HEMIPTEEA. 137 



ceeded in bringing from Mexico into Europe some live cochineals. 

 He gave them to the professor of botany at Toulon ; but this 

 attempt to preserve them was unsuccessful. 



In 1827 the naturalisation of the cochineal was attempted in 

 Corsica, but without success. During the same year the cochi- 

 neal was introduced into the Canary Islands, but the inhabitants 

 did not understand the importance of this attempt. They counted 

 the cochineal among the number of noxious insects, and tried in 

 all ways to rid themselves of it. It was only after results obtained 

 by some more intelligent farmers, that the inhabitants of the 

 Canary Islands perceived the profits they might derive. From 

 that time its cultivation became more extensive, and after the 

 year 1831 it increased rapidly. Thus the cochineal imported from 

 the Canary Isles in that year amounted to only 4 kilogrammes. 

 In 1832 the amount was 60 kilogrammes, in 1833 it was 660 kilo- 

 grammes, in 1838, 9,000 kilogrammes, and in 1850, 400,000 kilo- 

 grammes. The French colonists in Algeria also tried to raise it. 

 In 1831, M. Limounet, a chemist of Algiers, collected some cochi- 

 neals, and had the merit of first introducing the insect into 

 the colony. On account of bad weather, these first essays were 

 fruitless, but it was not long before they were repeated. 



M. Loze, surgeon in the navy, undertook to introduce the 

 insect again, and with M. Hardy, director of the central garden 

 of Algiers, gave himself up, with great intelligence, to the natural- 

 isation and rearing of the cochineal in Algeria. 



In 1847 the French Minister of War, for the purpose of 

 having the value of the Algerian cochineal fixed by commerce, 

 caused to be sold publicly on the market-place of Marseilles a 

 case of cochineal, the produce of the harvests of 1845 and 1846, 

 from the experimental garden of Algiers, and which contained 

 17 kilogrammes of this commodity. Since that time the cultiva- 

 tion of this insect, the beginning of which was due to M. Limou- 

 net, has rapidly developed. In 1853, in the province of Algiers 

 alone, there were fourteen nopaleries, or cactus gardens, contain- 

 ing 61,500 plants. The Government at that time bought the 

 harvests for fifteen francs the kilogramme. 



We have only pointed out in a general way how the cochineal 

 harvest is conducted. We will now enter into some details on the 



