Mexico. MEXICO, OR NEW SPAIN. 63 



As to gathering the cochineal; the firft is of the clanus which, having 

 brought forth their young, died in their nefts. Three or four months after 

 this, as the feafon permits, when the fiift young ones are become fuiliciently 

 large, and in a ftate to bring forth young ones in their turn, and have alio 

 produced fome few, the Indians carefully gather tliem off the nopal, with 

 a fmali ftick, to which they fix a little hair in the nature of a pencil. Thefe 

 animals being cdlle<5led in this manner, and afterwards killed by hot water or 

 fire, are called the fecond gatherings, or rather the firft of the young ones, that 

 ' . have been nouridied and raifed in the open air. Three or four months after 

 this, they gather the fecond brood of thofe that have been brought 

 forth upon the nopal, which being .grown big, have already produced fome 

 young ones. This they do much in the fame manner as before, only 

 now they take off the plant a great many young ones, with their dams, 

 which makes this fort of cochineal to be called Granilla, from the quantity of 

 fmall ones found therein. In the mean time they keep a number of thefs 

 young ones alive upon the nopals, which they pluck up or cut, and lock up 

 in their houfes, in order to nourifh them during the rainy feafon. Laftly, 

 thefe being grown large, they put them into the paftles, and proceed in the 

 manner above expreffed in the fecond article.. So that for the moft part they 

 make three gatherings in a year. 



As to the manner of killing the cochineal, tlils is commonly done two 

 ways ; either in hot water, or in tamafcales, which are little ovens made 

 » for that purpofe ; though they are fometimes killed by roafting them upon 



comales, which are flat ftoves with fire under them, made ufe of hy the 

 Indian women to bake their maize bread. Thefe three different methods 

 ' give the cochineal three different colours. The firfl renders- them of a brov^n 

 red, the hot water making them lofe the white colour, with which they are 

 covered when alive The fecond makes them'of an afh-colour, and marbled 

 or jafpered, both on account of the natural white with which they are cover- 

 ed, and the red and tranfparent colour of the cochineal itfelf. The third 

 fort becomes black, as if it had been burnt. Of the old ones which died 

 after dropping their young, four pounds, when dried, produce but one, or ra- 

 ther one pound is reduced to four ounces 3 but three pounds only of the living 



which 



