c o c 



711 



C O C 



a!, years been wrested from the hands of our enemies ; and 

 ~ ' the Siamese and Cambodians, and other neighbouring 

 nations on the continent, might be induced to bring the 

 produce of their respective countries to Cochinchina, and 

 barter it with us for such articles as they want. Mr 

 Barrow is of opinion, from what he observed of the dis- 

 position of the people at Turon, that neither the king 

 of Cochinchina, nor the natives, would be averse to an 

 intimate connection with the British, provided suitable 

 overtures were made to them in a direct manner by the 

 British government itself, and not through any commer- 

 cial body, to whom, like the Chinese, they pay no re- 

 pect. And as their trade with China, which formerly 

 employed upwards of two hundred of their largest ves- 

 sels, has been wholly suspended since the rebellion in the 

 country, he believes that it would not be difficult for Bri- 

 tain, the greatest maritime and commercial power in the 

 world, by prudent management, to establish an inter- 

 course so obviously beneficial to both countries. The 

 thoughts which he suggests upon that subject deserve 

 attention. 



See Barrow's Voynet to Cochinchina. Grosier's 

 Description of China, vol. i. p. 300. Expose Statis- 

 titjuedu Tonkin dt la Cochinchine du Gamboge, &c. torn, 

 ii. p. 1 . Annalet det Voyage*, par M. Make Brun, torn, 

 iii. (A. F.) 



COCHINEAL, the name of a valuable scarlet dye 

 obtained from an insect, the Cocoes Cacti of naturalist?, 

 which is found on the Cactut ojnintia, or prickly pear 

 tree called Nopal, or Nopnltica, oy the Indians. As the 

 natural history of the insect iti If will be given under the 

 article ENTOMOLOGY, and the method of using the dye 

 which is obtained from it under the article DYEINC, \VL % 

 shall confine ourselves at present to such economical de- 

 tails as do not belong to either of these articles. 



The Cactus opiintia, or Nopal, on which the insects 

 arc reared, is generally planted by the Indians near their 

 habitations, in an argillaceous earth mixed with gravel 

 and stones. In holes about half a yard deep, and about 

 two yards distant from each other, one or two leaves of 

 the nopal arc placed in a flat position, and then covered 

 with earth. The<e leaves grow up into a single stem, 

 which divide* into branches that successively produce 

 fresh leaves. The stem and the branches are full of knots, 

 from which the leaves grow. The plant is usually about 

 three yards in height. The decayed branches are care- 

 fully removed, and the plants are kept frre of all kinds 

 of weeds. A collection of these trees forma a Nopalrri.: 

 The female cochineal insects are placed, about the 15th 

 of October, in a number of small nests among the leaves 

 of the nopal, and they immediately wan.ler over the plant 

 in quest of the particular branches to which they attach 

 themselves, and during the time of breeding they arc 

 preserved with the utmost care from violrnt winds, trusts, 

 Ice. and from the depredations of particular bird) and 

 worms. After attaining their full growth, tlit-y are put 

 into earthen pots, and when they have been confined for 

 some time, they are killed and put into bags. 



The following curious details respecting cochineal are 

 abridged from the writings of Humboldt, which contain 

 rot only the most recent, but the most correct account 

 of this singular insect that has yet been puhli !><!. 



Tlie rearing of the cochineal, ( Grana Nocliiztli, ) is 

 of great antiquity in New Spain ; und it is probable that 

 k goes beyond the incursions of the Toltec tribes. In 



the time of the dynasty of Axtec kings, the cochineal 

 was more general than at present. There were nopale- 

 ries not only in Mixtecapan (la Misteca), and in the pro- 

 vince of Huaxyacac (Oaxaca), but also in the intemlau- 

 cy of Puebla, in the environs- of Cholula and Huejotziii- 

 go. The vexations to which the natives were exposed 

 in the beginning of the conquest, -and the low price at 

 which the encomenderos forced the cultivators to sell the 

 cochineal, occasioned this branch of Indian industry to 

 be everywhere neglec'.'-d, excepting in the intendancy of 

 Oaxaca. It is scarcely 40 years since the peninsula of 

 Yucatan still possessed considerable nopaleries. hi a sin- 

 gle night, all the nopals, on which the cochineal lives, 

 were cut down. The Indians pretend that the govern- 

 ment took this violent resolution to raise the value of a 

 commodity, of which they wished to secure the exclusive 

 property to the inhabitants of Misteca. On the other 

 hand, the whites maintain that the natives, irritated and 

 discontented with the price fixed by the merchants on the 

 cochineal, came to a general understanding, to destroy at 

 once, both the insect and the nopals. 



The quantity of cochineal which the intendancy of 

 Oaxaca furnishes to Europe, may be estimated in com- 

 mon ye:irs, including the three sorts, grand, grnnilla, and 

 polvos de grana, at 4000 zurrones, or ii'.'.OOO urrobas, 

 which, calculating the arroba at 7.5 double piastres, 

 amounts to 2,400,000 piastres. The cochineal exported 

 from Vera Cru/, was 



Value i'l Duutile l'i 



1,470 



50,47'-.' 



In 1802. 



Grana Fma, 4 . 



Granilla, <>.:'.;,:> 



Polvos de Grana, . . I 



Total Hi..!,'.-. 1. 



-,557 



In 1803. Arrobas. Value In DotiliK' Piastre.;. 



Grana Fina, 27,231 2,191. :!!)<) 



Granilla, 1,573 40, '..'..> Ii 



Polvos de Grana, ... 786 7,018 



Total 29,610 



2,238,673 



But since the produce of one harvest is often augment- 

 ed by a portion of the produce of the preceding year, the 

 progress, of cultivation cannot be determined from the 

 quantity exported. The nopalcrics in general increase 

 very slowly in Misteca. In the intendancy of Guada- 

 laxara, scarcely 800 arrobas of cochineal are produced 

 annually. Kaynal estimates the whole exportation of 

 New Spain at 4000 quintals, an estimate too low by one 

 half. The East Indies have only begun to pour their 

 cochineal into commerce ; but the quantity is very incon- 

 siderable. Captain Nelson carried off the insect from 

 Rio Janeiro* in 1793, and nopaleries have been establish- 

 ed in the environs of Calcutta, Chittagong, and Madras. 

 Much difficulty was experienced in procuring the species 

 of cactus proper for the nourishment of the insect. We do 

 not know if this Brazilian cochineal transported to Asia, 

 be the mealy species of Oaxaca, or if it be the cotton 

 cochineal (fj-iinti xilvpstre). 



Humbolclt had occasion to observe the wild cochineal in 

 the kingdom of N'-'w Granada, Quito, Peru, and in Mex- 

 ico, though he was not fortunate enough to see the fine 

 cochineal ; but having consulted persons who had lived 



cochineal in the Grana ilvtitrc. It was first cultivated at Rio Janeiro In 1TTO, liy M. llrnrio|ticx dc Pavra, who btt 

 written detached history of it, nub many plates, the Mb. of which is In the auhivcs of the Academy of Lisbon. 



