12 
Indian Forest Records. 
[ VoL. I. 
and the red fluid begins to thicken, this process reaches the 
final stage when the ovaries are quite ripe and the larvae 
swarm out of them. The sac is then quite loose and consists 
of an outer covering with a few grains of a red powder within 
it. The female having performed her functions dies as 
soon as the larvae begin to swarm. 
(b) Life history in differ- It has been said that the life history varies 
ent parts of the country. different parts of India. 
In Sind the first crop of lac is collected from April to June and the 
cold weather crop from November to January. In the Punjab the crops 
are gathered in April-May and October-November. In the United 
Provinces the periods are July and October about Rurki, and April- 
May and October-November in Bundelkhand. 
In the Central Provinces the crops are gathered in June and from 
15th December to the 15th February. In Bengal April to July, and 
October-November are the periods in Palamau ; in Birbhum the times 
of collection are the middle of March to May (this being the best crop) 
and middle of August to October. In Assam there are two crops collected 
in May-June and October-November, respectively, the latter being 
the chief export crop. In Upper Burma the collection of lac is said to 
take place from May to November, but the quality is poor until August. 
There are said to be three generations in the year in Burma. 
CHAPTER V. 
THE FOOD PLANTS. 
The trees 'par excellence which form the commonest hosts of the 
lac insect are the Kusum (Schleichera trijuga) and the common Palas 
or Dhak tree (Butea jrondosa) of India. The insect feeds, however, 
upon many other trees, particular species being chiefly valued for pro- 
pagating and rearing the insect in the different areas of production in 
the coimtry. 
The following table has been compiled to show the principal trees 
