disease increasingly came to be included in writings on the techniques of sericulture.' In 1830, Count Dandolo declared, in a chapter on disease in a book on the rearing of the silkworm, that "hundreds of works" had been written on the diseases of this insect. Mention of the subject also occurred in general works that included discussions of the silkworm, such as a book written on butterflies in 1679 by Maria Sibylla Merian. Published works on sericulture became more and more scientific in character and the need for a more factual comprehension of the diseases involved became clear. It is noteworthy that as the concept of scientific method developed and biological science began to emerge into the realm of experimental science, among the first problems to gain the attention of biological investigators were those pertaining to the diseases of the silkworm, The significance of these studies from the standpoint of their influence on the understanding of human disease and such concepts as spontaneous generation is great. One of the earliest of what might be called a scientific consideration of the diseases of the silkworm appeared in 1808. This was a treatise, "Recherches sur les Maladies des Vers it Soie," by P. H. Nysten who became an oft-quoted authority on the subject during the years to follow. Among other early writers whose works included discussion of