46 
Indian Forest Records. 
[Vol. VIII 
swarming has taken place. During this period, the extension of work 
by opening up and inoculating new cropping series will be carried 
out. 
The advantages of the system are obvious. The bulk of the work 
will be carried out in the cold weather ; and more, again, will be done 
in the hot weather than in the rains. Work in the unhealthy seasons 
of the year and competition with agriculture for labour are thus 
reduced to a minimum. It is true that the system does to some extent 
depart from the general principle already enunciated, that only phunki 
lac should be removed from the forest, for the Baisakhi crop will 
have to be collected ari. This is, however, unavoidable, if lac culti¬ 
vation is not to compete for labour with field cultivation. Moreover 
the manufacturer emphasizes particularly the fact that Katki lac 
contains a larger percentage of colouring matter than Baisakhi, and 
therefore attaches special importance to the collection and sale of the 
former in the phunki condition. 
The above is merely a brief outline of suggestions in one parti¬ 
cular case. Modifications will be necessary to meet special condi¬ 
tions, e.g. t where rabi crops are the staple form of cultivation, or where 
Kusum is the host-tree. There is one point which can never be over¬ 
emphasized. When the lac in one coupe is finally collected, it is 
essential that all the lac should be removed, whether for the market 
or for the infection of the next coupe in the series or for both ; other¬ 
wise the whole object of the proposal, the resting of the host-trees 
after a heavy crop, is defeated. 
Phunki lac is comparatively easy to deal with. It contains very 
little org anic matter and much of the 
storage. natural moisture of the lac has dried out of 
it during the extended period for which the lac has remained on the 
tree. Ari lac is wet and living and must, therefore, be dried much 
more carefully according to the methods described above. When 
stick-lac has to be stored, as it frequently must be, it still requires 
some attention, however carefully it may have been dried. Even 
phunki lac contains some dead larvae which died naturally, and also 
the shell of the mother. There is always therefore a liability for the 
lac to ferment and block. The best method of storage is to keep it 
in layers of about four to five inches deep in a dry, airy and cool 
place, where it should be daily raked over. The best apparatus seen 
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