BENEFICIAL INSECTS 223 



known as lac. Owing to the fact that these scales are ex- 

 ceedingly closely crowded together, they form a continuous 

 layer over considerable areas of the tree branches, and are 

 then known as stick lac. From stick lac, "shellac" is 

 manufactured. 



The lac industry is one of the most ancient of the minor 

 Indian industries ; in fact, it seems to date back for several 

 thousand years, whilst the use of the resin as varnish is 

 mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbari, issued by the great Akbar 

 in 1590. The earliest European writer to mention lac was 

 a Dutchman, who had returned from a scientific expedition 

 on behalf of the King of Portugal about the year 1596, 

 but he was quite ignorant of the origin of lac. Long 

 before the lac resin was imported into Europe, another 

 product of the insect, lac dye, was an article of commerce. 

 This dye, which consists, for the most part, of the substance 

 from which the eggs are produced in the body of the 

 female insect, was once a rival of cochineal, but now both 

 have been superseded by aniline and other synthetic dyes ; 

 and while the lac resin industry is a growing one, the dye 

 industry is practically a dead letter. 



The best lac, called nagali, is obtained from the Indian 

 Kusum tree, Schleichera trijuga. It is a light golden colour, 

 and from it the valuable orange shellac is made. Another 

 good lac is found on the Dhak tree, Butea frmidosa ; and 

 it is called baisakh or katik, according to whether it is 

 gathered in the month of Baisakh or Katik. It is darker 

 and not so clear and bright as nagali. Lac may also be 

 obtained from many other trees, but is then of inferior 

 quality, and the two kinds above mentioned are the only 

 ones held in esteem by Europeans. The best lac comes 

 from Bengal and the Central Provinces of India. Lac, in 

 its manufactured state, is, of course, largely used as a 

 varnish and polish for woods and metal, as a stiffening 

 material for hats, an ingredient of lithographic ink, and as 

 sealing wax ; it is also in great demand in electrical work, 



