Your property tax bill is based on the assessed value of your property, any exemptions you qualify for and a property tax rate. The assessed value of your property is determined on a certain date.
Although these techniques were strictly controlled by imperial decree, eventually silkworms were smuggled out to establish sericulture in Korea, Japan, and India. It seems to be first produced in China around 3000 BC. Silk was spun in ancient China from silkworms (b<i>ombyx mori</i>) as early as 5000 BC. Over the period from 2700 BC to 1600 BC, domestication techniques enabled extensive production of silk thread and cloth.
It is only natural that James I and subsequent English sovereigns would encourage production of this textile amongst the settlers of Virginia. Chinese legend tells how silk was discovered almost 5,000 years ago by Xiling Shi, the wife of the semi-mythical emperor Huanghi. Walking in the garden, the empress plucked a cocoon from a mulberry tree. The cocoon fell by accident into her cup of tea and she watched as a strong white thread unraveled. However it was discovered, the potential for such a thread was first realized in China, where silk fabric was being produced by 3000 B.C.