TEREBINTHINA. VULGARIS. (JOo 



different species have arisen the diverse methods of obtaining the 

 terebinth incus resins. 



Thus in the wood of the Silver Fir (Pinws Picea L.) resin-ducts are 

 altogether wanting; — and led by experience, the Alpine peasant collects 

 the turpentine of this tree by simply puncturing the little cavities which 

 form under its bark. In the Scotch Pine (P. s'dvestris L.), they arc more 

 abundant in the wood than in the bark, a fact which might be anticipated 

 by observing how rarely this tree exudes resin spontaneously. 



^f 



no 



The formic acid which is produced in small quantity during tlii^^ change 

 characterizes it as one of oxidation; the chief products however arc not 

 exactly known, and not one of them has been proved identical with any 

 natural resin. The common assumption that resins are produced from 

 volatile oils by simple oxidation, is consequently not yet entirely 

 justified. 



Extraction— In the United States ^ turpentine is obtained to the 

 largest extent from Finns australis, of which tree there are vast forests, 

 the piny veoods or pine-barrens, extending from Virginia to the Mexican 

 Gulf, especially through North and South Carolina, Georgia and Ala- 

 bama. But it is in North Carolina that the extraction of turpcntmc i8 



principally carried on. 



In the winter, i.e. from November to March, the negroes ni a 

 Turpentine Orchard, as the district of forest to be worked is caUed.aro 

 occupied in makin^ in the trunks of the trees, cavities which are 

 technically known as hoxes. For this purpose a long narrow axe is 

 used, and some skill is required to wield it properly. Jhe boxesaic 

 made from 6 to 12 inches above the ground, and are shaped like a dis- 

 tended waistcoat-pocket, the bottom being about 4 inches below the 

 lower lip, and 8 or 10 below the upper. On a tree of medium size, a 

 box should be made to hold a quart. The less the axe approaches the 

 centre of the tree the better, as vitality is the less endangered. An ex- 

 pert workman will make a box in less than 10 minutes, irom one to 

 four boxes are made in each tree, a few inches of bark being le/t ».et%veen 

 them. The greater number of trees from which f^^'^^^/^^^Jl"^;, 

 obtained, are from 12 to 18 inches in diameter, and have three boxes 



each. 



cod 



The boxes having been made, the bark and a ^J^tle of the ^ ood 

 immediately beneath it, which are above the box, are ^^^l^^^'of mS 

 this excoriation, the sip begins to flow about the ^" f ^^^^f ,^X': 

 gradually filling the box^ Each tree requires ^o be/reshy hacked e^eO 

 « or 10 dVs, a very slight wound above the la^] ^^l^f^f ^^^^^^^ l^^ 

 The hacking is carried on vear after year, until ^^ i caches i-i« 

 or more ladders being used. The turpentine ^^^^^^ 

 removed from the boxes by a spoon or ladle f Pf "''''^f .^p^v rude 

 collected into barrels, which^re made on the spo and a c of cr,^!^^^ 



construction. The first year's ^^^^f =\,"f :,tf ^S^ 

 surface to traverse before it reaches the box, is ot specia ^ 



IS termed Virgin dijh 



^ The acco\int here given is taken from 

 ^' L. Olmsted's Journey in the Seaboard 



1856 



