CHAP. CXIII. CO>3i'fER^. Pl^NUS. 2175 



sion ; the turpentine, melted by fire, mixing with the sap and juices of the 

 pine, while the wood itself, becoming charred, is converted into charcoal. 

 (JFraxi. in Scand., &c.) 



When pitch is to be made, the tar, without an}- thing being added to it, 

 is put into large copper vessels (fixed in masonry, to prevent any danger of 

 the tar taking fire), and is there suffered to boil for some time ; after which 

 it is let out, and, when cold, hardens and becomes pitch. 



Tar and charcoal are obtained in Russia much in the same manner as in 

 Sweden, from the bottoms of the trunks and the roots of the trees. In 

 Germany, the process is conducted with very great accuracy, and is described 

 in detail by Hartig, in his translation of Du Hamel's Traile dcs Arbrcs, &c., 

 vol. i. p. 15. ; and it is also given in the Dictionnairc dcs Eaux it Forcts, art. 

 Resine, p. 731. In France, it is conducted in a similar manner; though the 

 resinous products of the pine and fir tribe, in that country, are generally 

 obtained from the pinaster, as will be described under that tree. In Britain, 

 tar is sometimes extracted from the roots of the Scotch pine in the High- 

 lands, in a rude manner, for local purposes The country people, having hewn 

 the wood into billets, fill a pit dug in the earth vnth them ; and, setting them 

 on fire, there runs from them, while they are burning, a black thick matter, 

 which naturally falls to the bottom of the pit, and this is tar. The top of 

 the pit is covered with tiles to keep in the heat; and there is at the bottom 

 a little trough, out of which the tar runs like oil : if this hole be made too 

 large, it sets the whole quantity of the tar on fire ; but, if small enough, it runs 

 quietly out. In England, a piece of a branch of the tree is sometimes put in 

 a smithy fire, at one end, while the sap and resinous matter which oozes out 

 at the other is scraped off from time to time, and mixed with tallow for 

 greasing the wheels of carts. 



Flambeaux of the roots and trunks of the pine are in use both in Britain 

 and in the north of Europe. Hall, in his Travels in Scotland, relates a story 

 of a bet made in London by a Highland chief, that some massive silver can- 

 dlesticks, on the table at a gentleman's house where he was dining, were not 

 better, or more valuable, than those commonly in use in the Highlands. The 

 chieftain won his bet, by sending to his estate for four Highlamlers of his 

 clan, and producing them with torches of blazing fir in their hands, declaring 

 that they were the candlesticks to which he alluded, (vol. ii. p. 440.) Dr. 

 Howison observes " that the little tallow or oil which the peasantry in 

 Russia can procure is entirely consumed at the shrines in the churches, and 

 before the images in their isbas, or huts." To supply the place of candles, " they 

 take lona billets of red Scotch pine, which they dry carefully near their 

 i)eatches^ or stoves, during the tedious winter, and split, as occasion requires, 

 into lomi pieces resembling laths. When a traveller arrives, or a light is 

 required for any other purpose, one of these laths is lighted at the peatch, 

 and fixed in a wooden frame, which holds it in a horizontal position. It gives 

 a bright flame, but only burns for a short time." {For. Trees of Russ. in Jam. 

 Jour., vol. xii. p. GO.) _ 



As a timber tree, for planting in poor dry soils, and in exposed situations, 

 none can excel the Scotch pine, and it is only equalled by the larch. In 

 Britain, it surpasses every other species of the pine and fir tribe for shelter- 

 ing other trees, with the exception of the spruce fir, which, being of a more 

 conical shape, admits more light ami air to the heads of the trees which are 

 to be drawn up by it. The Scotch i)inc is, however, altogether unfit for giving 

 shelter in single rows, unless the branches are allowed to remain on, from the 

 ground upwards, and the roots have free scope on every side. Hence, this pine, 

 like every other species of the tribe, is altogether unfit for a hedgerow tree. 

 When planted in narrow belts round fields for shelter, it soon becomes un- 

 sightly, unless the trees stand so thin as to allow of their being clothed with 

 branches from the ground upwards. The true situation for this tree, when 

 grown for timber, is in masses over extensive surfaces. 



As an ornamental tree, various opinions are entertained of the Scotch 



7 B 



