Am'j^lIriS6.arm'}       Cochineal  Industry  in  Guatemala.  29 
cessive  generations — the  last  for  the  year  being  late  in  May.  These 
tiny  insects,  of  the  family  Coccidce,  are  in  the  form  of  rounded  scales, 
the  body  covered  with  deep,  transverse  wrinkles,  abdomen  of  dark 
mulberry  color,  with  short,  black  legs,  and  bristly  on  the  posterior 
part.    The  male  has  two  erect  wings,  the  female  none. 
"A  laborer  of  ordinary  skill  can  pick  only  about  two  ounces  of 
cochineal  bugs  in  a  day.  These  lose  at  least  two-thirds  of  their  weight 
in  the  process  of  drying.  As  it  requires  no  less  than  seventy  thou- 
sand insects  to  weigh  a  pound,  and  the  average  retail  price  of  cochineal 
is  only  sixty  cents  per  pound,  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  business  is 
by  no  means  a  sinecure.  By  the  method  of  immersing  the  insects  in 
boiling  water  they  turn  to  a,  reddish-brown  hue,  losing  much  of  the 
white  powder  with  which  the  wrinkles  of  their  bodies  are  loaded. 
When  dried  in  an  oven  they  retain  this,  and  then  their  color  is  grey, 
and  when  killed  on  hot  iron  they  become  black.  This  is  the  cause  of 
the  varieties  known  in  the  market  as  ( silver  grains/  '  black  grains ?  and 
'foxy/  the  latter  (killed  by  the  first  plan)  being  preferred.  When 
dried,  the  cochineal  presents  the  form  of  convex  grains,  each  about  an 
eighth  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  with  the  transverse  wrinkles  still  visible. 
"  An  inferior  quality  of  insects,  called  sylvestre,  which  is  indigenous 
to  a  wild  species  of  cactus,  is  frequently  gathered  and  sold  for  the 
better  variety,  and  sometimes  the  species  become  mixed  without  design 
on  the  part  of  the  planter.  Occasionally  a  bug  distemper  breaks  out 
and  devastates  entire  plantations,  as  in  Guatemala  a  few  years  ago, 
when  the  haciendos  were  obliged  to  clean  out  the  old  stock,  root  and 
branch,  and  begin  anew.  The  Coccus  cacti  are  also  fed  upon  by  birds, 
mice  and  the  larvse  of  other  insects — the  latter  destroyers  sucking  out 
their  bodies  and  leaving  only  the  empty  skins." — Phar.  Jour,  and 
Trans.,  Nov.  14,  1885,  p.  414. 
Behavior  of  the  Bile  Acids  with  Gelatin  and  Gelatin  Pep- 
tones.— By  F.  Emich  (Monatsh.  Chem.,  vi,  95-103. — Glycocholic 
acid  does  not  preciptate  gelatin  solutions,  but  taurocholic  acid  does, 
even  from  very  dilute  solutions,  and  in  a  very  complete  manner;  the 
taurocholic  acid  cannot  be  removed  from  the  precipitate  by  boiling 
alcohol.  1  part  of  gelatin  combines  with  from  0*68  to  1*49  parts  of 
taurocholic  acid. 
Taurocholic  acid  precipitates  gelatin  peptone  but  only  incompletely. 
These  reactions  are  of  physiological  importance. — Jour.  Chem.  Soc, 
1885,  pp.  822. 
