1 



ABIETIN 



prepared from the resin obtained from this tree. See BURGUNDY PITCH ; FnANK- 

 INCBNSB. 



ABIES LAHIX (Larix europtsa). The Common Larch, producing the Venice Turpen- 

 tine, and a manna called Brian,-on Manna which exudes from the leaves. See VENICE 

 TURPENTINE. 



ABIES NIGRA. The Black Spruce fir, indigenous to the most inclement regions of 

 North America. A considerable quantity of the essence of spruce is extracted from 

 the young branches of this tree ; it is, however, also obtained from other varieties of 

 the spruce fir. See SPBTTOT ESSENCE. 



ABIES PICBA of Linnaeus (Abies pectinata of Do Candolle). The Silver fir, pro- 

 ducing the true Strasburg turpentine. See TURPENTINE. 



Of the woods of these trees the following quantities were imported in 1871 : 



Hewn Fir, 



Loads 



From Eussia .... 187,619 

 Sweden .... 228,980 

 Norway .... 226,197 

 Germany .... 297,533 

 France .... 57,641 

 United States of America . 109,630 

 British North America , 343,271 

 Other Countries . . 2,700 



Total . 



1,453,571 

 Sawn or Split, Planed or Dressed, Fir. 



479,575 

 906,280 

 435,408 

 59,757 

 37,847 

 692,824 



From Eussia . . * 

 Sweden . . 

 Norway . 4 . 

 Germany . . 

 United States of America 

 British North America 

 Other countries . . 



Total . 



4,172 

 , 2,615,863 



Value 

 



378,676 



398,326 



352,837 



682,489 



60,121 



364,437 



1,319,174 



5,732 



3,561,792 



1,155,870 



1,913,357 



924,757 



137,383 



121,909 



1,809,199 



8,777 



6,071,252 



ABXETEXTS. This hydrocarbon is the product of distillation of the terebin- 

 thinato exudation of a coniferous tree indigenous to California, viz., the Finns 

 sabiniana, a tree met with in the dry sides of the foot hills of the Sierra Nevada 

 mountains, and locally known as the nut-pine or digger-pine, on account of the edible 

 quality of its fruit A gum resin, or rather balsam, is obtained from this tree by 

 incisions made in its wood, and the balsam is submitted to distillation almost imme- 

 diately after it has been collected, owing to the groat volatility of the hydrocarbon 

 (or essential oil, because abietene really stands in the same relation to the balsam 

 alluded to, as oil of turpentine stands to the exudation derived from other species 

 of Pinus). The crude oil, as usually met with for sale at San Francisco, is a colourless 

 limpid fluid, requiring only to be redistilled to obtain it quite pure. The commercial 

 article is used under different names, abietene, erasine, theoline, &c., for the removal 

 of grease and paint from clothing and woven fabrics, and likewise as an efficient 

 substitute for petroleum-benzine. Pure abieteno is a colourless fluid, possessing a 

 strongly penetrating odour, bearing some resemblance to oil of oranges ; sp. gr. at 

 16'5 = 0'694: it is very volatile, highly combustible, burning with a brilliant white 

 smokeless flame, almost insoluble in water, and soluble in 5 parts of alcohol at 95 per 

 cent. Abietene is not acted iipon by dry hydrochloric acid gas nor by nitric acid (sp. 

 gr. = r43) in the cold, but heat being applied, a slight reaction takes place; neither 

 concentrated sulphuric acid nor potassium acts upon this hydrocarbon ; when treated 

 with chlorine, abietene is converted into fluid of the consistency of glycerine, insoluble 

 in water, colourless, soluble in warm alcohol, and having a sp. gr. = 1'666. Abietene 

 readily dissolves iodine and bromine, and is a powerful solvent for fixed and volatile 

 oils, castor oil excepted, and also Peruvian balsam and Canada balsam ; castor oil is 

 absolutely insoluble in abietene, while, curiously enough, the last-named substance is 

 dissolved by castor oil to some extent. When burned in an ordinary spirit-lamp with 

 not too large a flame, a brilliant white light is obtained without smoke : the vapour of 

 abieteno is a powerful anaesthetic when inhaled, and it has been used with success as 

 an insecticide against moths, &c., when sprinkled in closed receptacles. 



ABZfiTZir. A pale yello\v, transparent, viscid exudation from the Abie* picea. 

 It contains 35 per cent, of a volatile oil of an agreeable smell, combined with a 



