THE NIIN OF YUCATAN.

A communication from Dr. Arthur Schott, late of the scientific commission of Yucatan, furnishes some descriptive statements concerning an insect, and the nature and uses of a grease-like or wax-like product, with the result of a chemical examination of its properties. It is assumed to be allied to the Coccus cochinillifer, or cochineal insect, yielding the well-known dye bearing that name; but no specimens have yet been received in the Department for examination and identification, and therefore its real place in the classification of the insect kingdom cannot be vouched for. As one of the natural productions of America, which may possibly attain some commercial importance as well as economic value in the arts, it is worthy of further examination. The following is, in substance, the letter of Dr. Schott:

Among the numerous interesting natural productions of Yucatan, not the least remarkable is the niin, (pronounced neen,) the knowledge of which, and of its technical application, has survived the national independence of the gifted Maya race. The niin is the grease of an insect bearing the same generic name. Though heretofore not entirely unknown to their Spanish rulers in Yucatan, the obtaining of the raw material, as well as its uses for domestic and technical purposes, has remained almost exclusively in the hands of the descendants of the Mayas. The niin may be considered akin to the cochineal, also the product of a similar insect; but they differ essentially in their nature, one serving as a well-known dye, while the other finds its application as a drying oil.

The nature of the niin will be clearly understood by the annexed scientific analysis, made and communicated by Mr. V. G. Bloede, analytical chemist, of New York. The matter examined by that gentleman consisted of a small quantity which Dr. Schott brought some time before from the city of Merida, Yucatan, where it was furnished him by the kindness of Señor Don Jose Hont, a druggist and extensive land proprietor of that rich peninsula. Mr. Bloede's report of his analysis is as follows:

The Yucatan niin is a yellowish-brown, fatty mass, having a peculiar oily odor. In its general properties it seems closely allied to hog's lard or suet. It is neutral to testpaper, neither presenting acid nor alkaline reaction, though when exposed to the air it acquires a very faint tendency to manifest the former. Its melting point is about 120° Fahrenheit, though, when once melted, it still remains in a semi-fluid state with the temperature as low as 80° or 85° Fahrenheit. When cooled to 10° Fahrenheit, it becomes hard and brittle, like suet. At ordinary temperature, that is, about CO Fahrenheit, it is of a thick, pasty consistency, like ordinary lard. Its specific gravity at 60° Fahrenheit is about .92.

Its solvents. In regard to solvents, the niin presents the same general properties 23 any ordinary animal fat. It is not soluble in either hot or cold alcohol, even after extended maceration. It is freely soluble in both hot and cold ether, with which it forms a yellow, oily liquid. It is very soluble in turpentine, with which it forms an oily liquid possessing peculiarly valuable properties for mixing delicate oil colors, of which I shall speak hereafter. It dissolves freely in benzine; cliloroform, also, is among

its best solvents.

Chemical properties.—The niin, in its classification in organic chemistry, must undoubtedly be ranked among the drying oils, though its absorption of oxygen takes place rather more slowly than with many other oils. Nor is this slowness in drying acceler ated to any extent by boiling it with oxide of lead. It is the first, or nearly the first, example we have of a thoroughly drying animal butter or solid fat. Like some others

of the animal fats, it contains a distinct volatile acid peculiar to itself. As, for instance, butter contains butyric and caproic acid; goat's fat hircic acid; so the niin contains an acid of a peculiar, pungent smell, which might be aptly termed niinic acid. Its chemical composition differs little from ordinary animal fats. Like others, it contains a fluid oil-oleine-and a solid containing stearic, margaric, and other fatty acids. A portion of the acids may be obtained by dissolving the niin in turpentine or ether. The oily portions pass into solution, while a solid precipitates, consisting of the acids indicated, which may be separated from the fluid by filtration.

Saponification.—A peculiarity of the niin seems to be its difficult saponification. The strongest ammonia procurable has no saponifying action on it. Even if the fat be digested in ammonia for several days, no liniment is formed, but a marked transition from yellow to red seems to be the only change produced. This change of color depends merely on the action of ammonia on the coloring matter of the niin, which, like the yellow turmeric, (Curcuma longa,) changes to red as it assumes an alkaline reaction.

With potash, too, it saponifies but slowly and imperfectly, and a concentrated lye is necessary. With soda it forms a soap only after extended boiling with a strong lye. It is only after several hours' boiling with oxide of lead that it forms the so-called "lead soap," and then the product is very imperfect. From these facts we can at once deduce that the niin cannot be considered a "good saponifying fat," but belongs to the “drying oils."

Effects of high heat.-When the niin is melted in a porcelain disli, and the resulting oil exposed to continued and high heat (between 2500 and 350° Fahrenheit) for an hour, or until a considerable portion of it has evaporated, the residue in the dish will then be found to have assumed a tough, flexible, varnish-like condition-a gelatinous mass no longer soluble in turpentine, or affected by heat or cold, at least to a great extent.

If a piece of this gelatinized niin is placed on a piece of porcelain, moistened with turpentine, and ignited, another remarkable change takes place; for, if the plate is slightly inclined as the mass burns, a thick yellow resinous oil or gum flows from it, which possesses most remarkable adhesiveness, closely resembling a thick solution of India-rubber, but which does not dry, retaining its half-fluid consistency for several days. This is a most singular change, and one that is worthy of further investigation. Change of air. When the turpentine solution of the niin is exposed to the air in thin stratas for a few days it acquires the properties of a resinous varnish; in fact, the change is so complete that when some of the solution is poured on a piece of glass it dries almost equal to fine shellac varnish. This change is due to the absorption of oxygen. If further developed, this property will undoubtedly make the niin of the greatest commercial value. The film of varnish is very elastic, and at the same time hard, which renders it superior to some of the other gums. An alcoholic solution can also be formed, but this is more difficult.

Suggestions as to use.-The extreme oiliness of the niin will undoubtedly make it very valuable for various purposes in the arts; and its "drying" solution in turpentine has no equal for mixing fine colors for artists. This turpentine solution of the niin produces a remarkable brightness in the colors prepared with it, and they dry rapidly. But the chief value of the niin, which will give it commercial importance, is its property of forming a resincus varnish when treated as before described, rendering it superior to shellac for some purposes. Another valuable application of the niin could be found in the manufacture of water-proof fabrics. A piece of the most porous Swedish filtering paper, saturated with a solution of the niin diluted in turpentine, will not allow a drop of water to pass through, even after standing in it for days. An excellent way of water-proofing would be to saturate the article with melted niin, and then expose it in an oven to considerable heat until the grease gelatinizes. By these means the niin becomes insoluble not only in water, but also in most of its solvents. If the niin can be obtained, as Dr. Schott says, in "unlimited" quantities, it will, doubtless, in time become of great commercial value.

I have given here but a few of the most important facts developed by my experi ments; but I believe there would be hundreds of other applications suggested, if the general properties of the substance were made known. With hopes that the niin will prove of value, both in art and science,

I remain yours, &c.,

BROOKLYN, January 4, 1868.

VICTOR G. BLOEDE, Analytical Chemist.

The Maya word niin applies not solely to the grease above referred to, but also to the insect from which it is obtained. As far as observations go, the latter entomologically belongs to the lower species of Hemiptera, genus Coccus, where we find it associated with the well-known cochiLeal, (Coccus eochixillifer,) and also with the South Asiatic Coccus lacca.

With this it seems to have still closer affinities, for this lac insect principally lives on an euphorbiaceous plant, (Aleurites laccifera, or triloba,) and also on the banyan tree, (Ficus Indica,) upon which it produces the gum lacca of commerce. The life of the niin, on the other hand, seems to be exclusively wedded to the anacardiaceous genus, Spondias, (which embraces the mango fruit tree, the hog plum of the West Indies, &c.) of which one or two species are extensively cultivated all over the tropical regions of this continent, and the adjacent archipelago of the West Indies. Thus both insects, the one of Asia and the other of America, besides producing somewhat similar articles of commerce, offer in common the advantage of living on plants which are otherwise useful, and cultivated for the sake of their fruits; a circumstance which invites more readily the propagation of an almost unlimited number of these respective foster plants. The cultivation of the Spondias, called by the Spanish ciruelo, and by the Mayas abal, and probably referable to the species Mombin, is by nature made so easy that even thick cuttings germinate quickly in almost any soil. The gum, exuding spontaneously from the stem and branches of the ciruelo, is often used in Yucatan as an equivalent for gum arabic, while, by the instrumentality of the niin insect, (i. e., by animalization,) it becomes a resinous drying oil, insoluable in water or alcohol, hot or cold.

The gathering of the niin insect and obtaining its grease presents no difficulty whatever, as children even can be intrusted with it. The grease is obtained by broiling or boiling the insects, during which process it can be readily taken off. Dr. S. says:

"My acquaintance with the niin insect having been but cursory, does not permit me to give a scientific description of it. No winged specimens have come under my notice, and I suppose, therefore, that only females were observed. These are about one inch long, with a cross diameter of about one-fourth of an inch. Their color varies from. a somewhat pellucid chrome yellow to rich orange, though subdued by a closely adhering coat of fine, silky, white web, in which they are thickly enshrouded, and which appears to serve as a soft protecting cocoon, much like that of the cochineal insect. The aspect of a niin colony on the twigs and branch tops of the ciruelo has, therefore, much similarity to that which I have often observed of certain species of opun tia (prickly pear) on which cochineal insects were living. The plants, especially their upper parts, look as if covered by a heavy deposit of mildew.

"The principal crop of the niin insect falls in the rainy season, i. e., between the months of April and September, during which time its principal growth and development are derived from the foster-plant.

"As to the uses for which the niin grease might be employed in art and science a wide field for speculation may be opened, as Mr. Bloede, in his analysis, has already indicated. The Indians and Mestizos of the peninsula, especially the inhabitants of one or two villages in the vicin ity of Yzmel, have heretofore almost exclusively used it to mix the paints employed in adorning small articles of household use, such as bowls and drinking-cups made from the halves of the globular fruit of the calabash tree, (Crescentia cujete,) and in preparing a varnish for those and other articles. This use of the niin grease, however, seems not to be confined alone to Yucatan, but is met with in other parts of tropical America. I was told that the Indians and half-breed population in the vicinity of Vera Cruz excel the Mayas in the skill and taste they exhibit in the use of this article in adorning drinking-cups and other trinkets, both inside and out. From these modest articles of Indian finery it would be a

short step only to the manufacture of crockery, made of papier mâché, similar to the admirable tea-cups, bowls, and other dishes of the Japanese, employing the niin varnish, which endures for any length of time the effects of hot or cold water and of alcohol, to give a protecting and pre serving finish and beauty.

"Besides the uses of the niin already mentioned, it is also kept as a drug in the apothecary shops of Yucatan, where it is held for surgical purposes and general external use instead of other drying oils, like that of linseed for preparing vulnerary plasters and cerates in general.

"There is hardly room for doubt that the niin could be procured in sufficient quantity for commercial demands. The breeding of the insect producing the article depends entirely on the multiplication of a fruit tree which is already under extensive cultivation all over the tropics of this continent and adjacent islands; localities the greater part of which is easily accessible to maritime commerce. Within the space of a few years a steady enterprise would establish a fixed market price for the niin, so that women and children, and in fact the whole population, would contribute in the collection of the insect or the oil itself, as soon as they could rely upon a just exchangeable return for their labor."

STATISTICS OF BEE-KEEPING.

The business of bee-keeping has always been deemed an interesting and profitable branch of rural effort; it is even assuming national importance as a contribution to the food supply of an increasing popula tion. It is also eminently worthy of fostering attention, as a means of agreeable, healthy, and profitable employment for women dependent upon their own exertions for a living, or ambitious of a business career suited to their tastes and to their physical strength. To ascertain the condition of bee-keeping, to learn of its progress, and collect at least frag. mentary statistics of the business, the following inquiries were made of bee-keepers in all parts of the country:

QUESTIONS.

1. How many hives of bees are there in your county?

2. Did your stock originate from native wild bees, or from swarms introduced from other sections?

3. Have Italian bees been introduced into your county?

4. Are Italian bees found to be more docile, or more productive, than other bees?

5. Of what form and material are your hives: movable frames, common boxes, straw, or "gums"?

6. If patented, whose patent is preferred?

7. What is the average product in honey and wax, and the average price per pound, one season with another?

8. Were swarms abundant as usual last spring?

9. From what plants do your bees procure their food in spring, in summer, in autumn? and is any crop grown mainly for the use of bees? 10. Is the disease called foul brood prevalent among your bees? If so, has any remedy or preventive been found?

11. Are your bees usually wintered on their summer stands? If so, what means of protection are adopted?

12. Please give instances showing pecuniary returns, cost, and net profit of bee-keeping.

In 1850, the amount of honey and wax reported in the census returns was 14,853,790 pounds; in 1860, 23,366,357 pounds of honey, and 1,322,787 pounds of wax. New York stood at the head of the list, with 2,369,751 pounds; and nine other States are credited with more than a million pounds each, in the following order: North Carolina, 2,055,969; Kentucky, 1,768,692; Missouri, 1,585,983; Tennessee, 1,519,390; Ohio, 1,459,601; Virginia, 1,431,591; Pennsylvania, 1,402,128; Illinois, 1,346,803; Indiana, 1,224,489.

. The statistical census of 1860 returned, from Massachusetts, 59,125 pounds of honey; the State census of 1865 gave 80,356 pounds, valued at $23,224-about 29 cents per pound.

The census of 1860 gives Iowa 917,877 pounds; the local returns of 1865 made an aggregate of 1,128,399 pounds, from 87,118 hives of bees. This gives an average of surplus honey to each hive of about thirteen pounds.

The circulars were sent to known apiarians in nearly every State, and returns were received from four hundred and eighty-nine counties, in