lix. 7. p. 909, ed. Reimari). What was meant by wearing hats " according to the Thessalian fashion" is by no means clear. Perhaps the Thessalians may have worn hats resembling those of their neighbors, the Macedonians, and of the shape of these we may form some conception from the coins of the Macedonian kings. One of these coins from the collec- tion in the British Museum is copied in Plate IX. Fig. 15. It is a coin of the reign of Alexander I. and exhibits a Mace- donian warrior standing by the side of his horse, holding two spears in his left hand, and wearing a hat with a broad brim turned upwards. This Macedonian petasus is called the Causia {jtavoia )*, and was adopted by the Romansf , and more * Val. Max. v. 1. Extern. 4. Pausan., ap. Eustath. in II. ii. 121. It is to be observed, that the causia and petasus are opposed to one another by a writer in Athenaeus (L. xii. 537, e), as if the causia was not a petasus ! t Plautus, Mil. iv. 4. 42. Pers. i. 3. 75. Antip. Thess. in Brunch Anal. ii. 111. FELT BY THE ANCIENTS. 431 especially by the Emperor Caracalla, who, as Herodian states, aimed to imitate Alexander the Great in his costume. It appears probable, nevertheless, that the turning up of the brim was not peculiar to the Macedonians, and it may have depended altogether on accident or fancy ; for we find instances of it on painted fictile vases, where there is no reason to suppose that any reference was intended either to Macedonia or Thessaly. Fig. 16. Plate IX. for example, is taken from the head of Bellerophon, on one of Sir William Hamilton's vases* ; and the left-hand figure from a fictile vase at Vienna, engraved by Ginzrott- This hat is remarkable for the boss at the top, which we observe also on the iEtolian coins, and in various other examples. In connection with the above quoted expression of Dio Cas- sius it may be observed further, that besides the causia two varieties of the petasus seem to be alluded to by several ancient authors, viz. the Thessalian, and the Arcadian or Laconian. How they were distinguished, cannot be ascertained, but the passages which mention them will now be produced, that the reader may judge for himself. The Thessalian variety is mentioned by Dio Cassius, by Theophrastus, as above quoted (p. 427), and by Callimachus in the following fragment, which is preserved in the Scholia on Sophocles, (Ed. Col. 316. And about his head lay a felt, newly come from Thessaly, as a protection from wet. — Frag. 124. ed. Ernesti. The frenzied Cynic philosopher Menedemus, among other pe- culiarities, wore an Arcadian hat, HAVING THE TWELVE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC WOVEN INTO ITt ! Am- mianus (Brunck, Anal. ii. 384.) represents an orator dedicating " an Arcadian hat" to Mercury, who was the patron of his art, and also a native of Arcadia. Herodes Atticus wore " the Arcadian hat" at Athens, as a protection from the sun ; and the language of Philostratus, in recording the fact, shows that the Athenians of his time com- * Vol. i. pi. 1. t Uber die Wagen und Fuhriverke der Alien, vol. i. p. 342. X Diog. Laert. vi. 102. See Gilroy's Treatise on the Art of Weaving, Amer- ican edition, p. 446. 432 MANUFACTURE AND USE OP monly wore it, more especially in travelling*. Arrian, who wrote about the middle of the second century, says, that " La- conian or Arcadian hats," were worn in the army by the pel- tastse instead of helmetsf. This circumstance shows a remark- able change of customs ; for in the early Greek history we find the Persian soldiers held up as the objects of ridicule and con- tempt, because they wore hats and trowsersj. On the whole, it is very evident that " the Arcadian or Laconian hat " was one and the same variety, and that this variety of head-dress was simply the petasus, or hat with a brim, so called to distinguish it from the proper 7r?Xo ?J which was the skull-cap, or hat without a brim. This supposition suits the representations of the only ima- ginary beings who are exhibited in works of ancient art wear- ing the petasus, viz. the Dioscuri and Mercury. It has been already observed that the Dioscuri are commonly represented with the skull-cap, because they were worshipped, as the reader will have perceived, as the guardians of the mar- iner§ ; but on ancient vases we find them sometimes painted with the petasus ; and if this was the same with the ^rAo? A.a*w«- kos, it would coincide with their origin as natives of Sparta. In Plate IX. Fig. 16, an example is shown, on one of Sir Wil- liam Hamilton's vases, in which their attire resembles that of the Athenian ephebi. They wear boots and a tunic, over which one of them also wears the scarf or chlamys. They are conducted by the goddess Night. In like manner Mercury, as a native of Arcadia, might be expected to wear "the Arcadian hat." In the representations of this deity on works of ancient art, the hat, which is often decorated with wings to indicate his office of messenger, as his talaria also did II, has a great variety of forms, and sometimes the brim is so narrow, that it does not differ from the cap of the artificer already described, or the m\o S in its ordinary form. * Vit. Sophist, ii. 5. 3. t Tactica, p. 12. ed. Blancardi. % Herod, v. 49. § See p. 419. || Servius (on Virg. Mn. viii. 138) says, that Mercury was supposed to have wings on his petasus and on his feet, in order to denote the swiftness of speech, he being the god of eloquence. FELT BY THE ANCIENTS. 433 These hats, with a brim of but small dimensions, agree most exactly in appearance with the cheapest hats of undyed felt, now made in the United States and Great Britain*. On the heads of the rustics and artificers in our streets and lanes we often see forms the exact counterpart of those which we most admire in the works of ancient art. The petasus is also still commonly worn by agricultural laborers in Greece and Asia Minor. A bas-relief in the Vatican collectionf. represents the birth of Hercules, and contains two figures of Mercury. In one he car- ries the infant Hercules, in the other the caduceus. In both he wears a large scarf, and a skull-cap, like that of Deedalusl, "without a brim. This example therefore proves that, although the petasus, as distinguished from the pileus, was certainly the appropriate attribute of Mercury§, yet the artists of antiquity sometimes took the liberty of placing on his head the skull-cap instead of the hat, just as we have seen that they sometimes made the reverse substitution in the case of the Dioscuri. Another bas-relief in the Vatican!:, represents the story of the birth of Bacchus from Jupiter's thigh. Thus the subject of it is very similar to that, which relates to the birth of Her- cules, the infant being in each instance consigned to the care of Mercury. But the covering of Mercury's head in these two cases is remarkably different, though from no other reason than * These hats are sold in the shops for sixpence, ninepence, or a shilling each. t Museo Pio-Clementino, torn. iv. tav. 37. X See Plate VIII. Fig. 8. § See Brunck, Anal. ii. 41, and Arnobius, Adv. Gerties, lib. vi. See also Ep- hippus, ap. Athen. xii. 53. p. 537 F. Casaub. It is remarkable that the person who acted the part of a Silenus in the Dionys- iac procession instituted by Ptolemy Philadelphus at Alexandria, wore a hat and a golden caduceus (Athen. v. 27. p. 198 A.). In this case the imagination ap- pears to have been indulged in decorating a mere festive character with the pecu- liar attributes of Mercury. It is added, that various kinds of chariots were driven by " boys wearing the tunics of charioteers and petasi" (Athen. v. p. 200 F.). This would be in character, being agreeable to the custom of the Grecian youth. The following is from a sepulchral urn found near Padua (Gruter. p. 297) : Abite hinc, pessimi fures, * * * vestro cum Mercurio petasato caduceatoque. II Museo Pio-Clementino, torn. iv. tav. 19. 55 434 MANUFACTURE AND USE OF the fancy of the artist. In the bas-relief now under consider- ation, Mercury holds the skin of a lynx or panther to receive the child. He wears the scarf or chlamys and cothurni. This was a very favorite subject with the ancients. It occurs on a superb marble vase with the inscription EAAIIK2N EnoiHEE*, and on one of Sir W. Hamilton's fictile vasesf. Figure 4. in Plate X. is from Hope's Costume of the An- cients, vol. ii. pi. 175. The money-bag is in Mercury's right hand. In a painting found at Pompeiit, Mercury is represented with wings (pinnulce) on his petasus, though not very ancient, is also recognized in the Amphitryo of Plautus. Figure 5. in Plate X. is from the Marquis of Lansdowne's marble bust, published by the Dilettanti Society §. In this beautiful bust the brim of the hat .is unfortunately damaged. Figures 6 and 7, Plate X., are from coins engraved in Ca- relli's Nummi Veteris Italice (plates 58 and 65). Figure 7 is a coin of Suessa in Campania. To these illustrations might have been added others from an- cient gems, good examples of which may be found in the sec- ond volume of Mariette's Traite des Pierres Gravees, folio, Paris, 1750. Besides the application of felt as a covering of the head for the male sex in the manner now explained, it was also used as a lining for helmets. When in the description of the helmet worn by Ulysses we read Micro-;/ <5' Ivl 7r?Xoj dpfipsiW, we may suppose vt\os to be used in its most ordinary sense, * Spon., Misc. Erud. Ant. § xi. art. 1. t Vol. i. No. 8. \ Gell's Pompeiana, London 1819, pi. 76. § Specimens of Ancient Sculpture, London 1809, pi. 51. || Homer, II. x. 265. Eustathius, in his commentary on this passage, says, that the most ancient Greeks always wore felt in their helmets, but that those of more recent times, regarding this use of felt as peculiar to Ulysses, persuaded the paint- ers to exhibit him in a skull-cap, and that this was first done, according to the tradition, by the painter Apollidorus. The account of Pliny, who, together with Servius (in Mn. ii. 44), represents Nicomachus, and not Apollidorus, as having first adopted this idea. HafelX. FELT BY THE ANCIENTS. 435 consequently that the interior of the helmet was a common skull-cap. Being generally thicker than common cloth, felt presented a more effectual obstacle to missile weapons. Hence, when the soldiers under Julius Caesar were much annoyed by Pompey's archers, they made shirts or other coverings of felt, and put them on for their defence*. Thucydides refers to the use of similar means to protect the body from arrows!; and even in besieging and defending cities felt was used, together with hides and sackcloth, to cover the wooden towers and military engines!. Felt was also sometimes used to cover the bodies of quadru- peds. According to Aristotle §, the Greeks clothed their molles oves either with skins or with pieces of felt ; and the wool be- came gray in consequence. The Persians used the same ma- terial for the trappings of their horses (Plutarch, Art ax. II. p. 1858. ed. Stephani). The loose rude coverings for the feet called Udones were sometimes made of felt, being worn within the shoes or brogues of the rustic laborers II. In concluding this investigation it may be proper to observe, that, although ^rxo? originally meant felt, and more especially a skull-cap made of that manufacture, it was sometimes used, at least by the later Greek authors, by an extension of its meaning, to denote a cap of any other material. Thus A then- aeus (lib. vi. p. 274. Casaub.) speaking of the Romans, says, that they wore about their heads -&ovg irpoPariiwv 6sph&tg>v Saceis, i. e. " thick caps made of sheep skins." * Jul. Cassar, Bell. Civ. iii. 44. t Thucyd. iv. 34. Schol. ad he. t ^neas Tacticus, 33. § De Gen. Animalium, v. 5. p. 157. ed. Bekker. || Hesiod, Op. ed Dies, 542 ; Greevius, ad he. ; Cratini, Fragmenta, p. 29. ed. Runkel. 436 MANUFACTURE AND USE OF APPENDIX D ON NETTING. MANUFACTURE AND USE OF NETS BY THE ANCIENTS ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES, ETC. Nets were made of Flax, Hemp, and Broom — General terms for nets — Nets used for catching birds — Mode of snaring — Hunting-nets — Method of hunting — Hunting-nets supported by forked stakes — Manner of fixing them — Purse-net or tunnel-net — Homer's testimony — Nets used by the Persians in lion-hunting — Hunting with nets practised by the ancient Egyptians — Method of hunting — Depth of nets for this purpose — Description of the purse-net — Road-net — Hallier — Dyed feathers used to scare the prey — Casting-net — Manner of throw- ing by the Arabs — Cyrus king of Persia — His fable of the piper and the fishes — Fishing-nets — Casting-net used by the Apostles — Landing-net (S cap-net) — The Sean — Its length and depth — Modern use of the Sean — Method of fishing with the Sean practised by the Arabians and ancient Egyptians — Corks and leads — Figurative application of the Sean — Curious method of capturing an enemy practised by the Persians — Nets used in India to catch tortoises — Bag- nets and small purse-nets — Novel scent-bag of Verres the Sicilian praetor. The raw materials, of which the ancients made nets, were flax, hemp*, and broomf . Flax was most commonly used ; so that Jerome, when he is prescribing employment for monks, says, " Texantur et Una capiendis piscibus+." The operation of netting, as well as that of platting, was expressed by the verb irXe«ii/§. The meshes were called in Latin maculceW, in Greek /?p% and in the Agamemnon of Senecall the same allusion is intro- duced : At ille, ut altis hispidus silvis aper ; Cum, casse vinctus, tentat egressus tamen, Arctatque motu vincla, et incassum furit, Cupit, fluentes undique et caecos sinus Disjicere, et hostem quserit implicitus suum. Part of the apparatus of a huntsman consisted in the stakes which he drove into the ground to support his nets, and which Antipater Sidonius thus describes : Kai nvpl 6r)ya\eovs d^virayeXg oraKiKag ; i. e. " The sharp stakes hardened in the fire IF." * Kai tie\v al Kvveg avrat, o ti -K&p at apKvg %lvow\rioTpov t and the Germans Wurffgarn. The word occurs twice in Herodotus, and both places throw light upon its meaning. In Book i.e. 141. he says: "The * The Arabs now employ the casting-net on the shores of the Arabian Gulf. " Its form is round, and loaded at the lower part with small pieces of lead ; and, when the fisherman approaches a shoal of fish, his art consists in throwing the net so that it may expand itself in a circular form before it reaches the surface of the water." — Wellsted's Travels in Arabia, vol. ii. p. 148. t For a technical account of nets, including the casting-net as now made, the reader is referred to the Hon. and Rev. Charles Bathurst's Notes on Nets; or the Quincunx practically considered, London, 1837, 12mo. Duhamel wrote on the same subject in French. % Jaculator corresponds to the Greek dutpipoXevs. Ausonius, in the following lines, which refer to the methods of fishing in the vi- cinity of the Garonne, appears to distinguish between the jaculum and the funda. Piscandi traheris studio ? nam tota supellex Dumnotoni tales solita est ostendere gazas : Nodosas vestes animantum Nerinorum, Et jacula, et fundas, et nomina villica lini, Colaque, et indutos terrenis vermibus hamos. Epist. iv. 51-55. 57 450 MANUFACTURE AND USE OF Lydians had no sooner been brought into subjection by the Persians than the Ionians and iEolians sent ambassadors to Cyrus at Sardis, entreating him to receive them under his do- minion on the same conditions on which they had been under Croesus. To this proposal he replied in the following fable. A piper, having seen some fishes in the sea, played for a while on his pipe, thinking that this would make them come to him on the land. Perceiving the fallacy of this expectation, he took a casting-net, and, having thrown it around a great number of the fishes, he drew them out of the water. He then said to the fishes, as they were jumping about, As you did not choose to dance out of the water, when I played to you on my pipe, you may put a stop to your dancing now? The other passage (ii. 95) has been illustrated in a very successful manner by William Spence, Esq., F. R. S., in a paper in the Transactions of the Entomological Society for the year 1834. In connection with the curious fact, that the common house-fly will not in general pass through the meshes of a net, Mr. Spence produces this passage, in which Herodotus states, that the fishermen who lived about the marshes of Egypt, being each in possession of a casting-net, and using it in the day- time to catch fishes, employed these nets in the night to keep off the gnats, by which that country is infested. The casting- net was fixed so as to encircle the bed, on which the fisherman slept ; and, as this kind of net is always pear-shaped, or of a conical form, it is evident that nothing could be better adapted to the purpose, as it would be suspended like a tent over the body of its owner. In this passage Herodotus twice uses the term dpftflwrfov, and once he calls the same thing sutvov, because, as we have seen, this was a common term applicable to nets of every description*. The antiquity of the casting-net among the Greeks appears * None of the commentators appear to have understood these passages. In particular we find that Schweigh'auser in his Lexicon Herodoteum explains 'A[i(piP\rif iKaivicav. — Choeph. 485. Lycophron (1. 1101) calls this garment by the same name, when he refers to the same event in the fabulous history of Greece. We have seen, that in other passages the shawl so used is with equal aptitude called a purse-net (a pKV g). One of the comedies of Menander was entitled 'AXtsr?, " the Fisherman." The expression, 'A^iPM^poi mpiPaXXerai, is quoted from it by Julius Pollus (x. 132)f. Athenseus (lib. x. 72. p. 450 c. Casaub.) quotes from Antiph- anes the following line, which describes a man " throwing a casting-net on many fishes" : I%6vL dn^L^\f]arpio avrov, on iv avroTg sX'nrave jxepiSa avrov Kal ra Ppcofxara avrov ekXekto.. Aia rovro ajji(piPa\ei to d[x.:,- -h j-.c.-s must have been a kind of bag formed in the sean to receive the fishes, and thus cor- responding to the purse or conical bag in the i: •.■•;. The term is illustrated by the application of the equivalent epithet -o •'•'■-- or •• angular."' to hunting-nets in a passage from Brunch's Ana- lecta. which was formerly explained, and by the epithet - cava" hi the line just quoted from Ovid". In the following passage Ovid mentions the use both of the corks and of the leads". This passage also shows that several nets were fastened together in order to form a long sean : Aspicis, ut siun ma cortex levls iunatat unaa. Cum grave nexa skuul retia :::er-a: en "as ? Tri-st. hi. 4.-1. 1'2. This use of cork and lead in fishing is also mentioned by .Elian. Hist. Anim. xii. 43: and that of cork bv Pausanias. t Observe also the use of the word ..-. -^;; la the passage c: L\;ha.hs 1 ;.; ., quoted below. X M.Vdh:.^ ; . J. Pollux. X. 30. $ 130. 5S 458 MANUFACTURE AND USE OF viii. 12. § 1 ; and by Pliny, H. N. xvi. 8. s. 13, where, in reci- ting the various uses of cork, he says it was employed " pis- cantium traguhV Sidonius Apollinaris, describing his own villa, says : — Hinc jam spectabis, ut promoveat alnum piscator in pelagus, ut stataria retia suberinis cortieibus extendat. — Epist. ii. 2. " Hence you will see how the fisherman moves forward his boat into the deep water, that he may extend his stationary nets by means of corks." Alciphron, in his account of a fishing excursion near the Promontory of Phalerum, says, " The draught of fishes was so great as almost to submerge the corks*." The earnest de- sire of a posterity, founded on the wish for posthumous remem- brance, which was a very strong and prevailing sentiment among the ancients, is illustrated by the language of Electra in the Choephoroe of iEschylus, where she entreats her father upon this consideration to attend to her prayer, and likens his memory to a net, which his children, like corks, would save from disappearing : — " Do not extinguish the race of the Pe- lopidce. For thus you will live after you are dead. For a man's children are the preservers of his fame when dead, and, like corks in dragging the net, they save the flaxen string from the abyss." The use of the corks is mentioned in several of the epigrams of the Greek Anthology, already re- ferred to, and in the following passage of Plutarch : — "Qonep tovs tol SiKTva 3taov. — Episl. 1. 1. NETS BY THE ANCIENTS. 459 and tragum, which is found in the ancient Glossaries and in Isidore of Seville*. We find mention of the sean more especially for the capture of the tunny and of the pelamys, which were the two prin- cipal kinds of fish caught in the Mediterranean. Lucian speaks of the tunny-seanf , which was probably the largest net of the kind, and he relates the circumstance of a tunny escaping from its bag or bosom*. The sean is thrice mentioned in the Epistles of Alciphron (/. c. and lib. i. epp. 17, 18.), and in the two lat- ter passages, as used for catching tunnies and pelamides. We read also of a dolphin (Se\fig) approaching the sean§ ; but this might be by accident. It was not, we apprehend, employed to catch dolphins. In the following passage of the Odyssey (xxii. 384-387) we have a description of the use of a sean in a small bay, having a sandy shore at its extremity, and consequently most suitable for the employment of this kind of net : "£2ot' i%dvag, ovaO' aAt/fcj KotXoj/ is aiyiaXdv noXifjg ZktooQc 6a\daar}g Aiktvoj e^epvcrav noXvcoTrio' ol 6e te ixavreg xS.vjxuQ' a\us TroOCovreg em xpa^iaQoiai Keyvvrai. The poet here compares Penelope's suitors, who lie slain upon the ground, to fishes, " which the fishermen by means of a net * Tragum genus retis, ab eo quod trahatur nuncupatum : ipsum est et verricu- lum. Verrere enim trahere est. — Orig. xix. 5. The Latin name verriculum occurs in a passage of Valerius Maximus, which is also remarkable for a reference to the Ionian fisheries, and for the use of the word jactus, literally, a throw, corresponding to that which the Cornish men de- nominate, a hawl of fish. A piscatoribus in Milesia regione verriculum trahentibus quidam jactum emerat. — Memor. lib. iv. cap. 1. We introduce here an expression of Philo, in which we may remark that 06- Xo? i^Qiw corresponds exactly to jactus in Latin, and that the drawing of the net into a circle is clearly indicated : 06\ov i^Biwv itavras iv kvk\cj cayrivevaos, — Vita Mosis, torn. ii. p. 95. ed. Mangey. t Yiayfivr} BvwtvTiKfi. — Epist. Saturn, torn. iii. p. 406. ed. Reitz. t 'O dvvvog ek ij.v%ov rrjs aayfivris Sisfvyev. — Timon, § 22. tom. i. p. 136. § Oh en Tt\r\cpv<[>a\os, or net, which inclosed and encircled the hair, like a sean. The following verse of Manilius (lib. v. ver. 678.) is remarkable as a rare in- stance of the adoption of the Greek word sagena by a Latin poet : — Excipitur vasta circumvallata sagena. (# NETS BY THE ANCIENTS. 461 wicked*, who are captivated by the charms of lovef or of elo- quence]:, or who are held in bondage by superstition §. But by far the most distinct, expressive and important of its meta- phorical applications, was to the mode of besieging a city by encircling it with one uninterrupted line of soldiers, or sweeping away the entire population' of a certain district by marching in similar order across it. Of this the first example occurs in Herodotus hi. 145 : — Tt)i/ 61 Hxftov aayrivcvaavres ol Tlepaai napeSoaav EoAwoij/n, eprjjxov lovcav avSpdv. « " The Persians, having dragged Samos, delivered it, being now destitute of men, to Solyson." As we speak of dragging a pit, so the Greeks would have spoken, in this metaphorical sense, of dragging an island. In the sixth book (ch. xxxi.) Herodotus particularly describes this method of capturing the enemy. According to this account the Persians landed on the northern side of the island. They then took hold of one another's hands so as to form a long line, and thus linked together they walked across the island to the south side, so as to hunt out all the inhabitants. The historian here particularly mentions, that Chios, Lesbos, and Tenedos were reduced to captivity in this manner. It is recorded by Plato II, that Datis, in order to alarm the Athenians, against whom he was advancing at the head of the Persian army, spread a report that his soldiers, joining hand to hand, had * %&yr}vsvo[tai irpog avrtiv. — Lucian, Timon, § 25. torn. i. p. 138, ed. Reitz. t Brunck, Anal. iii. 157. No. 32. Here the sean is called by the general term SUtvov, but the particular kind of net is indicated by the participle cayrivtvQeis. Twvdl /xaOriTriVf O" k6o-[j.ov y\vKeprjari Qeov Sfiaavro aayf\vais : i. e. " A disciple of those who bound the world in the sweet seans of God." — Greg. Nazianz. ad Nemesium, torn. ii. p. 141, ed. Paris, 1630. (See Chap. Ill, p. 53.) § Plutarch, evidently referring to the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, says, " The Jews on the Sabbath sitting down on coarse blankets (£v ayvainrroig, literally, in ijjiaTia, or blankets, which had not been fulled, or cleansed by the yva it ravrrj Trj vfjacp Kai yipyaOoig avrag iSicjg Xivsvowtv, avn Siktvuv KaBlcvreg av- tovs mpl to. GT6jiaTa row Trpopa^cjv. — Arrian, Per. Maris Eryth. p. 151. ed. Blan- cardi. $ Athenaeus, lib. v. § 43. p. 208, ed. Casaub. § YvpyaQov' ancevos ttXcktov, iv u> (iaWovai tov aprov ol dproKdnoi. — Hesych. Reticulum panis. — Hor. Sat. i. 1. 47. 464 MANUFACTURE AND USE OF NETS BY THE ANCIENTS. infer that it was sometimes not larger than a purse for the pocket. Hence Aristotle* properly applies the term yvpyaOog to the small spherical or oval bag in which spiders deposit their eggs. Among the luxurious habits of the Sicilian praetor Yerres, it is recorded, that he had a small and very fine linen net, filled with rose-leaves, "which ever and anon he gave his nosef." This net was, no doubt, called yvpyados in Greek. * Anim. Hist. v. 27. Compare Apollodorus, Frag. xi. p. 454, ed. Heyne. t Reticulum ad nares sibi admovebat, tenuissimo lino, minutis maculis, plenum rosae. — Cic. in Verr. ii. 5. 11 THE END. 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