coccus. 297 



observed, is a seaport town to which the coccus might 

 be conveyed by shipping. 



As many of my readers may possibly never have 

 heard of this strange and unusual insect, I shall 

 here transcribe a passage from a Natural History of 

 Gibraltar, written by the Reverend John White, late 

 Vicar of Blackburn, in Lancashire, but not yet pub- 

 lished : 



" In the year 1770, a vine, which grew on the 

 east side of my house, and which had produced the 

 finest crops of grapes for years past, was suddenly 

 overspread, on all the woody branches, with large 

 lumps of a white fibrous substance, resembling 

 spiders' webs, or rather raw cotton. It was of a 

 very clammy quality, sticking fast to every thing 

 that touched it, and capable of being spun into long 

 threads. At first I suspected it to be the product 

 of spiders, but could find none. Nothing was to be 

 seen connected with it, but many brown oval husky 

 shells, which by no means looked like insects, but 

 rather resembled bits of the dry bark of the vine. 

 The tree had a plentiful crop of grapes set, when 

 this pest appeared upon it ; but the fruit was mani- 

 festly injured by this foul encumbrance. It remained 

 all the summer, still increasing, and loaded the woody 

 and bearing branches to a vast degree. I often 

 pulled off great quantities by handfuls ; but it was so 

 slimy and tenacious that it could by no means be 

 cleared. The grapes never filled to their natural 

 perfection, but turned watery and vapid. Upon pe- 

 rusing the works afterwards of M. de Reaumur, I 

 found this matter perfectly described and accounted 

 for. Those husky shells which I had observed, were 

 no other than the female coccus, from whose sides 

 this cotton-like substance exudes, and serves as a 

 covering and security for their eggs." 



