74 
Indian Forest Records. 
[VoL. 1. 
once a year, the other crop being left for propagation, e.q., in 
the Central Provinces ; in Burma and Mysore, on the other 
hand, it is stated that the insect is propagated three times 
in the year, and that the lack is also collected thrice in the 
year. 
It will therefore be n ece ssary to carefully examine the crop obtained 
and ascertain whether it is an abu ndant one or whether the lac present 
will only suffice for propagation o n the number of trees it has been 
decided upon to infest. 
In collecting the lac two important points must be borne in mind : — 
(a) That the swarming of the male insects be not mistaken for that 
of the young larvae. 
(b) That the lac-bearing twigs required for propagation are cut before 
the crop is gathered, and that they be cut at such a period as 
to ensure that there is time to tie them on to the trees on 
which lac is to be propagated before the larvae begin to issue. 
As far as the quality of the lac itself is concerned it would 
seem at present immaterial whether the crop is picked before 
or after the larvae have swarmed. 
3. Private Lands. 
The above remarks apply equally to the improvement in the quantity 
and quality of the lac obtainable from private lands. It is more than pro- 
bable that any improved methods of cultivation of, or increase in the pro- 
duction of, lac from Government district lands and reserved forests would 
be speedily followed by a similar improvement in the methods at 
present in force on private lands in British India. 
4. Native States. 
Mysore, Hyderabad, and the Central Indian States are amongst the 
chief Native States which cultivate lac, and foremost amongst them 
Rewah stands out pre-eminently with a revenue of upwards of four 
lakhs of rupees per annum from this source. This revenue is realized 
owing to the substance having been made a Government monopoly and 
its cultivation more or less enforced. 
Both the cultivation and the collection of the article leave much to 
be desired, however, in the Native States of the coimtry, complaints 
