436      CULTURE  OF  COCHINEAL  IN  THE  CANARY  ISLANDS. 
six  feet  distance  from  each  other,  and  with  sufficient  watering 
they  soon  spread  out. 
In  the  autumn,  strong  nopal  stems,  with  large,  thick  and  thorny 
leaves,  are  selected.  They  must  be  more  than  a  year  old  ;  and 
when  they  are  to  be  planted  in  good  land,  each  one  must  have  at 
least  two  or  three  leaves  developed.  In  inferior  land  one  leaf  is 
considered  sufficient.  The  plants  are  broken  off  by  the  hand, 
and  are  exposed  to  the  air  for  eight  or  ten  days,  in  order  that 
they  may  cicatrize  ;  and  during  this  period  they  must  be  fre- 
quently turned  over.  If  they  were  planted  at  once  they  would 
die.  A  hole  is  made  in  the  furrow,  the  plant  stuck  in  so  that  it 
is  turned  towards  the  light,  and  that  the  wind  and  rain  may 
strike  the  leaves  only  on  one  side.  The  lower  end  of  the  plant 
is  covered  with  earth,  and,  according  to  the  richness  of  the  soil, 
the  plants  are  set  at  a  foot  and  a  half  or  six  feet  apart.  When 
the  land  in  which  the  plants  are  set  can  be  irrigated,  this  may  be 
done  about  twenty  or  twenty-five  days  after  setting  them. 
When  the  weather  is  dry  the  watering  is  repeated  at  the  end  of 
a  month.  However,  the  water  must  not  come  in  contact  with 
the  plant,  but  be  led  along  between  the  furrows.  From  2800  to 
3200  plants  of  nopal  are  set  upon  half  an  acre  of  land.  In 
December  the  soil  is  removed  from  the  plants  to  admit  more 
freely  the  access  of  air,  but  care  must  be  taken  not  to  go  so  deep 
as  to  injure  the  roots.  At  the  same  time  weeds  should  be  re- 
moved and  manure  applied.  For  this  purpose  pigeon  dung  is 
preferred,  and  in  the  absence  of  it  well  rotted  pig  or  cow  dung. 
The  nopal  plants  in  dry  soil  only  require  manuring  every  third 
or  fourth  year.  In  the  spring  the  soil  round  the  plant  is  again 
carefully  cleared  of  weeds,  the  cobwebs  removed  from  the  plants, 
and  a  close  search  is  made  for  an  insect  which  burrows  in  the 
leaves  or  stem.  This  insect  has  a  form  very  similar  to  the  cochi- 
neal, and  is  called  cochinella  bastarda.  It  is  very  detrimental 
to  the  plants,  and  if  not  removed  would  cause  them  to  die.  Con- 
stant attention  to  the  plants  is  indispensable.  They  require  to 
be  watered  only  when  there  is  no  rain,  and  then  not  more  than 
every  fortieth  or  fiftieth  day.  Too  much  moisture  makes  the 
fleshy  leaves  dry,  hard,  and  yellow.  As  soon  as  the  new  leaves 
shoot  out,  the  fruit  buds  are  formed,  and  in  order  that  the  plants 
may  not  be  deprived  of  too  much  sap,  these  are  carefully  re- 
