he says of it, from his own experience, that it may be 
usefully employed for rearing the Cocuenitie sylvestre, and 
may even support a small quantity of the fine kind. 
The celebrated Humgotpr also, although he allows that it 
is the plant upon which the Cochineal has often been sent 
to Europe, asserts, that our Cactus cochinellifer is not the 
individual of the Mexican Nopaleries, which he makes a 
new species, under the name of C. Bonplandii ; and he quotes 
under it, with a mark of doubt, the Cactus Tuna of Linnzvs. 
_ At Rio de Janeiro, when that place was visited by the 
Chinese Embassy, under Lord Macarryey, there were con- 
siderable plantations of Cacrus, for rearing the Cochineal, 
which had some time previously been introduced into Brazil; 
and the plant, which is the Cactus Tuna, is represented on 
the twelfth plate of the Atlas of that work. 
I shall further, upon the subject of the kinds of Cacrus 
employed in rearing the Cochineal, only add, that my ex- 
cellent friend, the Rev. L. Guitpine, who sent me most 
splendid drawings of this particular Cactus, and from which 
most of the accompanying figures were executed, wrote 
me two years ago from St. Vincent, “I possess a consider- 
able nursery of this Cacrus inhabited by thousands of the 
true Coccus Cacti; and 1 do not despair of being able to 
‘send to the Society of Arts a large quantity of dried insects, 
before the termination of the present year.” In the East 
Indies also, the Insect has been extensively propagated ; 
but we have not had the means of knowing whether suc- 
cessfully or otherwise. : ee j 
From all this, we think it may be inferred, that, in Mexico 
and Brazil, the Cacrus Tuna is the favorite food of the 
Cochineal ; and that in the West Indian Islands, where the 
C. Tuna is, perhaps, less frequent, the C. cochinillifer is em- 
ployed by the natives, and answers the purpose sufficiently 
well 
Mr. Guizpine, indeed, thinks it probable, that the C. co- 
chinilifer was introduced to St. Vincent’s, from Mexico; but. 
ahs nee ae led to this supposition, from the generally 
prevalent idea, that it is the species, on which the Cochineal 
of the Mexicans is reared. ie th 
- Like all its congeners, C. cochinilifer increases readily 
having the joints stuck into the ground ; and the plant 
loves dry and barren spots. If cultivated for the purpose 
f rearing the Coccus, it must be defended, at least in the 
rainy island of St. Vincent, from storms and winds, by 
sheds placed to windward. It there blossoms all the year. 
a2 
