138 ^ THE INSECT WORLD. 



subject. These insects are gathered when the females are about 

 to lay, that is, when a few young are hatched. It is when the 

 females are gravid that they contain the greatest amount of 

 colouring matter. When the harvest time has arrived, the 

 rearers stretch out on the ground pieces of linen at the foot of the 

 plants, and detach the cochineals from them, brushing the plants 

 with a rather hard brush, or scraping them off with the blade of a 

 blunt knife. 



If the season is favourable, the operation may be repeated three 

 times in the course of a year in the same plantation. The insects 

 thus collected are killed, by dipping into boiling water, being put 

 into an oven, or by torrefying them on a plate of hot iron. The 

 cochineals when withdrawn from the boiling water are placed 

 upon drainers, first in the sun, then in the shade, then in an 

 airy place. During their immersion in water they lose the white 

 powder which covers them. In this state they are called in 

 Mexico ronagridas. Those which have been passed through the 

 oven they call jaspeaclas, and are of an ashy grey ; those that 

 are torrefied, are black, and are called negras. In commerce 

 three sorts of cochineal are recognised ; first, the mastique (mes- 

 teque], of a reddish colour, with a more or less abundant glaucous 

 powder; secondly, the noire, which is large and of a blackish 

 brown ; thirdly, the sylvestre, which is, on the contrary, smaller 

 and reddish. The latter is the least esteemed, and is gathered on 

 wild cacti. 



Each year there are imported into France 200,000 kilogrammes 

 of cochineals, which represent a value of about three millions of 

 francs. Every one knows that it is with cochineal that carmine 

 is made, a magnificent red frequently employed by painters. 

 Lake carmine is another product obtained from the cochineal. 

 And, lastly, scarlet is the powder of the cochineal precipitated by 

 salt of tin. 



Before the Mexican cochineal was known in Europe, the kermes, 

 or Coccus ilicis, known still in commerce and by chemists under 

 the names of Animal kermes, Vegetable kermes, and Scarlet seed, 

 was used for the preparation of the carmine employed in the 

 arts. This cochineal lives by preference (at least, so it is sup- 

 posed) on the evergreen oak ( Quercus ilex) ; whence its specific 

 name. 



