288 



COCHABAMBA COCHIN-CHINA. 



substance is the coccus ilicis. It is found in great 

 abundance upon a species of evergreen oak (quercits 

 cojcifera), which grows in many parts of Europe, and 

 has been the basis of a crimson dye from the earliest 

 ages of the arts. It was known to the Phoenicians 

 before the time of Moses ; the Greeks used it under 

 the name of e*xf, and tin- Arabians under that of 

 kernies. From the Greek and Arabian terms, and 

 from the Latin name vermiculatum, given to it when 

 it was known to be the product of a worm, have been 

 derived the Latin coccineus, the French cramoisis and 

 vermeil, and the Mnglish crimson and vermilion. The 

 early Jews, the Greeks, the Romans, and, until late- 

 ly, the tapestry-makers of Europe, have used it as the 

 most brilliant red dye known. The scarlet grain of 

 Poland (coccus Polonicus) is found on the roots of the 

 scleranthus perennis, which grows in large quantities 

 in the north-east of Europe, and in some parts of 

 England. This, as well as several other species, 

 which afford a similar red dye, have, however, fallen 

 into disuse, since the introduction of cochineal. This 

 valuable and most important material is the coccus 

 cacti (Lin.), a native of Mexico, and an inhabitant of 

 a species of cactus, called nopal, which was long 

 thought to be ihecacttts cochinilifer (Lin.), but which 

 Humboldt considers a distinct species. The trees 

 which produce the cochineal are cultivated for this 

 purpose in immense numbers ; and the operation of 

 collecting the insects, which is exceedingly tedious, 

 is performed by the women, who brush them oft' with 

 the tail of a squirrel or stag. The insects are killed 

 by being thrown into boiling water, placed in ovens, 

 or dried in the sun. Those which are killed by the 

 latter method fetch a higher price, from the white 

 powder, covering the insect, being still retained, and 

 thus preventing, in a great measure, the adulteration 

 of the article. The quantity annually exported from 

 South America is immense ; the export value being 

 not less than 500,000. Cochineal was cultivated 

 by the Mexicans previous to the conquest, but pro- 

 bably not to any great extent. Cortez received or- 

 ders from the Spanish court to pay attention to this 

 valuable dye ; and, from that time, the quantity in- 

 creased very rapidly ; but, the trade having been 

 carried on only through Spain, it was not until lately 

 so generally used as it is likely to be in future. 

 Cochineal is also raised in Peru, and several other 

 parts of Spanish America, and becomes every year 

 an article of greater importance to the commerce of 

 that country. The finest, however, continues to be 

 prepared in Mexico and Guatimala. In the East 

 Indies, a very inferior kind has been reared, which 

 produces a coarse scarlet dye. Hayti and Brazil have 

 tried to encourage the propagation of this insect. 



The natural dye which this little animal affords in 

 such abundance is a deep crimson ; and the colour 

 called scarlet was not discovered until the effect pro- 

 duced by infusing the animal matter in a solution of 

 tin was noticed by a German chemist, in lb'43 ; after 

 which a manufactory of this colour was established in 

 London. 



Lac is a secretion from a species of coccus inhabit- 

 ing India, where it is found in astonishing abundance. 

 In its native state, not yet separated from the twig 

 on which it has been deposited, it is called stick-lac ; 

 when separated, powdered, and the colouring matter 

 washed from it, it is denominated seed lac; lump-lac 

 when melted into cakes, and shell-lac when purified 

 and formed into thin lamina. Lac-lake is the colour^ 

 ing matter of stick-lac precipitated from an alkaline 

 lixivium, by means of alum. 



COCHABAMBA ; a town of Bolivia, in the pro- 

 vince of Cochabamba, in a fertile valley ; 90 miles 

 N. N. W. L'a Plata, 140 S. W. Potosi ; Ion. 67 24' 

 W. ; lat. 18- 25' N. The province has a mild cli- 



mate, and produces an abundance of grain, also sugar 

 anil cattle. Population about 100,000. 



COCHIN, CHARLES NICOLAS, engraver, born in 

 Paris in 1688, practised painting till his twenty-third 

 year, which was of considerable advantage to him in 

 the art of engraving, to which he afterwards devoted 

 himself. In 1731, he became a member of the aca- 

 demy of Paris, and died in 1754. His son, of the 

 same name, devoted himself to etching rather than to 

 engraving. His productions are superior to those .if 

 his father. The collection of his works contains 

 more than 1 500 pieces, among which there are 112 

 likenesses, in the form of medals, of the most renown- 

 ed French scholars and artists of his time, who were 

 almost all his friends. We have, besides his essays 

 in the memoirs of the academy, several printed 

 works of his, which contain interesting observa- 

 tions on different subjects of art, for instance, on 

 Ilerculaneum. His frontispieces and vignettes are 

 remarkable for neatness and taste. His views o 

 sixteen French seaports are of great value. His 

 composition, in general, is rich, delicate, and pleasing. 

 He was a member of the academy, and occupied 

 several places of importance. 



COCHIN-CHINA, EMPIRE OF, consists of a part 

 of the kingdom of Kamboja (Cambodia), of Cochin 

 China Proper, and of Tonquin : the two last are call 

 ed, by the natives, by the common appellation An- 

 nam. This empire is bounded on the west by Siam 

 and Laos, on the north by China ; the sea is the 

 southern and eastern boundary. Cochin-China ex- 

 tends from 8 25' to about 23 N. lat., the extreme 

 length being a little over 1000 miles ; the breadth 

 varies from 70 to 220 miles ; its area is estimated at 

 about 135,000 square miles. It is politically divided 

 into the vice-royalties of Kamboja and Tonquin, and 

 Cochin-China, which is administered by the king in 

 person. The country is traversed by a lofty chain of 

 mountains, from which numerous small rivers descend 

 into the sea, forming numerous sand-banks along the 

 coast. The Kamboja or Mecon, and the Song-koy 

 or river of Tonquin, are considerable streams. The 

 climate is healthy. In Cochin-China, the rainy season 

 continues from October till March, and neither the 

 heat nor the cold is excessive. In Tonquin, on the 

 other hand, the rains commence in May, and termi- 

 nate in August. The heat and cold are both extreme. 

 The gulf of Tonquin and the neighbouring seas are 

 exposed to the ravages of the typhoons, which are 

 rarely felt below the latitude of lb N. The forests 

 furnish the eagle-wood, the stick-lac, and valuable 

 timber for building and furniture. The orange and 

 lichi are of excellent quality. Rice, sugar-cane, 

 betel, indigo, cotton, and potatoes are the principal 

 productions of agriculture. The true cinnamon is a 

 native of Cochiu-China. The mulberry is exten- 

 sively cultivated for the silk-worm, and the tea-shrub 

 is common in the country. Elephants, used in war, 

 buffaloes, which are yoked to the plough, tigers, 

 rhinoceroses, the wild boar, the horse, which is small, 

 the ox, a small, reddish-brown animal, and several 

 species of deer, are the principal quadrupeds. Sheep 

 are very rare. The poultry is numerous and very 

 good. The seas and rivers abound with fish, which 

 supply a great number of the inhabitants with food. 

 Neither the flesh of the buffalo nor tliat of the ox is 

 eaten by the Cochin-Chinese, and milk they hold u 

 abhorrence, considering it as blood. The Annam 

 race, comprehending the Cochin-Chinese and the 

 Tonquinese, are a short, but active and hardy people. 

 In the useful arts, they have made considerable pro- 

 gress. Their language is monosyllabic. They have 

 no literature of their own, and receive all their books 

 from the Chinese. In writing the Chinese charac- 

 ters, the elementary ones are the same, but they 



