BUGS. 125 



of her benevolent and disinterested literary labours 

 in the amelioration of that class of oppressed females 

 whose welfare she so ably advocates. We believe 

 the day will come when stout young men, to whom 

 Nature has given a constitution for hard physical 

 labour, will yield the sale of lace, needles and thread, 

 ribbons and shoestrings, and all such light work, to 

 the tender sex, so many of whom are now ruined 

 for the want of a proper compensating employ- 

 ment. 



The Cochineal is a natural production of North 

 America, and is found principally in Texas, Mexico, 

 and the Lower California. It looks like irregular 

 grains, scarcely as large as a pea, which are convex 

 on one side and concave on the other, and of a red- 

 dish, slateish-white colour. As has been mentioned, 

 it is a species of Shield-louse, but was always sup- 

 posed to be a grain growing upon the plants upon 

 which it is found. It is principally found upon 

 the Prickly-pear (Cactus Cochenilifer) and other 

 species of Cactus. 



There are two sorts of Cochineal which are used 

 in commerce ; viz., the domestic, which is cultivated 

 upon the Prickly-pear, planted in large quantities 

 expressly as food for this Insect, and the wild, 

 which is obtained from the spontaneously-growing 

 Cactus. 



