Besides the damage brought about by fires, drought, and frost, which to some extent can be guarded against, there are other enemies to the crep which are still mere difficult to contend with. Ants, both large and small, attend the female cells for the purpose of licking up the sweet excre ment ; they appear to hurt the insect by biting off the ends of the white filaments, and thus bringing many an occupant of the cells to a premature end by stopping the supplies of breathiug-air, which the filaments serve to convey through the holes in the lac. Where ants are seen about the hie, it never appears healthy, and many cells are found with the insect dead inside them. The lac whist on the tree is also attacked by the larva of a moth, which appears to be a species of Galleria. It eats the juicy females of the coccus, and bores through the lac cells; it is found both iu the hold and the store-room. A second species appears to belong to the genus Tifica. These insects destroy the colouring matter containe,d in the fentalus, and also all hope of a brood of young from the cells visited by them. At present there seems to be no way of protecting the lac from their depredations. The ants, however, may be circumvented iu two ways,—either by surrouuding the trees with woud ashes, or with something sufficiently attractive to draw their attention away from the incrustatimis.
It seems possible, owing to the great drain made on the sap of the youug branches by the insects, that considerable damage will be found to result to the trees on which they are plopagated, and that it will be necessary at some future dine to fix a limit to the continuous cultivation of lac on the same tree; at any rate, it will probably be found beneficial to both lac and tree if a regular system of pruning be carried out, to' encourage the formation of young twig or branch wood.
In Mysore, lite is produced in all three divisions, but chiefly in Nundidroeg, and is found most commonly ou Vatica laccifera. The insect thrives well in Mysore, and it might by cultivation be raised to any extent on trees growing on barren soil which would otherwise yiuld no return. The earob tree (Ceratonia siligua), which is about to be introduced into Mysore, will probably, if it will succeed in the province, be found well adapted to this purpose. It will ileurish in dry and stony soil, and the lac insect seems to be much attached to it. The supply of lac in the province is large, and could no doubt be considerably increased. Apparently the lac produced in Madras and Mysore is consumed locally, for the exports from Madras are next to nothing.
The mode of propagation in Mysore is as follows :—The insects are applied to tho branches of the trees ( Vatica laccifera) 3 times in the year, the old branches with the iusects on them heiug lopped off, made into small bundles, and tied up to fresh branches. Tho insects then begin to build their cells on the branches, and contiuue occupied for about 3 mouths. Wheu this period has expired, the young leave their abode. This opportunity is carefully watched, the insects are secured for further use, and the lac-covered branches aro gathered, each tree producing on an average 2', seers. The insects are invariably applied to immature trees or saplings, [18 the old trees do not contain sufficient sap for their nourishment. It is. as much artificially propagated, or cultivated, riS any other raw material for manufacturing purposes. If it takes to tree not considered suitable for elaborating the colouring matter and gum, it is removed thence, and placed upon others where it thrives better. In Central India, the application of "seed " to a new tree takes place in Tune for the November crop, and iu October for the April crop. If the seed is placed on a congenial tree, the produce does not deteriorate from the same seed being left any time on the same tree, so loug as the tree retains its vigour. It has been successfully propagated aft,er a transport of some hundreds of miles.
The vast forests of British Burma are capable of producing an shuost unlimited quantity of lac ; but hitherto the largest portion of the quantity available for shipment has been brought from Upper Burma and the Shan States, and the principal market is found in Calcutta, where the rough stick-lac is manufactured into shell-lac for expert. 'The product to a small extent, procurable in
the hill traets of Arakan, and with enceurs.gement it is susceptible of development. Prizes have been offered to the people to stimulate the propagation of the insect, and State plantations have been formed at Toungoo, and Magayce, with success, while another at SIttang has quite failed.
The Padoting Karens, beyond the N.-E. frontier of Burma, carry on the production of lac upon n large scale, aud in a systematic manlier. Iu AMID], a small quantity of lac is produced in the district of Darrang. In some districts, the insect is artificially reared on the jhwri tree (Ficus cordifolia).
In its raw condition, incrusted around the twigs of the tree on which the insect feeds, lac is tech nically called " stick-lac." The twigs are generally, for convenience of transport, cut up in lengths of 2-3 in., and it is probable that a great deal of material is wasted in this process. The objects of the manufacturer are :—(1) To separate the resinous incrustation from the wood ; (2) to free the resiu from the colouring matter ; (3) to convert the resin into what is known as " shell-lac "; (4) to form from the colouring matter cakes of dye known as " lac-dye." As generally practised, these processes are conducted in a primitive manner. The first step is to strip the twigs of their covering of lac, for which purpose, they are placed under a roller on a platform ; the roller being rapidly passed over thern, the coating comes off, leaving only a small portion adhering, which requires hand picking for its separation. The wood is rejected. The separated lac is reduced by rolling or other simple means till it will pass through a moderately coarse sieve, say +-in. meshes. It is next placed in large tubs half-full of water, and is washed by coolies, who, standing in the tubs, and holding on to a bar above by their hands, stamp and pivot about on the heels and toes, until, after a succession of changes, the resulting liquor comes off clear. The lac (now " seed-lac "), having been dried, is placed in long cylindrical bags of cotton cloth of medium texture, and about 10 ft. long and 2 in. diam. These bags, when filled, are taken to an apartment where there are a number of cludas, or open charcoal furnaces. An operator grasps one end of the bag in his left hand, and slowly revolves it in front of the fire; at the same time an assistant, seated at the other eud of the bag, twists it in the opposite direction. The roasting soon melts the lac in the bag, and the twisting causes it to exude, and drop into troughs placed below, which are often only the leaves of Agave americana. When a sufficient quantity in a molten condition is ready in the trough, the operator takes it up in a wooden spoon, and places it on a cylinder, some 8-10 in. diam.; sometimes the cylinder is of wood, the upper half being cavered with brass ; in some places, the freshly-cut, smooth, cylindrical stem of the plantain is used for this purpose ; or the cylinder may be of porcelain, filled with some heat-absorbing material. The stand which supports the cylinder gives it a sloping direction away from the operator. Another assistant, generally a woman, now steps forward with a strip of Agave in her bands, and with a rapid and dexterous draw of this, the lac is spread at once into a sheet of uniform thickness, which covers the upper portion of the cylinder. The operator cuts off the upper edge with a pair of scissors, and the sheet is lifted up hy the assistant, who waves it about for a moment or two in the air, till it becomes quite crisp. It is then held up to the light, and any impurities (technically " grit ") are simply punched out of the brittle sheet by the finger. The sheets are laid one upon another, and, at the end of the day, the tale is taken, and the chief operator is paid accordingly, the assistants receiving fixed wages. The sheets are placed in packing cases, and, when subjected to pressure, break into numerous fragments. In the fresh state, the finest quality has a rich golden lustre. These sheets and fragments form the " shell-lac" or "shellac " of commerce.