c o c 



Oxbuieal of Santa Catalini, at nine leagues distance from Oaxaca. 

 The mother-cochineals produce their young by the way. 

 On opening the canastos, they are found full of young 

 coccus, which are distributed on the nopals of the sierra. 

 They remain there till the month of October, when the 

 rains cease in the lower regions. The Indians then re- 

 turn to the mountains in quest of the cochineal, for the 

 purpose of replacing it in the nopaleries of Oaxaca. The 

 Mexican in this way withdraws the insects from the per- 

 nicious tffecU of the humidity, in the same manner as 

 the Spaniard travels with his merinos from the cold. 



At the time of the harvests, the Indians kill the mo- 

 ther cochineals, which are collected on a wooden plate 

 called chilcalpetl, by throwing them into boiling water, 

 or heaping them up by beds in the sun, or placing t'.i m 

 on mats in the same ovens of a circular form (temazcalli), 

 which arc u*cd for vapour and hot air baths. The last 

 of these methods, which is least in use, preserves the 

 whitish powder on the body of the insect, which raises 

 its price at Vera Cruz and Cadiz. Purchasers prefer the 

 white cochineal, because it is less subject to be fraudu- 

 lently mixed with parcels of gum, wood, maize, and red 

 earth. There exist in Mexico very ancient laws (of the 

 years 1592 and 1594) for the prevention of th.- falsifica- 

 tion of cochineal. Since 1760, they have even been under 

 the necessity of establishing in the town of Oaxaca, a jury 

 of i t-ailores, who examine the bags (ztirroncs) previous 

 to their being sent out of the province. They order 

 the cochineal exposed to sale to have the grain separated, 

 that the Indians may not introduce extraneous matter in 

 those agglutinated masses called boJoi/ues. But all these 

 means arc insufficient to prevent fraud. However, that 

 which is practised in Mexico by the tiangiieros or ~mi- 

 ganos (falcificadores) is inconsiderable in comparison of 

 that which is practised on this commodity in the ports 

 of the Peninsula, and in the rest of Europe. 



The following is a statement of the quantity of cochi- 

 neal exported at different times. 



Quantity of cochineal exported from Nen Spain by Vera 

 Cruz in 1787, 1788, 1789, and 1790. 



Arrobas. 



Tint quality, 91,3*6 



Second quality, .... 7,973 



Value in Double Piastres. 



7,764,409 



159.470 



Quantity of cochineal exported in the Fled commanded 

 by UUtia in 177^. 



Arrobas. Value in Double Piastres. 



First quality, 26.400 '2,2 1-3,203 



Second quality 1,052 21,049 



In dust, 14 pieces, . . 222 



Cochineal exported from Vera Cruz annually, on an 



average of seven years of peace. 



Crana, Gramlla, and Polvos de Grana, 4000 zurrones. 

 Valued at it'504,000 sterling. 



See Humboldt's Political Essay on the Kingdom of 

 \en> Sjiaiii, vol. iii. and iv. Ulloa's Voyage to South 

 Amciica, vol. i. p. 325. Lond. 1807. See also DrOHQ 

 and ENTOMDLOUY (T) 



COCHLEA RIA, a genus of plants of the class Te- 

 tradyn.imia, and order Siltculona. See BOTANY, p. 2GO. 



COCK. See ORNITHOLOGY. 



COCKERMOU i H, a town of England, in the coun- 

 ty of Cumberland, 13 situated a little ^bt.ve the coiiBu--nce 

 of the river Cocker wit:i the river D. nvent. The Cock- 

 er separates the upper frum the lower parts of the town, 

 which arc united by bridge of one arch. Although 



C O C 



the town is irregular, it contains many modern and well 

 built houses. The street which leads to the castle is very 

 teep, and contains several excellent buildings. The street 

 which leads to Dcrwent bridge, is spacious and elegant, 

 and many of the houses are handsomely built with red 

 freestone. The market house, moot hall, and shambles, 

 are gloomy and inconveniently situated ; and the church, 

 which is spacious, was, with the exception of the old 

 tower, rebuilt of freestone, in 1711. The ruins of the 

 castle, which was built soon after the conquest, stood on 

 the top of an artificial mound, raised as a precipice on 

 the banks of the Derwent. The circuit of the wall is 

 about 600 yards, and.it appears to have been of a qua- 

 drangular form, and guarded by square towers. It com- 

 mands a beautiful and extensive prospect. There is a 

 public walk, a mile long, on an extensive plain, beneath 

 the Derwent ; one end of this walk is terminated by scat- 

 tered rocks covered with trees, and the other by the ruins 

 of the castle. The principal articles of manufacture here 

 are tanned leather, hats, shalloons, common woollen cloths, 

 checks, and coarse linens. 



Inhabited houses in 1811, 602 



Families that occupy them ~. 



Families employed in trade, &c S.Mi 



Number of males, 1 



Number of females, 1< 



Total population, 2964 



(*) 



COCOS, a genus of plants of the class Monsecia, and 

 order Hecandria. See BOTANY, p. 



COD. See FISHERIES and ICHTHYOLOOV- 



CODIA, a genus of plants of the class Octa:iJria, 

 and order Digynia. See BOTANY, p. ii09. 



CODON, a genus of plants of the class Decandria. 

 and order Monogynia. See BOTANY, p. 213. 



CODONIUM, a genus of plants of the class Te- 

 trandria, and order Monogynia. See BOTANY, p. 



COEFFICIENTS. See ALGEBRA. 



COFFEA, a genus of plants of the class Pentandria, 

 and order Monogyuia. See BOTANY, p. 150, and Cov- 

 FEE. 



COFFEE, is the name given to a liquor, made by a 

 decoction, or an infusion of the seeds of the coffee berry 

 after they have undergone torrefaction, and have btcn 

 ground to powder. 



In treating this subject, we shall first direct the read- 

 er's attention to the history of coffee; secondly, to the 

 method of cultivating the coffee plant j thirdly, to the 

 best moties of using it ; and, lastly, to a few commer- 

 cial details of a general nature. 



On the History of Coffee. 



The coffee plant does not appear to have been known History of 

 to the Greeks or Romans, nor are there any facts on which coTee. 

 we can rely, respecting its origin in the East. In a ma- 

 nuscript now deposited in the Bibliotheque National?, cof- 

 fee is said to have been introduced into Arabia about the 

 middle of the 15th century, by Megaleddm, Mufti of Ada, 

 who met with it during a journey in Persia. From Ada 

 the use of coffee rapidly extended to Mecca, Medina, and 

 other Arabian towns, and in a short time public coffee 

 houses were every where established in Persia. At Grand 

 Cairo, where it was speedily introduced, the use of it u.;. 

 prohibited in 1511, on the supposition that it produced 

 intoxication, and excited improper feelings. This prohi- 

 bition, however, was soon removed ; but in \~>'2li, when a 

 second attempt was made to prohibit its use, a violent 

 commotion took place in the city, and coffee was ever 

 afterwards drunk with impunity. 



