2^8 CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



commerce. The insects produce tlie wax while they are young 

 and of white color. When they are old, they are reddish-black 

 in color, and form balh upon the branches of the tree, at first 

 of the size of a grain of millet, but in the second spring they 

 o-row 10 the size of a cock's head, are piirplish-red in color, and 

 closely encircle the branches, appearing as if fruits borne upon 

 the tree. The insect deposits its eggs, making a cell that 

 much resembles a chrysalis, which is called ^^ ^ (La-chung) 

 or ^^ ^ (La-tzu). The eggs within this cocoon are like small 

 silkworm eggs. In each bundle there are several hundreds. 

 At the opening of spring they are taken down and wrapped in 

 bamboo leaves and hung upon the tree. The insects gradually 

 batch out and come out of the envelope and adhere to the 

 under side of the leaves and the other parts of the plant, where 

 they begin the manufacture of wax. The ground beneath the 

 tree must be kept very clean, lest the ants eat the young 

 insects. There is also a tree called 7]C M ^ (Shui-la-shu, 

 Lig^tstriim ibota)^ the leaves of which somewhat resemble those 

 of the elm. This may be used for breeding w^ax insects, as can 

 also the ^ i|§ (TMen-chu, Qucrcus sckrophylla.) " 



The insect which produces this secretion is the Coccus 

 Pc-Ia of Westwood, otherwise known as Coccus siticnsis. It is 

 whitish in color w^hen young, but becomes of a dark brown 

 color at the end of the season. The male insect is described 

 in Hanbur)'s Notes (Science Papers, p. 271) as having large 

 wings, a body of a dark red chestnut color, an elongated anal 

 point, and reddish-brown legs. The body of the female seems 

 to develop in such a way as to envelope the twig upon which 

 it grows. The account given by L,i Shih-chen, as quoted 

 above, seems to be fairly close to the facts, as these have thus 

 far been gathered by foreign observers. 



The trees upon w^hich the insect grows have been much in 

 dispute as to their identification. For the most part they 

 belong to the Oleacese. Without doubt the insect will thrive 

 upon several different species, such as Ligtistrum^ FraxhiuSy 

 Ilex^ Qitercits^ and possibly Rhus. But it seems now to be 

 well established that Ligustrum lucidum (^ _^, Nii-chen and 

 ^ ^ Tung-ch'iug) and Fraxinus sinensis (^ ^, K'u-li) are 

 the principal trees employed for this purpose \ the former for 



