They did not dare to touch it, poor little imps! They were thunderstruck at my audacity when I seized it in my fingers as they would the familiar silkworm.
Reared upon twigs of the almond-tree, my menagerie soon provided me with magnificent cocoons.

In winter assiduous search at the base of the native trees completed my collection.

Friends interested in my researches came to my aid.

Finally, after some trouble, what with an open market, commercial negotiations, and searching, at the cost of many scratches, in the undergrowth, I became the owner of an assortment of cocoons of which twelve, larger and heavier than the rest, announced that they were those of females.
Disappointment awaited me.

May arrived; a capricious month which set my preparations at naught, troublesome as these had been.