Texas: the rise, progress, and prospects of the Republic of Texas, Vol.1 Page: 149 of 432

                                
CHAP. IV.]

VINES-- COCHINEAL.

95

these causes of failure would not be felt in Texas.
Wherever a sandy prairie rises with a gentle elevation
above the neighbouring level, grape-vines
spread themselves over the surface, like the vines of
pumpkins in a field appropriated to their growth.
The best grapes are found upon elevated lands of a
sandy, or gravelly, character.
The tobacco plant grows luxuriantly and, although
a most searching crop, is not capable of
exhausting the fertility of the alluvial lands. It
thrives only in a light, rich, warm soil, and requires
to be planted early in the spring, and gathered late
in the autumn.
The indigo plant is indigenous, and only demands
careful management to render it a valuable
article of export. It has been manufactured for
domestic use in Texas, and is considered superior to
the product of the United States.
Another valuable dye, for the production of purple
and scarlet colours, may be obtained in tracts
which do not admit of pasture or tillage. The nopal
(cactus opuntia or cochinilefer) on which the cochineal
insect feeds, grows exuberantly in dry and
barren localities, attaining frequently a height of
fifteen feet, and forming impenetrable thickets. Its
fruit is highly prized in the Mexican markets, and
furnishes food for herds of cattle and wild horses.
Cochineal forms an important article of Mexican
commerce. There are two sorts, the granafina, or
fine grain, and the wild, or grana sylvestris; the
latter being the easier to cultivate, but of inferior
quality. Wild cochineal is collected six times, the