130 INSECT MANUFACTURES. 



insects cannot move, but breed, and the young 

 crawl out and fasten upon the leaf. When they 

 have once fixed, they never move ; a light film 

 gathers over them, and as they feed, the leaves 

 become mildewed and white. At the end of the 

 dry season some of the leaves are cut off and hung 

 up in a storehouse for seed, the insects are brushed 

 off from the rest and dried, and are then sent to 

 minister to the luxuries and elegancies of civilized 

 life, and enliven with their bright colours the 

 salons of London, Paris, and St. Louis in Missouri. 

 The crop is valuable, but uncertain, as an early 

 rain may destroy it, and sometimes all the work- 

 men are taken away for soldiers at the moment 

 when they are most needed for its culture. The 

 situation was ravishingly beautiful, at the base 

 and under the shade of the Volcano de Agua, and 

 the view was bounded on all sides by mountains 

 of perpetual green ; the morning air was soft and 

 balmy, but pure and refreshing. With good govern- 

 ment and good laws, and one's friends around, I 

 never saw a more beautiful spot on which man 

 could desire to pass his allotted time on earth." 



