408 MODERN CIVILIZATION ment of the country in the purchase of foreign textiles, he wanted to forbid all objects of luxury and to pro- hibit the exportation of gold and silver. Henry IV. preferred to follow the counsel of Olivier de Serres, and of de Laffenias. In order to found an industry in silk goods, he hail mulberry trees planted in his gardens, and established shops for spinning and weaving, where Italian work- men taught the art to the French artisans; he organ- ized a company, which alone had the right to trade in silk stuffs. The success was notable; throughout the south of France mulberry trees were planted, and the factories of Tours, Lyons, and Paris produced suffi- cient silk goods to supply the kingdom, and the French ceased to import these goods from Italy. In order to establish a system of commerce in France, Henry IV. asked advice of the merchants, whom he called together in an assembly under the title of High Chamber of Commerce. The French merchants had complained because they could not send their merchandise into Spain, on ac- count of the high tariff; they demanded the protection of the king against the English pirates, who took pos- session of the French ships. Ilcnry IV. obliged the king of Spain to lower the tariffs, and the king of England to forbid piracy among his subjects. There was also a complaint that the government forbade the sale of grain outside of France; the king, without es- tablishing freedom of commerce in grains, permitted the exportation of French wheat, at least in the years of abundance. France, becoming richer, could furnish more aid to