The silk cocoonery is a private enter
prise and seems destined to become a
very succesful one. During my visits to
the cocoonery (I became so interested in
sericnlture as to make more than one call
upoen the little colony) I had good oppor
tunities to observe the worms in the sue
cessive transitions of their almost
rphemeral existence. Naturally I have
all the instinctive loa thing for reptiles
horrid, creeping, squirming things !-that
LNuther Eve in her early girlhood should
have possessed; and it was some' little
time before I overcame my prejudice
aga i nst caterpi lilars in general sufliciently
Lo allow me to venture upon nearer ac
Iuaintance with the harmless specimens
which to the number of many thousands
were so intently occnpicd in eating,
nonulting, etc., as to excite a suspicion
that some veruiicular Goethe had im
ressed upon them his favorite motto of
No haste, no rest." Never hurrying and
lever ceasing, they live their little span
4f life, hour by hour performing their
dllotted tasks, for what, -to give man -
cie luxury more! Do you not remember
)ne of Dr. Watts' verses ?:
How proud we are. how fond to show
Our clothes and call them rich and new,
When the poor sheep and silk worm wore
That very clothing long before.
Homely lines, perhaps, but apropos
unough to return to my memory when I
maw the poor silk worms busily engaged
i " webbing up," under the supervision
if Miss - , to whom I am indebted
'or umny interesting facts concerning
icr charge.
