IS H OUT us ja:',iaici:nsis. 



ALOES 



ccrporated: One of t!ic best is sik pounds of pitchj one pound of Spanish Lrown or whitinr, 

 ar;d one part of oil; or the like proportioas of turpentine, Spanish brjivn, airl tallow, 

 may be uscJ. Such a coat, incorporated with aloes, will jjreserve a ship's bottom for 

 eiglit moftths, proviJcd it h made tenacious and binding, and is not rubbed off by any 

 accident. About twelve pounds are suiEcient for a ves'tel uf fifty tens burthen, and sa- 

 in j)roportion ; according to which, about three-hundred ])ouad will be found enough 

 for a first-rate man of war. 



In preparing the aloes to be more effectual for this purpose, a large proportion of 

 water may be mixed \-/ith the juice when set on to boil, viz. t.vo quarts of water to every 

 gallon of juice; and, after suffijient boiling, or when the water is thoroughly impreg- 

 nated, it should be shifted into any coinmodious vessel ; suffered to stand for twelve 

 hours, and the water then poured off : by this process the soluble part or gum, which 

 is of no use in the operation, will be extracted, and what remains in sediment is the 

 dross and resin, which, bting left to remain until it is pretty well d-ried and brought to 

 consistence, exposed to the air and sun, will be fit for use. 



It is but justice to this commodity to recite the effects of one experiment, tried by the 

 person before-mentioned. He took several piecemjf oak, cedar, and mahogany, plank, 

 of two feet in breadth, and four feet in lengdi, and, with particular distinct marks, to 

 prevent mistakes, put on different coats or compositions, some with and some without 

 aloes mixture : these were suffered to lie under the sea-water for eight months; and, 

 upon taking them up, he found that, where the aloes had made part of the composi- 

 tion, there were few impressions made ; one piece, in particular, was as fresh, sound, 

 and untouched, as on tlie day when it was put in ; this had been besmeared with tur- 

 pentine, tallow, Spanish brown, and aloes ; but the other pieces, which had none of 

 the aloctic mixture, were perforated and eaten into a honeycomb. The use, tlierefore, 

 cjf this ingredient would certainly produce a saving of many thousand pounds per an- 

 num, borh to the merchants and the crown. It is the bitter, nauseous, acrimou}-, which 

 resides in the resinous part, that renders it a verv proper defence against every species 

 of insects; and this part, being indissoluble in water, will adhere to the plank unim- 

 paired, so long as the composition lasts with which it is blended. Neither an extrava- 

 gance of price, nor apprehension of a scarcity, need be any objection to the general 

 iise of it. The savannas and other barren places in Jamaica, are capable of pruducinT 

 much more than could be employed by all the shiping belonging to the British domi- 

 nions ; and, was it encouraged by a regular demand,. Bermudas and other colonies 

 wordd enter upon the cultivation, so that the price would probably never rise high. 



The same composition may be used with great advantage in Jamaica, for preserving 

 the rafters and other timbers belonging to the floors and roofs of buildings, from that 

 destructive insect the wood-ant ; nor would a prepanaion of the aloes be less efficacioiis 

 in securing books from the depredations of the scarabaeus, which, in its reptile state, is 

 a great enemy to all that are newly bound. If,, in binding books intended for this island, 

 and other parts of the West-Indies, a small quantity of the aloes tincture, made by a 

 solution in spirits of winej was mixed up with the binder's paste, it would effectually 

 prevent the attacks of this insect. Long, p. 708. 



An aquatic solution of hepatic aloes presen-es young plants from d-estruction by in- 

 sects, and also dead animals and vegetables from putrefaction ; which renders it of great - 

 use in the cabinets of naturalists. The spirituous extract, however, is best for the ])ur- 

 pose, though, in this respect, it is inferior to that of cantharides, prepared by infusing 

 two grains in one ounce of spirits, which has been found to be so effectual in the extir- 

 pation. 



