RECREATIVE NATURAL HISTORY. 



m 



BECRIv\ll\ i: NATURAL lllsTouv. 



I AND 1'INE-CONES (co( 



THE \\ uoly handsome and 



squo tree, and ii >m tliu manner of its returning a hold <m 

 tho gro'iml i/.., without tho aid of a tap-root it is <-\tr<-m. : y 



hiptt-i. I'ur growth { Hituations where a very thin super- 

 t-t i-.-itiim of soil exists. Stretching forth itn tongh, r 



i;t nut work of fibre*, tho white Bpruoe gathers 

 the elements needed for growth and support, and reaches full 

 maturity, where trees whoso roots shoot far downwards in 



<f nourishment would become stunted, unthrifty, and of 

 timber-Motor* j and it is on account of the 



ss with which the white spruce establishes itself in appa- 



y sterile situations, 



th.it it has been so ex- 



voly planted in this 



country. Its range is 



extensive, being 

 met with abundantly in 

 Canada, Nova Scotia, and 

 New England. The tim- 

 ber from this tree is made 

 extensive use of. The 

 ri'sin, or pine-gum, which 

 it abundantly furnishes, 

 makes excellent oil of 

 turpentine; tho bark is 

 mode use of for tanning 

 hides ; and that most 

 powerful and valuable 

 anti - scorbutic, spruce 

 beer, is made from its 

 branches and loppings. 

 So valuable is this beve- 

 rage found to bo on long 

 sea-voyages, and so re- 

 freshing and wholesome 

 is it as a drink in warm 

 and unhealthy climates, 

 that it is a matter for 

 wonder that it is not 

 more generally prepared 

 in this country. Many 

 districts in England 

 abound in white spruce- 

 trees, and lost a difficulty 

 should at any time exist 

 as to the identity cf the 

 tree, we have given a 

 representation of the 

 cone and growth of leaf 

 ia Fig. 6. Most of our 

 readers will have heard 

 of " spruce beer;" some 

 few may have partaken 

 of it ; but we will ven- 

 ture to say that very few 

 know how to brew it. It 

 may not, therefore, prove uninteresting to be informed as to tho 

 method of concocting this "scurvy -killer" and agreeable thirst- 

 quencher. A French settler, long resident in America, gives 

 the following directions for the preparation of a cask of spruce 

 beer : 



To make a cask of spruce beer, there ought to be a boiler 

 large enough to hold one-fourth more than the quantity under 

 treatment. This is to be filled with water, and as soon as it 

 begins to boil a bundle of spruce branches, broken into pieces, 

 is to be thrown into the boiler. The bundle should be about 

 twenty-one inches round at the place of ligature. The water is 

 to be kept boiling until the rind, or bark, becomes easily detach- 

 able from tho branches ; and whilst this process is going on, a 

 bushel of oats is to be roasted several times over in a largo 

 iron pan, and fifteen sea-biscuits, or, instead of these, twelve or 

 fifteen pounds of bread, cut into slices, should be well browned, 

 and mixed all together with the liquid in the boiler. The 

 bran. -lies of spruce are then to be taken out, and the fire extin- 

 guished. The oats and bread fall to the bottom ; the leaves, 



153 N.B. 



eto., floating on tho surface of the liquid being skimmed off, 

 Six parti of mola*M*, or ooarae jmp of hugar, or, ia default of 

 these, twelve or thirteen pounds of brown rafar. are to be added. 

 This mixture should be immediately turned Into a freab port* 

 wine oaak, and if it bo intended to give a colour to the beer, 105 

 dregs, and from five to >ix pinto of the wine, may be left in UM 

 cask. Whilst the liquid remains tepid, half a pint of yecot moat 

 be added, and briskly stirred about, in order to incorporate it 

 well with the decoction ; after which the oaak is to be filled op 

 to the bung-hole, and tho latter left open. The liquid wrfl 

 ferment, and throw off a great deal of impure matter. In pro* 

 portion to the quantity whhh works oat, the cask U to be 

 replenished with some of the same decoction, kept apart for the 

 purpose. If the bung-hole is stopped at the end of twenty-four 



hoars, the spraoe remains 

 harp, like cyder ; but if 

 it is intended to drink it 

 softer, the bong most not 

 bo put in until the fer- 

 mentation is over, taking 

 care to replenish the cask 

 twice a day. 



Food, as well a* driiik, 

 is yielded by numerous 

 members of the cone- 

 bearing family. The Lap* 

 landers commonly make 

 use of the inner bark of 

 the pine for bread-mak- 

 ing purposes, the result 

 of their labours being 

 known as bark brocd. 

 This odd and by no 

 means tempting article of 

 diet is prepared in the 

 following manner : After 

 a selection of the tallest 

 and least ramose trees 

 (for the dwarfed and 

 thickly branching onea 

 are usually very rich in 

 resinous juices), the dry 

 and scaly external bark 

 is carefully taken off, 

 and the soft, white, 

 fibrous, and succulent 

 matter collected and 

 dried. The time of tho 

 year chosen for this pro- 

 cess is when the " al- 

 burnum" is soft, acr 

 spontaneously separated 

 from the wood by very 

 careful and gentle mani- 

 pulation with the fingers. 

 When the natives are 

 about to use it, the pre- 

 pared material is slowly 

 and carefully baked or 

 roasted on the embers, and being thus rendered crisp nnd 

 brittle, it is ground readily into powder, which, when duly 

 worked and kneaded into dough, is made into cakes, which are 

 baked in an oven in the usual way. 



The Siberian ermine-hunters also make use of the inner bark 

 of the pine for the purpose of forming a substitute for yeast, 

 which they use in the manufacture of quass. When the yeast 

 is destroyed by cold as it sometimes will be, in spite of every 

 precaution the hunters strip the inner bark from tho forest 

 pines, and boil it slowly in a cooking-pot over the camp fire 

 for one hour ; the decoction is then mixed with a quantity of 

 rye-meal until a dough is formed. This they bury deeply under 

 the snow, and on the expiration of twelve hours dig it up 

 again, when it will have acquired the property of setting ap 

 fermentation in such fluids aa it ma., be placed In. 



The stone pine (Pin us jwua), or nut pine, is much valued on 

 account of the vast quantity of pine-nuts furnished by it. 

 These, nearly as large as small almonds, lie hidden behind tha 

 hard, tough scales which cover the outside of tho cone, after the 



