660 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



part in which the hollow is made, 

 the back part, or nearly half of 

 the tree might be sawn into boards 

 without injury, and those boards 

 might be compared with some 

 from a tree taken down in the win- 

 ter, from whence the turpentine 

 has not been extracted. It must, 

 however, be noted, that from the 

 tree I have sent to the society, the 

 turpentine has only been running 

 one year, whereas, in America, 

 they collect the turpentine from 

 the same tree for three or four 

 succeeding years. It has been 

 supposed and asserted, that tur- 

 pentine was only obtainable from 

 the United States ; but I have 

 sufficient documents to prove, if 

 required, that a very large quan- 

 tity of it can be procured from 

 East Florida ; and I well remem- 

 ber, that about the year 1782 

 several cargoes of turpentine were 

 shipped in the river St. John's 

 for Britain ; and though that 

 country is at present in the hands 

 of the Spaniards, no doubt ar- 

 rangements might be made with 

 the Spanish government for a 

 supply of that necessary article 

 from thence. It is my earnest 

 wish that through the medium 

 of the Society of Arts I may ren- 

 der any information that may be 

 serviceable to the interest of the 

 united empire, and I will with 

 pleasure furnish further commu- 

 nication on the products of Flo- 

 rida and its commerce, if desired 

 by the society. 



I am convinced that tar might 

 be produced from the refuse of 

 firs of English growth to advan- 

 tage, and that a much better 

 article could be made from thera 

 in Britain, than any imported 

 from America. The Scotch fire 



in England, from being planted 

 at greater distances from each 

 other than they are naturally 

 found abroad, have much larger 

 knots, and greater numbers of 

 them, than in Carolina or the 

 north of Europe, and would 

 therefore produce more tar in 

 proportion, from their refuse 

 wood, than the trees of those 

 countries. 



The pitch-pines of Virginia, the 

 Carolinas, Georgia, and the Flori- 

 das, grow to an immense size in 

 what are there called pine-barrens, 

 the soil of which is finer and 

 whiter than the sand used as 

 writing-sand in Great Britain, and 

 the trees grow almost to the verge 

 of high-water mark on the sea 

 shores. I think it would answer 

 a good purpose for tlie society to 

 encourage, by premiums, the ex- 

 traction of turpentine from British 

 firs. I remain, sir, your obedient 

 and very humble servant, 



H. B. Way. 



Bridport Harbour, 

 April 'iX, 1810. 

 To C. Taylor, M. D. Sec. 



Improved Mode of preparing 

 Phosphorus Bottles. 



[From Mr. Nicholson's Journal of Na- 

 tural Philosophy.] 



Phosphorus, cut into small 

 pieces and mixed with quick lime 

 in powder, answers the purpose 

 very well. The phosphorus should 

 be carefully dried by filtering pa- 

 per ; a thin slice being cut may 

 be divided into as many pieces as 

 can expeditiously be done, and 

 each piece introduced into a small 

 bottle, with as much lime as will 

 surround it. Lime slacked in the 



