120 Mr. Scanlan^ on [Aug. 



the practice, in Mr. Murphy's distillery, as it is in England 

 to heat the raw turpentine up to a temperature of about 1 80°, 

 as I found by plunging a thermometer into one of his large 

 copper pans, and to strain the turpentine, thus liquified, 

 from the impurities, previously to introducing it into the 

 still, where it is submitted to distillation in the usual way, 

 with a portion of water, yielding turpentine oil, which 

 distils over along with the water and rosin which remains 

 behind in the still. The chips, when -separated by a wire 

 strainer, still retain a quantity of adhering turpentine worth 

 saving, and with this view are transferred to a large close 

 vat, where they are exposed for some time to the action of 

 steam furnished by a boiler kept for this purpose, as well 

 as for steaming the empty barrels, in order to remove any 

 turpentine that may adhere to them. Still, however, the 

 chips are a good deal imbued with resinous matter, and in 

 this state form a loose porous mass, which the turpentine 

 distiller calls chip cake, a material which is used by the 

 poor in the neighbourhood as fuel. 



As long as the process I have just described w^as pursued, 

 which is the London mode, and that which produces the 

 best rosin, no accident occurred from fire in Mr. Murphy's 

 premises, although I have frequently seen immense heaps 

 of this chip cake collected together in his yard ; but, on 

 making trial of a different plan, namely, that practised by 

 a Dublin distiller, Mr. Price of Lincoln Lane, the accident 

 in question occurred. 



On this occasion, the raw turpentine, together with its 

 impurities, was put directly into the still,^ along with the 

 proper quantity of water, and the boiling rosin at the end of 

 the operation strained from the chips. 



The chip cake resulting from a single operation thus 

 conducted, was laid in a heap outside the still house, at 

 three o'clock in the afternoon, and at midnight was observed 

 to be in flames. 



In the first mentioned process it is obvious the chips were 

 never exposed to a higher degree of temperature than 212° ; 



deep, and afterwards higher up. The turpentine or rosin pat is scraped up from 

 the foot of the tree. That which is on the side-wound, when scraped off, is white, 

 and called galley pot, of which the burning incense is made. It does not yield so 

 much turpentine spirit as the patJ'^ — Edit. 



