It is made chiefly at San Bartolome and is secured from an insect, a sort of plant-louse, which lives upon the blackthorn and related trees.

The insect is found only in the wet season, is small, though growing rapidly, and is of a fiery-red color, though it coats itself over with a white secretion.

It lives in swarms, which form conspicuous masses.

These are gathered in vessels, washed to remove the white secretion, boiled, crushed, and strained through a cloth; an oily matter, mixed with blood ( ?) and water passes out, which is boiled to drive off the water and to concentrate the oily mass.

This is then washed in trays, to rid it of the blood, and made up into balls, which are sold at ten or twelve _centavos_ (five or six cents) a pound.
It is a putty-like substance, with a handsome yellow color.