H4 A DISCOURSE

B o o k II. hydropic al, and apt to burst: As do also the Leaves of such Trees asbe planted in a too wateri/h, or over rich Soil, or where no Sun comes,and all sick and yellow Leaves are hurtful. It is better to clip, andlet the Leaves fall upon a subtended Sheet or Blanket, than to gatherthem by Hand ; and to gather them, than to strip them, which marsand gauls the Branches , and bruises the Leaves that should hardly betouched. Some there are who lop off the Boughs , and make it theirpruning, and it is a tolerable Way, so it be discreetly done in the over-thick Parts of the Tree ; but these Leaves gathered from a separatedBranch, will die, and wither much sooner than those which are takenfrom the Tree immediately, unless you set the Stem in Water. Leavesgathered from Boughs cut off, will shrink in three Hours ; whereas thoseyou take from the living Tree , will last as many Days ; and being thusa while kept, are better than over-frejb ones. It is a Rule , never togather in a rainy Season, nor cut any Branch whilst the Wet is upon it;and therefore against such suspected Times, you are to provide before-hand, and to reserve them in some frejh, but dry Place : The sameCaution you must observe for the Dew , though it do not rain, for wetFood kills the Worms . But if this cannot be altogether prevented, putthe Leaves between a Pair of Y^ee/rwell dried by the Fire, and shakethem up and down 'till the Moisture be drunk up in the Linnen, andthen spreading them to the Air a little, on another dry Cloth, you mayfeed with them boldly. The top Leaves and oldest, would be gatheredlast of all, as being most proper to repast the Worms with, towardstheir last Change. The Gatherer must be neat, and have his Handsclean, and his Breath sweet, and not poisoned with Onions or Tobacco ,and be careful not to press the Leaves , by crouding them into the Bagsor Baskets. Lastly, That they gather only (unless in Cafe of Neces-sity) Leaves from the present , not from the former Years Sprigs, orold Wood , which are not only rude and harsh, but are annexed tostubbed Stalks, which injure the Worms , and spoil the denudatedBranches. One Note more let me add, That in first hatching the Egg*disclosing (as sometimes) earlier than there is Provision for them on theTree , the tender Leaves of Lettuce , Dandelion or Endive may sup-ply, so they feed not on them too long, or over-much, which givesthem the Lask:

iz. This is what I thought fit to premonisti concerning the gatheringof the Leaves of this Tree for Silk-worms, as I find it in MonsieurI/hard’s Instructions, and that exact Discourse of his, published someYears since, and dedicated to Monsieur Colbert (who has, it seems, con-stituted this industrious and experienced Telson, Surveyor of this prince-ly Manusatture about Paris) and because the Book it self is rare, andknown by very few. I have no more to add, but this for our Encourage -ment, and to encounter the ObjeCtions which may be suggested aboutthe Coldness and Moisture of our Country ; that the Spring is in ‘Pro-vence no less inconstant than is ours in England ; that the Colds atTaris are altogether as /harp ; and that when in May it has continuedraining for nine and twenty Days successively, Motrsieur Ifaard a storesu ®? * le proceeded in his Work without the least Disaster; and in the Tear1664, he presented the French King his Master, with a considerableof better Silks than any Mesima or Bononia could produce,which he fold raw at Lions, for a ‘Pistol the ‘Pound ; when that oxAvignon, Provence and Datiphine produced little above half that

Price.