66 
Indian Forest Records. 
[ Vol. I. 
spots for the formation of the plantations. The females cannot obtain 
sufficient nourishment at this period from the sapless stems, and their 
death will be recognised by the pitted appearance assumed by the cells, 
the crowns of which fall in as the insect contracts within them, and by 
the cessation of the growth or dissappearance of the white filaments 
which obtrude from the spiracular orifices. Species such as Kusum 
and Guler, which most frequently are found growing along the banks of 
rivers, where the atmosphere is humid and moist, are, for these reasons 
specially adapted for yielding good crops of lac ; whi'e the Palas offers 
advantages, as its sap-producing functions are actively employed during 
the hottest season of the year when it forms both new wood and 
leaves.” 
CHAPTER XIL 
STEPS TO BE TAKEN TO IMPROVE THE COLLECTION 
OF LAC. 
1. Should lac be collected before or after swarming 
OF THE LaRV^. 
It has been shown that definite periods, varying from May to June 
and October to December for the two broods, respectively are common- 
ly accepted in various parts of the country as the correct times to collect 
the lac. These periods of collection, based upon sound and close ob- 
servation at the time of the first cultivation of the insect in a remote 
past, have up to recently been the correct ones. Before lac itself, i.e., 
the incrustation of the insect, came into use in India the red dye was 
in general demand and therefore it was necessary to collect the lac 
incrustation before the young larvae swarmed out, practically carrying 
the major part of it with them. Even after the lac incrustation came 
into general use there was still a large demand for the dye and there- 
fore the custom of collect ng the lac twigs before swarming remained 
the correct cultural one. We have seen that Europe imported lac-dye 
from India long before she took the shellac itself. Thus the period of 
collection fixed in remote times was in the course of time accepted by 
the European middleman who bought from the actual collector, and 
by the factory owner as the correct one, and rightly so. 
