A French-language handbook on sericulture (silk production) by Pierre Vieil, published in the Encyclopédie agricole series. It covers the history of silk raising, current silk statistics for France and other producing countries, the anatomy and physiology of the silkworm Bombyx mori, silkworm diseases (pébrine, flacherie, muscardine, grasserie), and the practice of rearing in the magnanerie. Later sections cover egg production (grainage), selection and crossing, the properties and testing of silk, wild and other silks, artificial silk, and the cultivation, grafting and diseases of the mulberry. It has many tables and engraved figures, with only brief mention of silk throwing, dyeing and weaving.