THE COCHINEAL INSECTS. 
.51 
twelve dollars, the poor man was enabled to proceed 
with his labours, which remunerated all a hundred fold. 
Had it been a Spanish proprietor, the farmer would have 
been dismissed, and both parties would have suffered. 
Of late years the cultivation of the Cactus Cocci or 
Opuntia Tuna, and the Cochineal insect, have greatly 
superseded that of corn. The plants, indeed, are 
found to suit the climate, and are less precarious. The 
Opuntia Tuna is a species of Cactus, with broad, 
thick, oval leaves, very succulent, and covered with 
little masses of prickles, which irritate and inflame the 
skin where they come in contact. The plant requires 
three years to attain its proper size and growth. The 
Cochineal insect. Coccus Cacti, from which the beautiful 
purple dye is produced, and for whose nutrition the 
plant is cultivated, was originally and exclusively con- 
fined to South America. It was only introduced a few 
years ago into this island as a curiosity ; and now it 
forms one of most valuable exports. The female, 
which alone yields the dye, is, when full grown, a 
small, oval insect, covered with a whitish powder. At 
first it is quite a microscopic object, but it gradually, 
though quickly enlarges, until it becomes about the size 
of a grain of wheat, rather rounder and thicker when it 
is matured, and fit to be removed. 
The gathering is at two seasons of the year, June and 
September ; the insects are then dried over a gentle heat 
till the juices are nearly, if not entirely dissipated. After 
being sprinkled with vinegar, and again dried in the sun, 
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