CHAPTER II. 
The Host-trees of the Lac Insect. 
This subject has up to the present time received practically no 
attention whatever. The authorities do not 
laJtosect^Ilts hosT. een the discuss it, or else dismiss it in a very few 
lines, although it is of the highest import¬ 
ance if lac is ever to be cultivated on scientific principles. If the 
host is to receive special treatment preparatory to inoculation with 
lac, or remedial treatment to hasten its recovery from the after¬ 
effects, it is obvious that the precise relations between the insect and 
the tree must be carefully studied. 
If one compares a tree bearing lac with an uninfected neighbour 
of the same species, the first point noticed is that the former has lost 
considerably in vigour. The vegetative growth is poor, the canopy 
is small, the leaves are much fewer, while flowers and fruit are often 
absent; the new shoots are weak and thin and the tree generally 
presents a very unhealthy appearance. In fact, with certain species 
of tree, eg ., Ghont, it has been noticed that repeated and heavy 
inoculations with lac eventually kill the tree altogether. The natural 
deduction from the above facts is that infection with lac is fraught 
with consequences injurious to the health of the tree. It would 
seem, therefore, that one of the aims of cultivation should be to main¬ 
tain an equilibrium between the lac and the tree and not to over¬ 
infect or too frequently to infect the same host-tree, as this course 
will eventually destroy it. The only condition under which heavy 
infection is admissible is when the number of host-trees is sufficient to 
allow of a rotation for replacement or recovery and their regeneration 
is assured. This condition nowhere obtains at present in the main 
lac-growing areas. 
Although the above theory, that lac is a disease of the host, is 
generally accepted as correct, Mr. S. Mahdihassan of Hyderabad 
(Deccan) has published a pamphlet in which he takes up an entirely 
different attitude. On this pamphlet Mr. F. M. Howlett has 
recorded the following opinion '“ Mr. Mahdihassan considers that 
the lac insect’s normal function is a beneficent one, in that it thrives 
[13] 
