The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-02-07
RAISING THE CoCHINEAL.

Increased Price of the Insect Has
Made MeXico's Old Industry Pay
Again.
Until not so very long ago cochneal
dried insect which furnishes the most
brilliant red color known, occupied q
very prominent position in the world S
commerce. The market quotations of
this article were watched with as much
| if not more interest than those of cof-
fee are to-day Immense sums of money
were invested, both in the production
of cochineal and in it's marketing and
| transportation. While Spain was the
ruler of the western world cochineal
was one of the principal sources of rev.
enue for that nation, and her govern
ment as well as her merchants were
guarding with jealous care the monop-
oily they enjoyed in this much sought
after dyestuff.
The center of the state of Oaxaca,
with its many high plateaus and val
leys, seems to be the native home of
the tiny insect which produces the
cochneal of commerce, and probably
has been the chief seat of the cochineal
industry for many centuries, as cochin
cal was extensively used for genera
tons before the discovery of America
by modern civilization. 1t is well known
that MonteZuma and other Aztec rul-
ers before him sent merchants to
Oaxaca to procure the priced color with
which to adorn works Of art and even
of common use. No doubt the civiliza-
ton known to have undoubtedly exist
ed in the western hemisphere long be-
fore the advent of European conquer
ors made extensive use of the product
Of the Oaxaca valleys.
1t is a matter of record that during
the last half century over $90,000,000
was paid out in OaXaca to the cohiueal
producers, which probably does not
represent more than one-fifth of the
price paid by the actual consumers,
The Spanish government alone exact
ed tax of about $175 pound, and the
cost of transportation, which must
have been very great, and the commits
sions amounted to enough more to
make cochineal bring S. pound in the
wholesale market of Europe. But since
the middle of the present century a
dangerous competitor for the Oaxaca
insect has been discovered in coal tar,
from which science is producing the
brilliant colors, known as aniline, at
an extremely low cost. If it We're not
for the fact that there are certain
classes Of goods which cannot be dyed
except with the aid of cohineal, the in
dustry would have been killed entire
~. While the producer formerly would ,
refuse less than 81 a pound the price
went down as low as Is cents. Quite
recently, however, the demand for
cochineal has increased, and the price
has gone up to so and even GO cents a
pound, at which rate the cochineal in |
dustry is paying one In consequence, |
the interest in the insect has been re- |
vived in Oaxaca, and many new plan
laid out in the valley of Oaxaca.
The cochineal insect, which is the fe-
male Of a species of wood louise, feeds !
upon a plant belonging to the great |
cacti family commonly called the |
"nopal" This plant grows from leaf,
to leaf, the leaves being ablong in
shape, rather round and heavy at the
upper end, with but few spines on the
edges. If left alone the plant adds new
leaves from year to year, and will |
reach a height OF from ten to twelve |
feet. The cultivators of the plant use
the new leaves, after they have grown
to be about four inches broad in the
largest diameter, as sprouts for re-
planting and making fields for the Gull !
tivation of the insect. The planting is
done in shallow trenches, about two or