T11E COCHINEAL. 
347 
they kill them with the vapours of hot vinegar, alter which, 
they dry them in the sun, and keep them in boxes. 
An insect of great, though perhaps not equal use in medi- 
cine, is that which is known by the name of the kcrmes ; it 
is produced in the excrescence of an oak, called the berry- 
bearing ilex, and appears at lirst wrapt up in a membrana- 
ceous bladder, of the size of a pea, smooth and shining, of 
a brownish red colour, and covered with a very line ash- 
coloured powder. This bag teems with a number of reddish 
e‘>gs, or insects, which being rubbed with the fingers, pour 
out a crimson liquor. It is only met with in warm countries, 
in the months of May and June. 
In the month of April, this insect becomes of the size and 
shape of a pea, and its eggs some time after burst from the 
womb, and soon, turning worms, run about the branches 
and leaves of the tree. They are of two sexes, and the (e- 
males have been as yet undescribed ; but the males are very 
distinct from the former, and are a sort ot small Hies like 
gnats, with six feet, of which the four forward are short, and 
the two backward long, divided into four joints, and armed 
with three crooked nails. There are two feelers on the head, 
a line and a half long, which are moveable, streaked, and arti- 
culated. The tail, at the back part of the body, is half a line 
long, and forked. The whole body is covered with two 
transparent wings, and they leap about in the manner of 
fleas. 
The harvest of the kermes is greater or less in proportion 
to the severity of the winter, and the women gather them 
before sun-rising, tearing them off' with their nails, for fear 
there should be any loss from the hatching of the insects. 
They sprinkle them with vinegar, and lay them in the sun 
to dry, where they acquire a red colour. 
An insect, perhaps, still more useful than either ot the 
former, is the cochineal. . 
This insect is of an oval form, of the size ot a small pea, 
with six feet, and a snout or trunk. It brings forth its young 
alive, and is nourished by sucking the juice ol the plant. 
Its body consists of several rings ; and when it is once fixed 
on the plant, it continues immoveable, being subject to no 
change. Some pretend there are two sorts, the one domestic, 
which is best, and the other wild, that is of a vivid colour ; 
however, they appear to be the same, with only this differ- 
ence, that the wild feed upon uncultivated trees, without any 
assistance; whereas, the domestic is carefully, at a stated 
season, removed to cultivated trees, where it eei s upon a 
purerjuice. Those who take care of these insects, place 
them on the prickly pear-plant, in a certain order, and are 
