person may eat 200 or 300 of them without experiencing any ill effects. 259. _LAC is a resinous substance, the production of an hemipterous insect_ (Coccus ficus), _which is found on three or four different kinds of trees in the East Indies._ _The head and trunk of the lac insect seem to form one uniform, oval, and compressed red body, about the size of a flea. The antennæ are thread-shaped, and half the length of the body. The tail is a little white point, whence proceed two horizontal hairs as long as the body._ These insects pierce the small branches of the trees on which they feed; and the juice that exudes from the wounds is formed by them into a kind of cell, or nidus for their eggs. Lac is imported, into this country, adhering to the branches, in small transparent grains, or in semi-transparent flat cakes. Of these the first is called _stick lac_, the second _seed lac_, and the third _shell lac_. On breaking a piece of stick lac it appears to be composed of regular honeycomb-like cells, with small red bodies lodged in them; these are the young insects, and to them the lac owes its tincture; for, when freed from them, its colour is very faint. Seed lac is the same substance grossly pounded and deprived of its colouring matter, which is used in dyeing, and for other purposes; and shell lac consists of the cells liquefied, stained, and formed into thin cakes. This substance is principally found upon trees in the uncultivated mountains on both sides of the river Ganges; and it occurs in such abundance, that, were the consumption ten times greater than it is, the markets might readily be supplied. The only trouble which attends the procuring of it is to break down the branches of the trees and carry them to market. The uses of lac, in its different states, are various. It is employed in the East Indies for making rings, beads, chains, necklaces, and other ornaments for female attire. Mixed with sand, it is formed into grind-stones; and added to lamp-black or ivory-black, being first dissolved in water with the addition of a little borax, it composes an ink, which, when dry, is not easily acted upon by moisture. A red liquor obtained from lac is employed as a substitute for cochineal (260) in dyeing scarlet, and in painting. Shell lac is chiefly adopted in the composition of varnish, japan, and sealing-wax. A tincture prepared from lac is sometimes used in medicine. 260. _COCHINEAL is a scarlet dyeing drug, which is chiefly imported from Mexico and New Spain, and is the production of a small hemipterous insect_ (Coccus cacti) _that is found on the prickly pear_ (Cactus opuntia) _and some other trees._ _The male is winged, and the female not. The latter is of an oval form, convex on the back, and covered with a white downy substance resembling the finest cotton. The antennæ are half as long as the body, and the legs are short and black._