Page:Guatimala or the United Provinces of Central America in 1827-8.pdf/165

Rh the rains have ceased, the insects are sown upon the plant. Twelve or fourteen of these are collected from the parent with a feather, and enclosed all together in a small bag of the maize leaf, left open, and pinned with a thorn to the leaf of the cactus. Seven or eight of these bags are placed on different leaves of the same plant. In a short time the insects begin to breed in the bags, and the young ones crawl out upon the plant. As they grow, they gradually cover themselves with a mantle of white paste, which protects them from injury by the weather, and in the course of three months, they are ready for gathering. This is done by scraping the leaf, and after a sufficient number have been reserved for seed, the rest are either placed upon tins in a large oven, or thrown into hot water. When dried they assume the appearance of small grains, and are ready for sale. A second crop is then sown, and in three months a second harvest is reaped, after which the seed is preserved by covering the plant till the rainy season is passed. After four or five years the cactus decays from