Arizona  Shellac, 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm 
(      Aug.,  1880. 
these  lac-yielding  plants  were  as  plentiful  as  sage-brush  from  Southern 
Utah  to  New  Mexico,  and  from  the  Colorado  Desert  to  Western 
Texas. 
The  lac  is  most  abundant  around  stations  on  the  Mojava  and  Colo- 
rado  deserts,  and  exudes  as  the  result  of  an  insect's  sting.  Calcutta 
exports  a  million  pounds  sterling  in  value  annually  of  shellac,  selling 
at  25  to  35  cents  a  pound,  and  almost  as  much  more  of  lac  dye,  selling 
at  30  to  40  cents  a  pound.  In  1876  the  United  States  imported  700,- 
000  pounds  of  shellac  alone.  To  collect  this  is  simple  work  for  boySy 
and  will  prove  an  important  industry.  It  will  require  little  or  no  capi- 
tal. The  twigs  are  boiled  in  hot  water  and  the  gum  rises  to  the  top, 
is  skimmed  off,  strained  and  dried  on  smooth  stones  and  hand-pressed 
into  flakes,  ready  to  make  sealing  wax  or  varnish.  The  residue,  when 
allowed  to  settle,  makes  lac  dye.  The  plants  live  on  a  rainfall  of 
three  inches  a  year. 
In  vol.  vi  (Botany)  of  the  Reports  of  the  U.  S.  Geographical  Sur- 
veys west  of  the  100th  meridian  we  find  the  following  information 
relative  to  these  two  plants,  which  would  seem  to  be  worthy  the  atten 
tion  of  commercial  men  and  manufacturers  : 
P.  108 — "  Acacia  Greggii,  Gray. — A  small  tree,  i  o  to  20  feet  highy 
pubescent  or  glabrous,  unarmed  or  with  scattered  stout  recurved 
prickles  ;  pinnae  2  or  3  pairs  ;  on  a  slender  petiole  ;  leaflets,  4  to  5 
pairs,  oblong  or  oblong-ovate,  2  or  3  lines  long,  rounded  or  truncate 
above,  narrower  at  base,  rather  thick  and  with  2  or  3  straight  nerves  j. 
flowers  in  cylindrical  spikes  an  inch  or  two  long,  the  peduncles  equal- 
ing or  exceeding  the  leaves  ;  pods  thin,  coriaceous,  flat,  3  or  4  inches 
long  by  5  to  7  lines  broad,  shortly  stipulate,  acute,  curved,  glabrous 
and  reticulated,  more  or  less  constricted  between  the  seeds  ;  seeds  half 
an  inch  long.  From  Western  Texas  to  Southern  California  ;  collected 
in  Western  Arizona,  1872." 
P.  41 — "  Larrea  Mexicana,  Moricand,  creosote  hush. — Common  from 
Western  Texas  to  Kern  county,  California,  and  southward  to  Mexico, 
Dr.  Loew's  examination  proves  that  the  reddish-brown  exudate  on 
the  branches,  caused  by  an  insect,  will  yield  a  red  coloring  matter 
showing  all  the  reactions  of  cochineal.  'The  alcoholic  extract  of  the 
leaves,  on  evaporation,  yields  a  greenish-brown  residue,  of  a  specific 
and  somewhat  disagreeable  odor,  more  strongly  perceptible  on  boiling 
the  extract  with  water.  This  residue  is  only  to  a  small  extent  soluble 
in  water,  and  the  solution  has  an  acid  reaction.    It  yields  a  light  yellow 
