Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE BLACK AND COLOURED SILK CRAVAT. The world in general is well informed of the source from which silk is derived; that it proceeds from an industrious insect of the order lepi- doptera, known as the silk-worm; which, in forming a light soft thread of almost infinite length, produces a bag, in which it undergoes the transformation from the chrysalis to the butterfly. As silk occupies so important a station in the toilet, it can hardly be less important that we should here offer a few remarks upon it. Among the Romans the use of silk was general; scarcely any other material was worn on the neck. Augustus always used a silk handkerchief, and his example was imitated by all the petits-maitres of Rome, among whom the appearance of delicate health was considered a distinguishing mark of ton. It was also a constant attendant at the ladies' toilet (mundus muliebus), and they called the handkerchief bissina sudaria. It is probable that the Roman sidon resembled the large shawls now worn by the English ladies. It appears that there was a company of silk- women in England so early as 1455; but these were probably employed in needle-work, as Italy supplied the broad material. Henry II. is said to have been the first who wore silk knit stockings; though' the invention came from Spain, whence silk stockings were afterwards brought to Henry VIII. and Edward VI. The advantages of this manufacture caused its introduction to be strongly recommended by James I. and in 1608 mulberry-trees were planted for the purpose of cultivating the worm?this, how-iever, failed. Towards the latter end of this king's reign (about 1620) the manufacture of broad silk was introduced; and in 1629 was so much increased that the silk throwsters were incorporated as a public body. In 1661 above 40,000 pe...