﻿33.— 
  DETERMINATION 
  OF 
  EMERGENCE 
  OF 
  LARVAE 
  FROM 
  

   EXAMINATION 
  OF 
  THE 
  OVARIES 
  OF 
  LAC 
  INSECTS. 
  

  

  (Plate 
  XLV.) 
  

  

  By 
  C. 
  S. 
  MiSRA, 
  B.A., 
  First 
  Assistant 
  to 
  the 
  Imperial 
  Entomologist 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  past 
  mucli 
  difficulty 
  has 
  been 
  experienced 
  in 
  fixing 
  the 
  local 
  

   dates 
  of 
  emergence 
  of 
  the 
  lac 
  insects. 
  These 
  dates, 
  as 
  is 
  well 
  known 
  

   to 
  those 
  who 
  are 
  interested 
  either 
  in 
  the 
  cultivation 
  or 
  the 
  manufacture 
  

   of 
  shellac, 
  vary 
  from 
  place 
  to 
  place. 
  In 
  some 
  cases 
  the 
  variation 
  in 
  

   the 
  dates 
  of 
  emergence 
  is 
  so 
  great 
  that 
  considerable 
  difficulty 
  is 
  experi- 
  

   enced 
  in 
  starting 
  and 
  finishing 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  inoculation 
  in 
  proper 
  time 
  

   and 
  this 
  has, 
  in 
  my 
  opinion, 
  militated 
  to 
  a 
  great 
  extent 
  against 
  the 
  

   extension 
  of 
  lac 
  cultivation. 
  Had 
  it 
  been 
  easy 
  to 
  foretell 
  or 
  to 
  know 
  

   with 
  some 
  certainty 
  the 
  dates 
  of 
  emergence 
  of 
  larvae, 
  the 
  cultivation 
  

   of 
  lac, 
  in 
  my 
  opinion, 
  would 
  have 
  been 
  more 
  extended 
  and 
  varied 
  than 
  

   what 
  it 
  is 
  now 
  and 
  the 
  heavy 
  fluctuations 
  which 
  are 
  the 
  order 
  of 
  the 
  day 
  

   would 
  not 
  have 
  taken 
  place 
  so 
  frequently 
  as 
  is 
  the 
  case 
  now. 
  No 
  doubt 
  

   there 
  are 
  other 
  and 
  more 
  important 
  factors, 
  which 
  have 
  a 
  direct 
  bearing 
  

   on 
  the 
  production 
  of 
  lac, 
  but 
  this 
  is 
  also 
  one 
  of 
  them, 
  and 
  as 
  such, 
  demands 
  

   some 
  attention. 
  In 
  the 
  past 
  the 
  lac-growers 
  have 
  had 
  to 
  depend 
  mostly 
  

   upon 
  their 
  own 
  past 
  experiences 
  or 
  on 
  the 
  advice 
  of 
  the 
  elders 
  within 
  

   the 
  lac 
  cultivating 
  zone 
  or 
  villages. 
  They 
  have 
  no 
  definite 
  data 
  whereon 
  

   to 
  base 
  their 
  calculations 
  and 
  results, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  no 
  wonder 
  that 
  these 
  

   calculations 
  are 
  extremely 
  vague 
  and 
  unreliable. 
  In 
  the 
  same 
  locality 
  

   or 
  lac-growing 
  zone, 
  I 
  have 
  seldom 
  come 
  across 
  two 
  lac-growers 
  agreeing 
  

   with 
  each 
  other 
  in 
  their 
  calculations 
  regarding 
  the 
  probable 
  date 
  of 
  

   emergence 
  of 
  the 
  lac 
  larvse. 
  The 
  variations, 
  when 
  they 
  do 
  occur 
  in 
  such 
  

   tracts 
  or 
  localities, 
  produce 
  no 
  serious 
  consequences, 
  but 
  now 
  with 
  

   the 
  impetus 
  that 
  the 
  industry 
  has 
  received 
  of 
  late, 
  the 
  cultivation 
  is 
  

   bound 
  to 
  increase 
  not 
  only 
  in 
  the 
  localities 
  which 
  hold 
  the 
  monopoly 
  

   of 
  lac 
  cultivation 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  time 
  but 
  in 
  new 
  and 
  distant 
  localities 
  

   where 
  the 
  host 
  plants 
  of 
  the 
  various 
  species 
  of 
  the 
  lac 
  insect 
  occur 
  in 
  

   abundance, 
  and 
  signs 
  at 
  present 
  are 
  not 
  wanting 
  to 
  show 
  that 
  the 
  future 
  

   augurs 
  well 
  and 
  has 
  great 
  potentialities 
  for 
  the 
  development 
  and 
  con- 
  

   solidation 
  of 
  the 
  industry 
  provided 
  adequate 
  precautions 
  are 
  taken 
  

   to 
  safeguard 
  it. 
  I 
  have 
  repeatedly 
  drawn 
  the 
  attention 
  of 
  the 
  public 
  

   and 
  of 
  those 
  interested 
  in 
  lac 
  cultivation 
  and 
  manufacture 
  to 
  the 
  neces- 
  

   sity 
  of 
  regarding 
  the 
  present 
  boom 
  as 
  extremely 
  detrimental 
  to 
  the 
  

   industry 
  unless 
  full 
  advantage 
  is 
  taken 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  inflated 
  prices 
  

  

  ( 
  263 
  ) 
  

  

  