2260 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART III. 



leading to the ditch ; in which is formed a receptacle for the tar as it flows 

 out. Upon the surface of the mound, after it has been beaten hard, and 

 coated with clay, the wood is laid round in a circle, like rays. The pile, 

 when finished, may be compared to a cone truncated at two thirds of its 

 height, and reversed ; being 20 ft. in diameter below, 25 ft. or 30 ft. above, 

 and 10 ft. or 12 ft. high. It is then strewed over with pine leaves, covered 

 with earth, and held together at the sides with a slight cincture of wood. 

 This covering is necessary, in order that the fire kindled at the top may 

 penetrate downwards towards the bottom, with a slow and gradual com- 

 bustion ; for, if the whole mass were rapidly inflamed, the operation would 

 fail, and the tar would be consumed instead of being distilled : in fine, the 

 same precautions are exacted in this process as are observed in Europe in 

 making charcoal. A kiln, which is to aflbrd 100 or 130 barrels of tar, is 

 eight or nine days in burning. As the tar flows off" into the ditch, it is 

 emptied into casks containing 30 gallons each, which are always made of 

 pine wood. Pitch is tar reduced by evaporation : it should not be diminished 

 more than half its bulk to be of good quality. {Michx.) 



Accidents, Diseases, cfc. Forests of the long-leaved pine are particularly 

 liable to be consumed by fire, on account of the abundance of resin which 

 the trees contain, and the great length of their leaves, which easily take fire, 

 and spread it rapidly. Immense swarms of small insects, Michaux observes, 

 insinuate themselves under the bark of this pine, penetrate into the body of 

 the tree, and cause it to perish in the course of a year. This has been 

 noticed also by Dwight, in his Travels in Neiv England ; and it appears that 

 this insect is not peculiar to the long-leaved pine, for extensive tracts, accord- 

 ing both to Michaux and Dwight, are seen, both in the northern and southern 

 states, covered solely with dead pines. In Abbott and Smith's Insects of 

 Georgia, i. t. 4-2., is the figure of a moth which attacks this pine (iS'phfnx coni- 

 ferarum), of which our Jig. 2 1 6 1 . is a copy. " The larva was taken feeding on 



the long-leaved pine in August, on the 27th of which month it went into the 

 ground. Another buried itself so late as the 10th of November. The moth 

 was produced on April 8. It is not very common ; but may be found occasion- 

 ally, throughout the summer, in Georgia, sitting on the trunks of pines. It 

 feeds also on the cypress, and is found in Virginia. This species is distinct 

 from the European S. Pinaster." (Svi. and Abb,) 



statistics. In the neighbourhood of Ix)ndon, at Muswell Hill, 10 vears planted, it is 8 ft. high. 

 In Devon.shire, at Luscombe, 10 years planted, it i.s 14 ft. high. In Surrey, at Farnham Castle, 35 

 years planted, it is 20 ft. high ; at Oakham Park, 9 years planted, it is 5 ft. high. In Cheshire, at 



