THE COCHINEAL--THE 'GALLO'--CANARY 'SACK'--ADIEU TO THE CANARIES.
I must not leave the Jezirát el-Bard (of Gold), or Jezirát el-Khálidát
(Happy Islands), without some notice of their peculiar institutions, the
cochineal, the _gallo_, and Canary 'sack.'
The nopal or tunal plant (_Opuntia Tuna_ or _Cactus
cochinellifera_) is indigenous on these islands as well as on the
mainland of Africa. But the native growth is woody and lean-leaved; and
its cooling fruit, which we clumsily term a 'prickly pear' or 'fig,' is
everywhere a favourite in hot climates. There are now sundry claimants
to the honour of having here fathered the modern industry. Some say that
in 1823 a retired intendant introduced from Mexico the true
_terciopelo_, or velvet-leaf, together with the Mexican cochineal,
the _coccus cacti_ hemipter, [Footnote: The male insect is winged
for flight. The female never stirs from the spot where she begins to
feed: she lays her eggs, which are innumerable and microscopic, and she
leaves them in the membrane or hardened envelope which she has
secreted.] so called from the old Greek _KÓKKOS_, a berry, or the
neo-Greek _KOKKIVOS_, red, scarlet. It is certain that Don Santiago
de la Cruz brought both plant and 'bug' from Guatemala or Honduras in
1835; and that an Englishman, who has advanced a right even in writing,
labours under a not uncommon hallucination.
But the early half of the present century was the palmy day of the
vine. The people resisted the cactus-innovation as the English labourer
did the introduction of machinery, and tore up the plants. Enough,
however, remained in the south of Tenerife for the hour of
need. Travellers in search of the picturesque still lament that the ugly
stranger has ousted the trellised vine and the wild, free myrtles. But
public opinion changed when fortunes were made by selling the
insect. Greedy as the agriculturist in general, the people would refuse
the value of a full crop of potatoes or maize if they suspected that the
offerer intended to grow cochineal. No dye was prepared on the islands,
and the peasants looked upon it as a manner of mystery.
The best _tuneras_ (cochineal-plantations) lay in Grand Canary,
where they could be most watered. Wherever maize thrives, producing a
good dark leaf and grain in plenty, there cochineal also succeeds. The
soil is technically called _mina de tosca_, a whitish, pumice-like
stone, often forming a gravel conglomerate under a rocky stratum:
hardening by exposure, it is good for building. Immense labour is
required to prepare such ground for the cactus. The earth must be taken
from below the surface-rock, as at Malta; spread in terraced beds, and
cleared of loose stones, which are built up in walls or in
_molleras_, cubes or pyramids. Such ground sold for $150 per acre;
$600 were paid for mètre-deep soil unencumbered by stone. Where the
chalk predominates, it must be mixed with the volcanic sand locally
called _zahorra_. In all cases the nopals are set at distances of
half a yard, in trenches at least three feet deep. The 'streets,' or
intervals, must measure nearly two yards, so that water may flow freely
and sunshine may not be arrested. Good ground, if irrigated in winter
and kept clear of weeds by the _haçada_ (hoe), produces a cactus
capable of being 'seeded' after the second year; if poor, a third is
required. The plant lasts, with manure to defend it from exhaustion, a
full decade. [Footnote: The compost was formerly natural, dry or liquid
as in Switzerland; but for some years the costly guano and chemicals
have been introduced. Formerly also potatoes were set between the stems;
and well-watered lands gave an annual grain-crop as well as a green
crop.]
I now translate the memoir sent in MS. to me by my kind friend
Dundas. It is the work of Don Abel de Aguilar, Consul Impérial de
Russie, a considerable producer of the 'bug.'
The _semillado_, or cochineal-sowing, is divided into three
_cosechas_ (crops), according to the several localities in the
islands.
The _abuelas_ (grandmothers) are those planted in
October-November. Their seed gives a new growth set in February-March,
and called _madres_ (mothers). Thirdly, those planted in June-July,
gathered in September-October, and serving to begin with the
_abuelas_, are called _la cosecha_ (the crop). The first and
second may be planted on the seaboard; the last is confined to the
midlands and uplands, on account of the heat and the hot winds,
especially the souther and the south-south-easter, which asphyxiate the
insect.
And now of the _abuelas_, as cultivated in the maritime regions
of Santa Cruz, Tenerife.
Every cochineal-plantation must have a house with windows facing the
south, and freely admitting the light--an indispensable condition. The
_cuarto del semillado_ (breeding-room) should be heated by stoves
to a regular temperature of 30°-32° (R.). At this season the proportion
of seed is calculated at 30 boxes of 40 lbs. each, or a total of 1,200
lbs. per _fanega_, the latter being equivalent to a half-hectare.
The cochineal is placed in large wooden trays lined with
cloth, and containing about 15 lbs. of the recently gathered seed. When
filled without crowding, the trays are covered with squares of
cotton-cloth (raw muslin), measuring 12-16 inches. Usually the
_fanega_ requires 20-30 quintals (128 lbs., or a cwt.), each
costing $15 to $17. The newly born insects (_hijuelos_) adhere to
the cochineal-rags, and these are carried to the _tunera_, in
covered baskets.
The operation is repeated with fresh rags till the parturition is
completed. The last born, after 12-15 days, are the weakest. They are
known by their dark colour, the earlier seed being grey-white, like
cigar-ashes. The cochineal which has produced all its insects is known
in the markets as 'zacatillas.' It commanded higher prices, because the
watery parts had disappeared and only the colouring matter remained. Now
its value is that of the white or _cosecha_.
The cochineal-rags are then carried by women and girls to the
_tunera_, and are attached to the cactus-leaves by passing the
cloths round them and by pinning them on with the thorns. This
operation, requires great care, judgment, and experience. The good
results of the crop depend upon the judicious distribution of the
'bugs;' and error is easy when making allowance for their loss by wind,
rain, or change of temperature. The insects walk over the whole leaf,
and choose their places sheltered as much as possible, although still
covered by the rags. After 8-10 days they insert the proboscis into the
cactus, and never stir till gathered. At the end of three and a half to
four months they become 'grains of cochineal,' not unlike wheat, but
smaller, rounder, and thicker. The sign of maturity is the appearance of
new insects upon the leaf. The rags are taken off, as they were put on,
by women and girls, and the cochineal is swept into baskets with brushes
of palm-frond. As the _abuelas_ grow in winter there is great loss
of life. For each pound sown the cultivator gets only two to two and a
half, innumerable insects being lost either in the house or out of
doors.
The crop thus gathered produces the _madres_ (mothers): the latter
are sown in February-March, and are gathered in May-June. The only
difference of treatment is that the rags are removed when the weather is
safe and the free draught benefits the insects. The produce is
greater--three and a half to four pounds for one.
The _cosecha_ of the _madres_ produces most abundantly, on
account of the settled weather. The cochineal breeds better in the
house, where there is more light and a higher temperature. The result is
that 8 to 10 lbs. become 100. It is cheaper too: as a lesser proportion
of rag is wanted for the field, and it is kept on only till the insect
adheres. Thus a small quantity goes a long way. At this season there is
no need of the _cuarto_, and bags of pierced paper or of
_rengue_ (loose gauze), measuring 10 inches long by 2 broad, are
preferred. A spoonful of grain, about 4 ounces, is put into each bag and
is hung to the leaves: the young ones crawl through the holes or meshes
till the plant is sufficiently populated. In hot weather they may be
changed eight times a day with great economy of labour. This is the most
favourable form; the insects go straight to the leaves, and it is easy
to estimate the proportions.
So far Don Abel. He concludes with saying that cochineal, which in other
days made the fortune of his native islands, will soon be completely
abandoned. Let us hope not.
The _cosecha_-insects, shell-like in form, grey-coloured, of light
weight, but all colouring matter, are either sold for breeding
_abuelas_ or are placed upon trays and killed in stoves by a heat
of 150°-160° (Fahr.). The drying process is managed by reducing the
temperature to 140°. The time varies from twenty-four to forty-eight
hours: when hurried it injures the crop. Ninety full-grown insects weigh
some forty-eight grains, and there is a great reduction by drying; some
27,000 yield one pound of the prepared cochineal. The shiny black
cochineal, which looks like small beetles, is produced by sun-drying,
and by shaking the insect in a linen bag or in a small 'merry-go-round,'
so as to remove the white powder. [Footnote: Mr. H. Vizetelly (p. 210)
says that black metallic sand is used to give it brilliancy.] The form,
however, must be preserved. It sells 6_d_. per lb. higher than the
_cochinilla de plata_, or silver cochineal. Lastly, the dried crop
is packed in bags, covered with mats, and is then ready for exportation.
The traffic began about 1835 with an export of only 1,275 lbs.; and
between 1850 and 1860 the lb. was worth at least ten francs. Admiral
Robinson [Footnote: _Sea-drift_, a volume published by subscription.
Pitman, London, 1852.] in 1852 makes the export one million of
lbs. at one dollar each, or a total of 250,000_l_. During the
rage of the oïdium the cultivation was profitable and raised
the Canaries high in the scale of material prosperity. In 1862
the islands exported 10,000 quintals, or hundred-weights, the
total value being still one million of dollars. In 1877-78
the produce was contained in 20,000 to 25,000 bags, each
averaging 175 lbs., at a value of half a crown per lb.: it was then
stated that, owing to the increased expense of irrigation and of guano
or chemical manures, nothing under two shillings would repay the
cultivator. In 1878-79 the total export amounted to 5,045,007 lbs. In
1879-80 this figure had fallen off to 4,036,871 lbs., a decrease of
5,482 bags, or 1,008,136 lbs.; moreover the prices, which had been
forced up by speculation, declined from 2_s_. 6_d_.-3_s_. 4_d_.
to 1_s_. 8_d_. and 1_s_. 10_d_. [Footnote: These figures are taken
from the able Consular Report of Mr. Consul Dundas, printed in Part
viii., 1881.] When I last visited Las Palmas (April 1880), cochineal,
under the influence of _magenta_ and _mineral_ dyes, was selling at
1_s_. 4_d_. instead of one to two dollars.
It is to be feared that the palmy days of cochineal are over, and that
its chief office, besides staining liqueurs and tooth-powders, will be
to keep down the price of the chemicals. With regret I see this handsome
and harmless colour being gradually superseded by the economical
anilines, whose poisonous properties have not yet been fully recognised
by the public. The change is a pregnant commentary upon the good and
homely old English saying, 'Cheap and nasty.'
The fall of cochineal throughout the Canaries brought many successors
into the field, but none can boast of great success. Silk, woven and
spun, was tried; unfortunately, the worms were fed on _tartago_ (a
_ricinus_), instead of the plentiful red and white mulberries. The
harvest was abundant, but not admired by manufacturers. In fact, the
moderns have failed where their predecessors treated the stuff so well
that Levantines imported silks to resell them in Italy. Formerly
Tenerife contained a manufactory whose lasting and brilliant produce was
highly appreciated in Spain as in Havana. At Palma crimson waist-sashes
used to sell for an ounce of gold.
Tobacco-growing was patronised by Government in 1878, probably with the
view of mixing it in their monopoly-manufactories with the growths of
Cuba and Manilla. But on this favour being withdrawn the next year's
harvest fell to one-fourth (354,640 lbs. to 36,978). The best sites were
in Hierro (Ferro) and Adejo, in the south of Tenerife. The chief
obstacles to success are imperfect cultivation, the expense of skilled
labour, and deficiency of water to irrigate the deep black soil. Both
Virginia and Havana leaves were grown, and good brands sold from eight
to sixteen dollars per 100 lbs. The customers in order of quantity are
Germany, England, France, South America, and the West Coast of Africa,
where the cigars are now common. One brand (Republicanos) is so good
that I should not wish to smoke better. At home they sell for twelve
dollars per 1,000; a price which rises, I am told, in England to one
shilling each. They are to be procured through Messieurs Davidson, of
Santa Cruz.
The Canarians now talk of sugar-growing; but the cane will inevitably
fare worse for want of water than either silk or tobacco.
Next to cochineal in the Canary Islands, especially in Tenerife, ranks
the _gallo_, or fighting-cock. Cockfighting' amongst ourselves is
redolent of foul tobacco, bad beer, and ruffianism in low places. This
is not the case in Spain and her colonies, where the classical sport of
Greece and Rome still holds its ground. I have pleasant reminiscences of
the good _Padre_ in the Argentine Republic who after mass repaired
regularly to the pit, wearing his huge canoe-like hat and carrying under
his arm a well-bred bird instead of a breviary. Here too I was told that
the famous Derby breed of the twelfth Earl had extended in past times
throughout the length and breadth of the land; and the next visit to
Knowsley convinced me that the legend was based on fact. As regards
cruelty, all popular sports, fox-hunting and pigeon-shooting, are
cruel. Grallus, however, has gained since the days of Cock-Mondays and
Cock-Fridays, when he was staked down to be killed by 'cock-sticks' or
was whipped to his death by blindfolded carters. He leads the life of a
friar; he is tended carefully as any babe; he is permitted to indulge
his pugnacity, which it would be harsh to restrain, and at worst he dies
fighting like a gentleman. A Tenerifan would shudder at the horror of
our fashionable sport, where ruffians gouge or blind the pigeon with a
pin, squeeze it to torture, wrench out its tail, and thrust the upper
through the lower mandible.
The bird in Tenerife surpasses those of the other Canary Islands, and
more than once has carried off the prizes at Seville. A moderately
well-bred specimen may be bought for two dollars, but first-rate cocks
belonging to private fanciers have no price.
Many proprietors, as at Hyderabad, in the Dakhan, will not part with
even the eggs. The shape of the Canarian bird is rather that of a
pheasant than a 'rooster.' The coat varies; it is black and red with
yellow shanks, black and yellow, white and gold, and a grey, hen-like
colour, our 'duck-wing,' locally called _gallinho_. Here, as in
many other places, the 'white feather' is no sign of bad blood. The
toilet is peculiar. Comb and wattles are 'dubbed' (clean shaven), and
the circumvental region is depilated or clipped with scissors, leaving
only the long tail-feathers springing from a naked surface. The skin is
daily rubbed, after negro fashion, with lemon-juice, inducing a fiery
red hue: this is done for cleanliness, and is supposed also to harden
the cuticle. Altogether the appearance is coquet, sportsmanlike, and
decidedly appropriate.
The game-chicks are sent to the country, like town-born babes in France
or the sons of Arabian cities to the Bedawin's black tents. The cockerel
begins fighting in his second, and is not a 'stale bird' till his fifth
or sixth, year. In early spring aspirants to the honours of the arena
are brought to the towns for education and for training, which lasts
some six weeks. I was invited to visit a walk belonging to a wealthy
proprietor at Orotava, who obligingly answered all my questions. Some
fifty birds occupied the largest room of a deserted barrack, which
proclaimed its later use at the distance of half a mile. The gladiators
were disposed in four long, parallel rows of cages, open cane-work,
measuring three feet square. Each had a short wooden trestle placed
outside during the day and serving by night as a perch. They were fed
and watered at 2 P.M. The fattening maize was first given, and then
wheat, with an occasional cram of bread-crumb and water by way of
physic. The _masálá_ and multifarious spices of the Hindostani
trainer are here ignored.
The birds are not allowed, as in India, to become so fierce that they
attack men: this is supposed to render them too hot and headstrong in
combat. Every third day there is a _Pecha_, or spurring-match,
which proves the likeliest lot. The pit for exercise is a matted circle
about 6 feet in diameter. A well-hodded bird is placed in it, and the
assistant holds up a second, waving it to and fro and provoking No. 1 to
take his exercise by springing to the attack. The Indian style of
galloping the cock by showing a hen at either end of the walk is looked
upon with disfavour, because the sight of the sex is supposed to cause
disease during high condition. The elaborate Eastern shampooing for
hours has apparently never been heard of. After ten minutes' hard
running and springing the bird is sponged with Jamaica rum and water, to
prevent chafing; the lotion is applied to the head and hind quarters, to
the tender and dangerous parts under the wings, and especially to the
leg-joints. The lower mandible is then held firmly between the left
thumb and forefinger, and a few drops are poured into the beak. Every
alternate day the cage is placed on loose ground in sun and wind; and
once a week there is a longer sparring-bout with thick leather hods, or
spur-pads.
Cock-fighting takes place once a year, when the birds are in fittest
feather; it begins on Easter Sunday and ends with the following
Wednesday.
The bird that warned Peter of his fall
has then, if victorious, a pleasant, easy twelve months of life before
him. He has won many a gold ounce for his owner: I have heard of a man
pouching 400_l_. in a contest between Orotava and La Laguna, which
has a well-merited celebrity for these exhibitions. The Canarians ignore
all such refinements as rounds or Welsh mains; the birds are fairly
matched in pairs. _Navajas_, or spurs, either of silver or steel,
are unused, if not unknown. The natural weapon is sharpened to a
needle-like point, and then blood and condition win. The cock-pit,
somewhat larger than the training-pit, is in the Casa de la Galera;
there is a ring for betters, and the spectators are ranged on upper
seats.
Lastly of the wine Canary, now unknown to the English market, where it
had a local habitation and a name as early as madeira and sherry, all
claiming 'Shakespearean recognition.' The Elizabethans constantly allude
to cups of cool Canary, and Mr. Vizetelly quotes Howell's 'Familiar
Letters,' wherein he applies to this far-famed sack the dictum 'Good
wine sendeth a man to heaven.' But I cannot agree with the learned
oenologist, or with the 'tradition of Tenerife,' when told that 'the
original canary was a sweet and not a dry wine, as those who derive
"sack" from the French word "sec" would have us believe.' 'Sherris sack'
(_jerez seco_) was a harsh, dry wine, which was sugared as we
sweeten tea. Hence Poins addresses Falstaff as 'Sir John Sack and
Sugar;' and the latter remarks, 'If sack and sugar be a fault, God help
the wicked!' And the island probably had two growths--the saccharine
_Malvasia_, [Footnote: As we find in Leake (p. 197 _Researches in
Greece_) and Henderson (_History of Wines_) 'Malvasia' is an
Italian corruption of 'Monemvasia' ([Greek: _monae embasia_]--a
single entrance), the neo-Greek name for the Minoa promontory or island
connected by a bridge with the Laconian Coast. Hence the French
Malvoisie and our Malmsey. Prof. Azevedo (_loc. cit._) opines that
the date of the wine's introduction disproves the legend of that
'maudlin Clarence in his Malmsey butt.'] whose black grape was almost a
raisin, and a harsh produce like that of the modern _Gual_, with
great volume and alcoholic strength, but requiring time to make it
palatable.
The Canaries mostly grew white wines; that is, the liquors were
fermented without skins and stalks. Thus they did not contain all the
constituents of the fruit, and they were inferior in remedial and
restorative virtues to red wines. Indeed, a modern authority tells us
that none but the latter deserve the name, and that white wines are
rather grape-ciders than real wines.
The best Tenerife brands were produced on the northern slopes from
Sauzal and La Victoria to Garachico and Ycod de los Vinos. The latter,
famed for its malmsey, has lost its vines and kept its name. The
cultivation extended some 1,500 feet above the sea, and the plant was
treated after the fashion of Madeira and Carniola (S. Austria). The
_latadas_, or trellises, varied in height, some being so low that
the peasant had to creep under them. All, however, had the same defect:
the fruit got the shade and the leaves the sun, unless trimmed away by
the cultivator, who was unwilling to remove these lungs in too great
quantities. The French style, the pruned plant supported by a stake, was
used only for the old and worn-out, and none dreamt of the galvanised
wires along which Mr. Leacock, of Funchal, trains his vines. In Grand
Canary I have seen the grape-plant thrown over swathes of black stone,
like those which, bare of fruit, stretch for miles across the fertile
wastes of the Syrian Haurán. By heat and evaporation the grapes become
raisins; and, as in Dalmatia, one pipe required as much fruit as
sufficed for three or four of ordinary.
The favourite of the Canaries is, or was, the _vidonia_, a juicy
berry, mostly white, seldom black: the same is the case with the
muscadels. The _Malvasia_ is rarely cultivated, as it suffered
inordinately from the vine-disease. The valuable _Verdelho_,
preferred at Madeira, is, or was, a favourite; and there are, or were,
half a dozen others. The _vendange_ usually began in the lowlands
about the end of August, and in the uplands a fortnight or three weeks
later. The grape was carried in large baskets by men, women, and
children, to the _lagar_, or wooden press, and was there trodden
down, as in Madeira, Austria, and Italy. The Canarians, like other
neo-Latins an unmechanical race, care little for economising labour. The
vinification resembled that of the Isle of Wood, with one important
exception--the stove. This artificial heating to hasten maturity seems
to have been soon abandoned.
Mr. Vizetelly is of opinion that the pure juice was apt to grow harsh,
or become ropy, with age. They remedied the former defect by adding a
little _gloria_, a thin, sweet wine kept in store from the
preceding _vendange_; this was done in April or in May, when the
vintage was received at headquarters. Ropiness was cured by repeated
rackings and by brandying, eight gallons per pipe being the normal
ratio. That distinguished connoisseur found in an old malmsey of 1859
all the aroma and lusciousness of a good liqueur; the 'London
particular' of 1865 tasted remarkably soft, with a superior nose; an
1871-72, made for the Russian market, had an oily richness with a
considerable aroma; an 1872 was mellow and aromatic, and an 1875 had a
good vinous flavour.
'Canary' possessed its own especial charác-ter, as Jonathan says. If it
developed none of the highest qualities of its successful rivals, it
became, after eight to twelve years' keeping, a tolerable wine, which
many in England have drunk, paying for good madeira. The shorter period
sufficed to mature it, and it was usually shipped when three to four
years old. It kept to advantage in wood for a quarter of a century, and
in bottle it improved faster. My belief is that the properest use of
Tenerife was to 'lengthen out' the finer growths. I found Canary bearing
the same relation to madeira as marsala bears to sherry: the best
specimens almost equalled the second- or third-rate madeiras. Moreover,
these wines are even more heady and spirituous than those of the
northern island; and there will be greater difficulty in converting them
to the category _vino de pasto_, a light dinner-wine.
Before 1810 Tenerife exported her wines not from Santa Cruz, but from
Orotava, the centre of commerce. Here, since the days of Charles II.,
there was an English Factory with thirty to forty British subjects,
Protestants, under the protection of the Captain-General; and their
cemetery lay at the west end of El Puerto, whose palmy days were in
1812-15. The trade was then transferred to the modern capital, where
there are, and have been for years, only two English wine-shipping
firms, Messieurs Hamilton and Messieurs Davidson. The seniors of both
families have all passed away; but their sons and grandsons still
inhabit the picturesque old houses on the 'Marina.' In 1812-15 the
annual export of wine was 8,000 to 11,000 pipes. The Peace of 1815 was a
severe blow to the trade. Between 1830 and 1840, however, the vintage of
the seven chief islands averaged upwards of 46,000; of these Tenerife
supplied between 4,000 and 5,000, equivalent to the total produce since
the days of the oïdium. In 1852 Admiral Robinson reduced the number of
pipes to 20,000, worth 200,000_l_. In 1860-65 I saw the grape in a
piteous plight: the huge bunches were composed of dwarfed and wilted
berries, furred and cobwebbed with the foul mycelium. The produce fell
to 100-150 pipes, and at present only some 200 to 300 are exported. The
Peninsula and the West African coast take the bulk; England and Germany
ranking next, and lastly Spain, which used the import largely in
making-up wines. The islanders now mostly drink the harsh, coarse
Catalonians; they still, however, make for home consumption a cheap
white wine, which improves with age. It is regretable that fears of the
oïdium and the phylloxera prevent the revival of the industry, for which
the Islands are admirably fitted. Potatoes and other produce have also
suffered; but that is no obstacle to their being replanted.
I left Santa Cruz and Las Palmas, after two short visits, with the
conviction that both are on the highway of progress, and much edified by
their contrast with Funchal. The difference is that of a free port and a
closed port. In the former there is commercial, industrial, and literary
activity: Las Palmas can support two museums. In the latter there is
neither this, that, nor the other. Madeira also suffers from repressed
emigration. The Canaries wisely allow their sons to make gold ounces
abroad for spending at home.
Spain also, a few years ago so backward in the race, is fast regaining
her place amongst the nations. She is now reaping the benefit of her
truly liberal (not Liberal) policy. Such were the abolition of the
_morgado_ (primogeniture) in 1834, the closing of the 1,800
convents in 1836-37, and the _disamortizacion_, or suppression of
Church property and granting liberty of belief, in 1855. Finally, the
vigour infused by a short--which will lead to a longer--trial of
democracy and of republican institutions have given her a new life. She
is no longer the Gallio of the Western world.