THE FOREST SPECIES OF SILK-WORM.

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their leaves and fruit are unlike those of the mulberry; the leaves are small, rough, and round, terminated in a point, with scolloped edges; the fruit is like pepper, which grows at the stalk of the leaves; the branches are thorny and thick, and grow like a bush. They grow in forests on the hills; the worms form their cocoons on the branches, and although the silk is not to be compared with that of the house-worms, still it has its value and excellent qualities. It is of this silk that they form the strings for their musical instruments, owing to its great strength and vibrating quality. The Tche forests used for the silk-worms require great care; transverse paths are cut, and the weeds must be plucked from beneath the trees. These must be kept under, not only because they harbour insects, but serpents also, which devour the worms with great avidity. Men constantly traverse the paths, both day and night, to keep off birds; sounding gongs, and beating the earth with long poles.

The leaves of the oak have sometimes been used, for food for this last description of silk-worm.

The best silks come from Che-kiang, and the Chinese consider those the best which are fine, soft, and white, and those which feel rough are rejected as bad. The manufacturers frequently wash this rough description over with rice-water and lime, to improve its appearance; but this destroys the durability of the silk.

Excellent silks also come from Ton-kin, but not so good as those from Che-kiang, although the best workmen are said to resort there, and supply the Emperor with silks for his own use, and for presents; Canton

is also largely supplied from the same quarter. Besides silks, the Chinese use very extensively, flowered and plain crapes for summer dresses; damasks of all sorts and kinds, and gauzes, are manufactured of the finest descriptions.

A particular lute-string is also produced, called cheou-se, of which they make linings and trousers; it is very close and supple, and when squeezed with the hand no mark or fold is observable, and it may be washed like linen. This lute-string is given its beautiful gloss with the fat of the river-porpoise, called by the Chinese kian-chu, or the hog of the river Yang-tszekang, sixty miles up which river these porpoises are caught. The fat is purified by washing it thoroughly, and then boiling; it is laid on the lutestring with a very fine brush, which is only rubbed on one side, taking care to brush always in the same direction; the workmen are generally engaged in this operation at night, for which they give as a reason, that the flies are very great enemies to the work, which they destroy by settling upon it, but the lamps employed being fed by the porpoise fat, which is found to drive away the flies, the work proceeds without experiencing any annoyance from them.

Although the silks, satins, and crapes, are most beautiful, we have heard from mercantile friends that they are of too expensive a description, and too much valued by the Chinese, to form articles of any considerable trade with Great Britain. It is a singular fact, that although the silks and satins surpass those which are produced by the looms of Great Britain and France, both for beauty of colour, design, and durability of

INFERIORITY OF CHINESE SILK-VELVETS.

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texture, the silk-velvets are far inferior to those manufactured in England; the Chinese silk-velvets, although possessing much substance, have the peculiarly dead appearance observable in an English cotton-velvet, being totally devoid of the silky lustre of the velvets which emanate from the looms of Genoa and Lyons.

CHAPTER XXII.

Arts and Manufactures of China-Gold and silver tinsel-Embroidery— Filagree work-Chasing and enamelling on silver-Glass-blowingManufacturing trinkets from glass-Carvings in ivory, tortoise-shell, and sandal-wood-Mandarin boat in carved and perforated ivory— Concentric carved balls—Lacquer-ware-Copper-ware-Shoe-shops.

AMONG the manifold and various manufactures of China, the gold and silver tinsel cloths of Pekin stand deservedly in high estimation: their chief value arises from the peculiar property which they possess of never tarnishing or becoming discolored, either by the influence of time or climate. We have in our possession some of the golden tinsel, which has been thrown about in two quarters of the globe for years, the pristine beauty of the cloth, not being in the slightest degree diminished.

In appearance, they resemble cloth of gold or silver, and various patterns are wrought upon them, which have all the effect of being woven into the cloth, and not stamped upon the surface; these tinsels are constantly used for trimming mandarin robes. Various and frequent attempts have been made, to discover the secret mode of manufacturing, these untarnishable gold and silver cloths, but all efforts have proved abortive, much to the detriment of our own

EMBROIDERY BY THE CHINESE.

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manufactures, whose value would be considerably enhanced by the discovery. *

The embroidery of the Chinese is peculiar to themselves, and is not only unequalled, but is immeasureably superior to that of any other nation; men execute the finest specimens of embroidery, which is that in which the figures, flowers, &c., are made to correspond on both sides; this is accomplished by working with two needles, placing each stitch over the one previously taken. Every end of the broidery silk is carefully worked in, and every inequality taken from it; the most beautiful specimens of embroidery come from Soo-chow-foo, and parts of the interior from which we are still excluded.

The material to be embroidered is stretched out very tightly in a frame made of bamboo; this is suspended from the wall, the men standing at it whilst they work: the women who embroider have usually the deformed feet, therefore are unable to stand for any length of time; consequently, they sit upon a low stool, placing their legs upon one twice the height; this very inelegant attitude is assumed to allow the frame to be supported by their legs; and we were much surprised that a standing frame had not been adopted, whereby the workwoman would remain seated as she worked, the frame being supported on legs of bamboo, instead of resting on legs of flesh and bone.

The fame of these tinsels had reached Europe in the seventeenth century; and we find, in the account of Lord Macartney's Embassy to China, in 1792, written by Sir George Staunton, that a manufacturer of the name of Eardes went out with the embassy for the express purpose of finding out the secret: most unfortunately Eardes was seized with illness during the voyage, and died.

VOL. I.

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