LAC AND LAC DYB. 187 



fluences and to create numerous points of contact with the branch to 

 enable the larvae to pass over at once. The pieces should be tied 

 up in the upper and middle branches, so that any wandering larvae 

 that may fall off from them may not be lost on the ground, but 

 find a lodgment on the lower branches immediately underneath. 



The brood lac may be gathered without any danger a whole fort- 

 night before the young larvae swarm out, so that there is always 

 time enough to plant them on any number of trees. 



The wood of the tree on which the brood lac is to be tied should 

 not be harder than the wood of the tree from which it has been taken 

 off ; otherwise the larvae may not be sufficiently powerful to draw 

 nourishment from the new host. On the other hand, brood lac 

 from harder-wooded trees may generally be safely propagated on a 

 softer- wooded one. 



As soon as the larvae issue forth from the lac, they crowd over the 

 whole crown, attaching themselves to wherever the bark is soft and 

 juicy enough and soon covering the entire length of the twig with 

 their Incrustations. The male larvae swarm out, attach themselves 

 to the host, and begin to form incrustations round themselves 

 exactly like the female larvae. But when they become mature, 

 they leave their cells to impregnate the females, now also mature. 

 This exit of the perfect males must not be mistaken for the swarm- 

 ing of a young brood ; lac broken off at this stage would be utter- 

 ly worthless both for propagation and for sale. 



The lac insect is extremely sensitive to low temperatures and to dry 

 heat. It has also many enemies. Ants invade lac-bearing trees in 

 numbers for the sweet excretions. They bite off the ends of the 

 white filaments and thus prevent a sufficient supply of air from 

 reaching the insects ; but they are easily kept off by surrounding 

 the foot of each tree with wood-ashes or by tempting them with 

 other more attractive food. Monkeys also break off and chew the 

 incrustations for the same sweet substance and injure more than 

 they can eat. The larva of a moth ( Galeria ?) bores through the 

 cells, devouring the juicy females. A Tinea also works its way into 

 the cells and eats the colouring matter. No mode of protection 

 has yet been devised against these two last pests. 



What is not required for propagation is sold. This lac also is 

 gathered before the young brood can make its appearance and 

 exhaust the dye. In this unprepared condition the lac is techni- 

 cally called stick lac. To obtain the dye, the stick-lac is passed 

 under a roller in order to detach the incrustation from the wood 

 which it surrounds. The small portion still remaining is picked 

 off with the hand. The separated lac is then crushed and washed 



