Grade*. 



Uses. 



-\. i I. 

 Carmine Red. 



cocos 



HISTORY OF COCHINEAL DYE NUCIFERA 



Coooanut 



:o ail. in.- pi. "lu. ., tin- .!>., an. I M gathered for that purpose imme- 

 tin- liirth of her young. It is gaicl that if the insect* are stove* 

 ..iturul white powdery < ovi-rim.' n retained, and the more valuable 

 _ r.-\ c.M-hineal " produced, but if killed by steam or hot water they lose 

 .iii.l " Mark c.x-hineal " is the result. There is, however, an alter- 

 , .i|iiiii. >n to the effect that quality depends on choosing the right ]< 

 lii-r tin- insects. There arc tlm-o c-.miiiiorcial grades, viz. "silver grain," 



. " .iii.l tin- little valued " gran il In." 



i YD COMMERCIAL FORMS OF COCHINEAL. Cochineal was formerly 

 ini|il<iyr<l m .1 \.-m_r wool, silk, and cotton : to-day it is a colour-ingredient of 

 . mffctionery. and an artists' pigment. It is almost entirely replaced 

 in.- dyes. Two different reds are obtainable from it a bluish-red called 

 ii, ami ii fiery-red called scarlet. The great reputation these dyes enjoyed 



<irs gave to the English language the expression " ingrained." 

 teal is comparatively rich in tinctorial matter compared with most of 

 tli.T natural dyes ; it contains from 10 to 20 per cent, of the pure substance 

 s as a glucoside, " carminic acid," from which the true colouring 

 r, carmine red, is readily produced. The dye-stuff requires no preparation 

 nmrk.'t. hut before being employed by the dyer the insects are beaten to 

 As already observed, the most valuable commercial form is " silver- 

 "or" silver grain, ' ' the white film which is here retained being due to a natural 

 coccerin amounting to about 1 or 2 per cent, of the weight of the substance. 

 silvery coating is sometimes imitated by facing the cochineal with talc 

 .it her mineral matter. In dyeing, cochineal is almost exclusively used 

 the production of scarlet shades on wool in conjunction with a mordant of 

 With alum mordant it yelds a crimson shade. The Spanish historian Her- 

 tells us that alum was the mordant used by the Mexicans, and certainly, 

 ,r as Europe is concerned, it was not until 1643 that " Kuster or Kesler, a 

 an chemist," brought to London the secret of using a tin solution in produc- 

 the true scarlet. This secret he communicated to a Flemish painter, who in 

 irn told or sold it to the famous Gobelins, whose tapestries embraced practically 

 -t instances of scarlet-dyed hangings. 



connection with painters' colours, red inks, etc., the best-known modern 

 ii of cochineal is in combination with alumina and tin to produce 

 E (D.E.P., ii., 167) which is an almost pure lake. The best quality is 

 commercially as nacarat carmine and is insoluble in water, alcohol, ether, 

 nt inc. etc., but soluble in strong mineral acids. Other lakes prepared 

 cochineal are Florentine and Crimson-lake. None of the preparations 

 their intensity of colour when long exposed to light. [Cf. Hurst, Painters' 

 8, etc., 1901, 261 ; Rawson, Gardner and Laycock, Diet. Dyes, etc., 1901, 

 Blount and Bloxam, Chem. for Engin. and Manuf., 1900, 327.] 

 TRADE. As a dye, cochineal has been to a great extent superseded by aniline 

 and this supersession appears to be steadily increasing. Thus the average 

 tity of cochineal imported by India annually during the five years 1894-5 

 898-9 was 1,829 cwt. During the seven years 1899-1900 to 1906-6 the average 

 .illy 1,583 cwt. In 1903-4 the amount had fallen to 1,156 cwt., valued 

 1,19,417, though in 1904-5 it rose to 1,380 cwt. (Rs. 2,22,914), and in 1906-7 

 to l.~>:>:{ cwt. (Rs. 2,02,568). In the same period of twelve years the imports of . 

 Aniline dyes had increased by just over 100 per cent., totalling in 1906-7, 6,003 V 849 

 Hi., valued at Rs. 46,55,054. Cochineal comes almost exclusively from the 

 l"int.-<l Kingdom and France to Bombay. The re-export trade has practically 

 "ied. [Cf. Paulus sEgineta (Adams Comment.), 1847, iii., 180; Honigberger, 

 y-five Years in the East, ii., 258 ; Hoey, Monog. Trade and Manuf. N. Ind., 

 ', 170; Pharmacog. 2nd., 1890, ii., 99 ; DeCandolle, Orig. Cult. Plants, 274-6 ; 

 Bull., 1892. 144-8; Mollison, Rept. on Prickly Pear as Fodder, 1892; 

 adius, Opuntia in Cyprus, 1897 ; Bourne, Ind. Agri., 185'S ; Maiden, Agri. 

 Wales, 1898, 9, 980-1008 ; Thorpe, Diet. Appl. Chem., 1898, i., 575.] 



COCOS NUCIFERA, Linn. ; Fl. Br. Ind., vi., 482 ; Fryer, New DJE.F., 

 . Itid. and Pers., 1672-81, 7 and pi. ; Miquel, Fl Ned. Ind., 1855, iii., * 4 

 -' ; Shortt, Monog, The Cocoanut Palm, 1888; Nicholls, Textbook Trop. Coc< 

 Agri., 1892, 165 et seq. ; Semler, Trop. AgriL, i., 616-58; Sadebeck, DieKul- 

 . der Deut. Kolon., 1899, 25-33 ; Mukerji, Handbook Ind. Agri., 1901, 



349 



Alum. 



Tin. 



Painters' 

 Colours. 

 Bed Ink. 



Trade. 



Imports. 



