THE LANDES OF GASCON V. 1 65 



handle. The second scar is placed to the right of the first at a 

 distance of about one-third of the circumference; the third scar 

 separates the first two exactly. If the tapping is continued, the 

 fourth cut is made between the first and the second ; the fifth, 

 between the first and the third ; the sixth, between the second 

 and the third ; the seventh, between the first and the fourth ; and 

 the eighth, between the second and the fourth. 



The resin which runs from the scar is caught in an earthen- 

 ware pot. The pot is supported above by a sheet of zinc which 

 guides the flow of resin into it, and the pot is kept in position 

 against the zinc sheet by means of a nail driven into the trunk 

 of the tree. The zinc plate itself is driven into the trunk of the 

 tree. The resiner collects the resin from the pot every fortnight. 

 The collecting vessel is usually square in form, and it is emptied 

 into a reservoir made of wood and sunk in the soil. From this 

 reservoir it is emptied into barrels of 340 litres (75 gallons); 

 sometimes a barrel of 225 litres (50 gallons) is used ; the barrels 

 are filled through square holes left in the sides, and covered 

 with wooden lids. In these barrels the resin reaches the factories, 

 where it is manufactured into marketable products. 



The resin is deposited at the factory in large stone reservoirs ; 

 it is left in these until the process of purification is to be begun. 

 It is then heated in large open copper vessels over naked fires. 

 The temperature is allowed to rise to about 2i2°-266° F., when 

 the heavy impurities fall to the bottom, and the lighter are 

 removed by means of a long-handled sieve-like tool. The 

 material so obtained is allowed to cool, and is the terebenthine. 

 This product is poured into a copper retort heated by means of 

 a steam jacket. Steam is passed into the heated substance, and 

 the vapours coming off are condensed in a condenser. When 

 the heated mass no longer gives off turpentine the residue is 

 drawn off from the retort. It is filtered over a special filter, and 

 the impurities are retained on this. The material collected 

 from the first three collections in the forest gives the colophony 

 of commerce; the colour varies from pale amber yellow to 

 honey yellow. The products of the later collections from the 

 forest are darker in colour; they may be divided into " brais 

 clairs" and "brais noirs." The refuse obtained in the two 

 processes of cleaning which have been mentioned is used to 

 obtain the products known as "poix." Further products may 

 be obtained by treatment of the products that have been 



