Il,
infcdts bufiiy employed upon I'mall branches o f a flirub, then neither in fruit or flower, but in its general
habit bearing fomewhat the appearance of a privet. Thefe infefts, each not much exceeding the fize of
the domeftic fly, were of a curious Ili ufturc, having peftinatcd appendages rifing in a curve, bending towards
the head, not unlike the form of tlie tail feathers o f the common fowl, but in the oppofite direftion.
Every part of the infeft was, in colour, o f a perfeft white, or at leaft completely covered with a white
powder. The particular ftem frequented by thofe infefts, was entirely whitened by a fubftance or powder
of that colour, ftrewed upon it by them. The fubftance or powder was fuppofed to form the white wax
of the Eaft. This fubftance is afterted, on the fpot, to have the property, by a particular manipulation, of
giving in certain proportions, with vegetable oil, fuch foHdity to the compofition as to render the whole
equally capable of being moulded into candles. The fa ft is afcertained, indeed, in fome degree, by the
fimple experiment of dilVolving one part o f this wax in three parts of olive oil made hot. The whole,
when cold, will coagulate into a mafs, approaching to the firmnefs of bees wax.”
From the accurate defcription and figures o f the latter author, it is evident, the creature that produces
the white wax o f C^lna, is an imperfeft infeft, or, technically fpeaking, the pupa o f an infeft, which,
in its mature ftate, is furniihed with wings. This is clearly the faft, for the rudiments of wings are
vifible in the figures alluded to s. The metamorphofe o f infefts are fo various, and their appearance fo
changed in palling from one ftate to another, that the identity o f any ipecies in the larva or pupa can
only be proved by aftual obfervation ; neither do the larva or pupa poflefs thofe charafteriftic differences
by which naturalifts determine one fpecies from another; and this confideration deters us from deciding
on the precife fpecies, to which the pupa before us ihould be referred.
S t o h l , a Dutch author, has been more fortuna te; he has afcertained this identical creature to be the
pupa of Cicada Limbata, and in his work on Cimices and Cicades, gives a figure o f it under the title of
De WaldraagJicT (Nymphe) or L a Cigale Porte Laine, fig. 144, together w ith the winged infeft at fig. 145;
and it is on this authority Cicada Limbata is introduced in the annexed plate.
We are ftrongly inclined to credit the accuracy o f Stohl in this inftance; there is much fimilarity between
the pupa and the cicada, and fome ftriking charafteriftics are common to both. They agree in the
ftrufture of the antennie, and probofcis, or fucking tru n k ; the abdomen o f the winged infeft is alfo loaded
with a fine white powder, and is furniihed a t the extremity with a tuft of down and hairs, fimilar to that
ib eminently confpicuous in the pupa ftate. We have, however, obferved tlie white powder, and tuft on
the abdomen of Cicada lanata, and have reafon to imagine it alfo forms a white wax, fimilar to that of
the prefent Ipecies.
S T b is may a ccount for a paflage in Gordon's defcription of China, where he fays, “ In th e plains” o f Houquang “ are valf
numbers of little u trm i th a t produce w ax , in the fame m an n er as bees do honey,” if w e underftand by teorms, in ftfts not arrived
at m a tu r ity ; for th e larva of Bombyx Mori, is alfo termed a filk worm, th ough it belongs to th e m o th tribe wh en perfeS.
The Cicada limbata is o f a light green coloui, with a red margin; that which Stohl has figured
is of a pale brown, with a black margin. Thefe are the fpecies and variety Fabricius deferibes, for the
fpecimens he refers to, in the colleftion o f Sir Jofeph Banks, agree precifely with our infefts. Fabricius
notes the habitat Africa. Slohl received the green fpecimen from the Ifland of Ceylon; the pale fort from
Africa. The larva we have reprefented is from C h in a ; and the Cicada was brought from the Eaft Indies,
by the late Mr. Ellis.
Croton Sebifei -P o p la r - le a v e d Croton, or T a llow -tre e .
T h e Tallow-tree is not the natural food of the Wax infeft, but as they mutually illulirate the fame in quiry,
they are reprefented in the fame plate ; and it is further prefumed, that a Ihort account o f this ufe-
fu! plant, will be deemed a proper fequel to the hiftory o f the infeft.
Du Halde, when defcribing the Tallow-tree, fays, “ II eft de la hauteur d'une grande cerifier. Le
fruit eft renfermée dans un écorce qu’on appelle Yen Kiou, e t qui s’ouvre par le milieu quand il
eft mûr, comme celle de la châtaigne. J1 confifte en des grains blancs de la groffeur d’un noifette,
dont la chair a les qualitez du f u if ; aufli en fait-on des chandelles après l’avoir fait fondre, en y
mêlant fouvent un peu d’huile ordinaire, e t trempant les chandelles dans la cire qui vient fur l'arbre
dont je vais parler: il s’en ferm e autour du fu if une efpéce de croûte qui l’empêche de couler’*.
Page 18. Vol. I.
Sir G. Staunton fpeaks nearly to the fame effeft : “ From the fruit o f the Croton febiferum, o f Linnæus,
the Chinefe obtain a kind o f vegetable fat, with which they make a great proportion o f their
candles. This fruit, in its external appearance, bears fome refemblance to the berries o f the ivy. As
foon as it is ripe, the capfule opens and divides into two, or, more frequently, three divifions, and falling
off, difcovers as many kernels, each attached by a feparate foot-ftalk, aud covered with a tielhy fubftance
of a fnowy whitenefs, contrafting beautifully with the leaves o f the tree, which, a t this feafon, are o f a
tint between a purple and a fcarlet. The fat, or fleihy fubftance, is feparated from the kernels by cruihlng
and boiling them in water. The candles made o f this fat are firmer than thofe of tallow, as well as free
h “ It is of th e he ig h t of a large cherry-tree ; th c fruit is inclofed in a fliell, called I'ca Ki'ou, w h ic h , w h en ripe, opens in
the middle like th e chefnut. T h e fruit confifts of wh ite kernels of the fize of a fmall, or hazel n u t, whofe fubftance has all
th e qualities of tallow ; fo th a t they make candles o f it, after having melted an d mixed it w ith a fmall portion o f common oil.
and then dipping th e candles into th e wax before mentioned, it forms a kind of cruft round the tallow th a t prevents its ru n n
in g , or wafting.