Science, Art, And The Drama.

Science , Art , and the Drama .

INSECTS VALUABLE IN THE ARTS AND MANUFACTURES . Lac is the produce of an insect formerly supposed to be a kind of ant or bee , but now ascertained to be a species of Coccus ; and it is collected from various trees in India , where it is found so abundantly , th t were the consumption 10 times greater than it is , it could be readily supplied . This substance is made use of in that country in the manufacture of beads , rines , and other female ornaments . Mixed with sand it forms grindstones ;

and added to lamp or ivory black , being first dissolved in water with the addition of a little borax , it composes an ink not easily acted upon when dry by damp or water . Ii . this country , where it is distinguished by the names stick-lac , when in its native state , unseparated from the twigs to which it adheres ; seed-lac , when separated , pounded , and the greater part of the colouring matter extracted by water ; lump-lac , when melted and

made into cakes ; and shell-lac , when strained and formed into transparent laminae ; it has hitherto been chiefly employed in the composition of varnishes , japanned ware , and sealing-wax ; but for many years past it has been app lied to a still more important purpose , originally suggested by Dr . Roxburgh , that of a substitute for cochineal in dyeing scarlet . Large quantities of a substance termed lac-lake , consisting of the colouring

matter of stick-lac precipitated from an alkaline solution by alum , were manufactured at Calcutta and sent to this country , where at first the consumption was so considerable , that in the three years previous to 1 S 10 , Dr . Bancroft states that the sales of it at the India House , equalled in point of colouring matter half a million of pounds weight of cochineal . More recently , however , a new preparation of lac colour , under the nam ? of lac-dye

has been imported from India , which has been substituted for the lac-lake , 3 nd with such advantage , that the East India Company are said to have saved in a few months ^ 14 , 000 in the purchase of scarlet cloths dyed with this colour and cochineal conjointly , and without any inferiority in the colour obtained . Wax , so valuable for many minor purposes , is of still more importance in those parts of Europe and America in which it forms a

considerable branch of trade and manufacture , as an article of extensive use in the religious ceremonies of the inhabitants . Humboldt informs us that not fewer than 25 , 000 arrobas , value upwards of ^ 83 , , were formerly annually exported from Cuba to New Spain , where the quantity consumed in the festivals of the church is immense , even in the smallest villages , and that the total export of the same island in 1803 was not less than 42 , 670 arrobas ,

worth upwards of £ 130 , 000 . Nearly the whole of the wax employed in Europe , and by far the greater part of that consumed in America , is the produce of the common hive-bee , but in the latter quarter of the globe a quantity by no means trifling is obtained from various wild species . In China wax is also produced by another insect , which , from the description of it by the Abbe Grosier , seems to be a species of Coccus . With this insect the

Chinese stock the two kinds of tree on which alone it is found , and which always afterwards retain it . Towards the beginning of winter , small tumours are perceived , which increase until as big as a walnut . These are the nests ( abdomens of the females ) filled with the eggs that are to give birth to the Cocci , which , when hatched , disperse themselves over the leaves , and perforate the bark , under which they

retire . The wax ( called Pela , white wax , because so by nature ) begins to appear about the middle of June . At first a few filaments like fine soft wool are perceived , rising from the bark round the body of the insect , and these increase more and more until the gathering , which takes place before the first hoar frosts in September . The wax is carried to Court , and reserved for the Emperor , the princes , and the chief mandarins .

If an ounce of it be added to a pound of oil it forms a wax little inferior to that made by bees . The physicians employ it in several diseases j and the Chinese , when about to speak in public , and assurance is necessary , previously eat an ounce , of it to prevent swoonings ; a use of it for which , happily , our less diffident orators have no need . This account is in the main confirmed by Geomelli Careri , except that he calls the wax insect a ti n ;; , which bores to the pith of certain trees ; and says that it produces a

sufficient supply for the whole empire , the different provinces of which are furnished from Xantung , where it is bred in the greatest perfection , with a stock of eggs . A very different origin , however , is assigned to the Pe-la by Sir George Staunton , who informs us that it is produced by a species of Cicada , which in its larva state feeds upon a plant like the privet , strewing "pon the stem a powder , which , when collected , forms the wax . But as he

merely states that this powder was " supposed " to form it , and does not appear himself to have made the experiment of dissolving it in oil , it is ¦ nost probable that his information was incorrect , and that Grossier ' s statewent is the true one . This probability is nearly converted into certainty b y the fact that many Aphides and Cocci secrete a waxike substance , and that a kind of wax very analagous to t » e Pe-la , and of the same class with bee ' s waxonly containing

, niore carbon , is actually produced in India by a nondescript species of t-occus , remarkable for providing itself with a small quantity of honey , like ° iir bees . This substance was first noticed by Dr . Anderson , and called by " w '' i'c- / flc . _ It could be obtained in any quantity from the neighbourhood of Madras , and at a much cheaper rate than bees' wax ; but the . ''periments of Dr . Pearson do not afford much ground for supposing that can be advantageously employed in making candles . De Azara sDeaks

¦ u e waX | a PP arently similar , and the produce of an insect of the tdoff , c which is collected '" South America in the form of pearl-like It rih the Ranches of a small shrub two or three feet high . The . „ f consideration of this interesting subject will be continued at a later "Pportunity ,

General Remarks On Art During The Reign Of James I.

GENERAL REMARKS ON ART DURING THE REIGN OF JAMES I .

eitrn th hi of £ rand mausolea had become-so general during this not sm Li are few of the more ancient nobility of this realm who have conlv t - cna P < in different counties , which contain splendid and iiiimL ; ' ges of eIab ° rate , though tasteless , art , which are now , in l omb

wonum """ - » s P ° » s ot time and neglect . 1 he pride of gorgeous s » mDtt , n ,, c * u ? Iess exces s've than that of large houses . We find now [ li ? apDearp ^^ s , n r obscure villages , where the great mansion has totally n ' tho wh 1 ° en int 0 no P e , ess decay . More than a year ' s rental wnoie estate was frequently lavished upon the memorial of its

General Remarks On Art During The Reign Of James I.

deceased lord , and , generally speaking , under testamentary direction . Painting , if indeed it had made no great progress since the time of Holbein , More , or Zuccado , had maintained a respectable state , from the talents of Vansomer , Mytens , and Jansens , who found no want of due patronage . Vansomer is said to have excelled in the accuracy of his likenesses , and he frequently enlivened his portraits by the introduction of accessories , such as

the interior of rooms , furniture , or landscape . Mytens exerted himself so much to imitate Vandyck , upon his arrival in England , with a design to rival him in his own manner , that his later pictures are particularly excellent . He introduced landscapes very happily into his backgrounds , and with a decided effect of warm and harmonious colouring , emulous of his master Rubens , and in the style of that school . If Jansens had not the

freedom of hand nor the grace of Vandyck , he equa'Ied htm in the lively effect of his carnations , and excelled him in the neatness of his finishing . Although his attitudes are stiff and formal , they are remarkable for truth and tranquility in the countenaces . His portraits are usually painted upon panel . The men place one hand on their sword , and the other upon a richly-carpeted table . The ladies are usually standing with their arms

crossed , and holding a feather fan in one hand , with a rich accompaniment of Persian silk tapestry ; rarely in open air , with a landscape . His groups , or family pictures , are not so well arranged as by Holbein , in Sir T . More's . The individuals of whom they are composed appear to be placed together without reciprocal action , or being connected by any other principle , than of juxtaposition . They stand in a row , and do not form a pyramidal line . Miniature painting possessed other claims for popular acceptation than its

more commodious size only . It was made ornamental to the person by having been , in the progress of luxury , worn as an ornament , when the carved ebony and ivory box were superseded by gold setting , enriched with diamonds or other jewels . What at first enhanced the value became , under adverse circumstances , the cause of miniature having been left without protection and thus hastened to decay . A specimen , therefore , of this age by Hilliard , Oliver , or some of the best artists , remaining in a perfect state , is a real curiosity .

HOW IS THE NOISE OF THE CRICKET PRODUCED ?

The chirp of this insect does not , as most people think , emanate from powerful vocal organs in possession of the creature . In fact , it is not uttered from the mouth at all , but is caused by the rubbing together of the elytra , or wing cases . When closed the elytra cross each other at their tips , the right lying over the left ; at the end of the right elytra on the under side there is a saw-like arrangement , and on the upper side of the left elytron , in a corresponding position , is a sort of rasp , and the ; e rubbing

together , when the wings are put in rapid vibration , cause the sound , which everyone in the country knows so well . The peculiar shape and hirdtexture of the wing cases make them act as sounding boards , and the volume of the noise is by this means increased . It is popularly supposed that the presence of a cricket in the house attracts luck to its tenants , and to drive away or kill the " crickets on the hearth " is sure to lead to the t 7 l-fortune of its perpetrators .

THE SHAFTESBURY THEATRE .

Those of our readers who are on the look out for hearty laughter , which is continuous from the rise to the fall of the curtain , cannot do better than visit this theatre and witness the cleverly-acted farce "AreYou a Mason ? " We will not enter into the story other than to tell of an elderly gentleman ( Amos Bloodgood ) and his son-in-law ( Mr . Frank Perry ) , who , in order to

account for their late arrival home at night , pretend to be Freemasons . The farcical possibilities of the idea are obvious . The cast includes Messrs . Paul Arthur , G . Giddens , Marsh Allen , Mark Kinghotne , W . H . Day , C . Wellesley , W . Howe , Misses Marie IHington , Ethel Matthews , Agnes Miller , Jennie Backle , Annie Brophy , Gwen Connington , and Mrs . T . N . Wenman .

GENERAL NOTE . To precede " The Night of the Party " at the Avenue Theatre , Mr . Weedon Grossmith is preparing for immediate presentation a new one act play by Mr . H . T . Johnson , called " Between the Dances . "

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