
HEMIPTERA. 
ceeded in bringing from Mexico into Europe some live cochineals. 
He gave them to the professor of botany at Toulon; but this 
attempt to preserve them was unsuccessful. 
In 1827 the naturalisation of the cochineal was attempted in 
Corsica, but without success. During the same year the cochi- 
neal was introduced into the Canary Islands, but the inhabitants 
did not understand the importance of this attempt. They counted 
the cochineal among the number of noxious insects, and tried in 
all ways to rid themselves of it. It was only after results obtained 
by some more intelligent farmers, that the inhabitants of the 
Canary Islands perceived the profits they might derive. From 
that time its cultivation became more extensive, and after the 
| year 1831 it increased rapidly.. Thus the cochineal imported from 


| the Canary Isles in that year amounted to only 4 kilogrammes. 
In 1832 the amount was 60 kilogrammes, in 1883 it was 660 kilo- 
grammes, in 1838, 9,000 kilogrammes, and in 1850, 400,000 kilo- 
grammes. The French colonists in Algeria also tried to raise it. 
In 1831, M. Limounet, a chemist of Algiers, collected some cochi- 
neals, and had the merit of first introducing the insect into 
the colony. On account of bad weather, these first essays were 
fruitless, but it was not long before they were repeated. 
M. Loze, surgeon in the navy, undertook to introduce the 
insect again, and with M. Hardy, director of the central garden 
of Algiers, gave himself up, with great intelligence, to the natural- 
isation and rearing of the cochineal in Algeria. 
In 1847 the French Minister of War, for the purpose of 
having the value of the Algerian cochineal fixed by commerce, 
caused to be sold publicly on the market-place of Marseilles a 
case of cochineal, the produce of the harvests of 1845 and 1846, 
from the experimental garden of Algiers, and which contained 
17 kilogrammes of this commodity. Since that time the cultiva- 
tion of this insect, the beginning of which was due to M. Limou- 
net, has rapidly developed. In 1853, in the province of Algiers 
alone, there were fourteen nopaleries, or cactus gardens, contain- 
ing 61,500 plants. The Government at that time bought the 
harvests for fifteen francs the kilogramme. 
We have only pointed out in a general way how the cochineal 
harvest is conducted. We will now enter into some details on the 
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