After innumerable difficulties and dangers this traveller reached St. Domingo in safety, but with only a small part of his insects living. These, however, he was successful in rearing and multiplying until a flourishing nopalerie was established. He found, by experience, that five or six species of _cactus opuntia_ will nourish these insects, but that some are far more valuable than others. He also proved that the colours of the flowers and fruit of the plants, whether red, violet, yellow, or white, did not in any way affect the colour of the cochineal, nor indicate the greater or less aptitude of the plant to nourish the insect. The thorny species were less convenient on account of the pain and annoyance to the hands of those who managed the nursery; but in some of these the younger branches were nearly free from prickles. The terms _nopalerie_ for the nursery, and _nopal_ for the plant, are preserved among the French cultivators of cochineal, in remembrance of the Mexican origin of such nurseries. The enclosure should be secured by walls or a quick hedge; not from the fear that any animal will prey upon the plants, since no large quadruped is known to have a taste for them; but simply to keep out such as might by accident or fear be driven through the grounds, and trample on and destroy the crop. An acre, or an acre and a half of land, when planted with nopals, is sufficient to keep one Indian well employed during six months of the year. The plants should be so situated as to receive the full influence of the morning sun, which is of great consequence to the welfare of the cochineal. Every part of the ground should be as neat as a well-kept garden, and every injurious insect watched for and destroyed. The spider alone is permitted to weave her nets in peace, and for this reason: she is the great enemy of many insects which injuriously affect the cochineals, while she herself does not touch one of them. The nopal requires a good soil, where the drainage is excellent. Shelter from the wind, and exposure to the sun, are the two great requisites, and with this there must be a tolerably settled climate, otherwise the harvest will be uncertain. When in a favourable situation, the nopal requires less care and cultivation than almost any other plant: it would even appear that the less it is meddled with the better it succeeds. As soon as a nursery ground is laid out, cleaned, and drained, planting commences, the season being the dry period just before the spring rains. Alleys or paths are marked out, forming squares: parallel lines are drawn across these squares north and south. Here the nopals are planted at two feet distance from each other, being clean cuttings from the old plant, and not torn or broken from it. The Indians of Guaxaca plant two or three cuttings in each hole, lest any accident should prevent one from striking. Eighteen months afterwards the plants will be in a state to nourish the cochineal.