Excerpt from Report on the Silk Manufacturing Industry of the United States, 1884 The Spanish conquest of Mexico was the means of introducing the silk industry on this continent. We may dismiss the vexed question alluded to by Prescott (a) as to whether the Aztecs made fabrics containing silk. Humboldt declares that the material they used was not the product of the Bambys: mart. (b) Herrera asserts that there was no silk c) and Acosta, that there were no mulberry trees in the Indies prior to their introduction from Spain. The voluminous work of Hernandez (d) gives full accounts of the plants and animals of the new world, and does not mention the silkworm or the mulberry. In the year 1522, Cortes, as ruler of New Spain (mexico) prepared a plan for its government; the details included the appointment of officials in charge of the silk industry. The first step was the planting of mulberry trees, and we learn that these were flourishing near the city of Mexico a few years afterward. The record of certain legal proceedings has secured to history the date of the introduction of the silkworm into America. After Cortes withdrew from personal rule In New Spain, the authorities who were placed In charge by the king made an investigation of what had been done by the board of auditors who preceded them. This was in the year 1531. Among the items of this procedure is a statement (e) that a quarter of an ounce of silkworm seed (eggs) was sent on public account from Spain to Francisco de Santa Cruz, a citizen of Mexico. The seed arrived' 111 safety, and was placed by Francisco with Auditor Diego Delgadillo, who was a native of Granada, and presumably knew something of silk culture In his own country, where it was introduced by the Moors. Delgadillo made use of the eggs in a garden about a league from the capital, where mulberry trees were in good condition for the support of the worms. The experiment was eminently successful. The auditor returned two ounces of eggs to Francisco, and retained enough to supply various amounts to other people. The point of the accusation against Delgadillo was that he sold this seed at $60 per ounce; thus disposing of the property of the crown for his own benefit. He was convicted of the crime, though credited with the introduction of silk into the country. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.