Page 215 - Third Book of Reading Lessons

214 THIRD BOOK OF
twigs are placed over them upon little stages of wicker-work, on which they immediately begin to rm their webs. ,Vhcn these are nished, the downy matter on the outside, called oss, is taken o , and the cocoons are thrown into warm water, to
dissolve the glutinous particles which had caused the· silk to adhere : the ends of the threads being und, several are joined together and wound upon a reel ; this is called raw-silk. It next undergoes an opera­ tion to cleanse it, and render it more supple; a er
. which it is twisted into threads of di erent degrees of neness, as required by the weaver; in this state it is called t rown-silk. Th_e excellence of silk, as a material r dress, consists in its strength, lightness, lustre, and its being capable of taking the nest dyes. Silk may be made into substances varying in , thickness, om the nest transparent gauze to the richest velvets and brocades. Our manufacturers are supplied with silk chie y om China, Persia, and Italy. France is the most northern climate in which silk is produced in any quantity.
MAYO.
LESSON III.
NATURE'S MIRACLES.
VnAT prodigies can Power Divine per rm ore grand, than it produces year by year, And all in sight of inattentive man? Familiar with th' e ect, ,ve slight the cause, And, in the constancy of nature's course, And regular return of genial months,
And renovation of a ded world,