600 TURPENTINES 



BURGUNDY PITCH is the resinous exudation from the stem 

 of Picea excelsa, or spruce fir, melted and strained. It 

 consists of an amorphous resin, oil of turpentine, and other 

 isomeric oils, and abietic acid. It occurs in semi-opaque 

 red-brown masses, breaks with a shining conchoidal fracture, 

 and has an empyreumatic turpentine odour and aromatic 

 taste. The substance sold as Burgundy pitch is generally 

 made by melting resin and palm oil and stirring in some 

 water. True Burgundy pitch and its imitations spread upon 

 leather are used for stimulant and adhesive plasters, applied 

 in swellings of joints, chest affections, and rheumatism. 



ACTIONS AND USES. The turpentines are topical irri- 

 tants. When swallowed they are speedily absorbed, act as 

 general stimulants, and are discharged by the kidneys, 

 bronchial membrane, and skin, stimulating these channels 

 of excretion. Their uses resemble those of their more 

 active constituent, oil of turpentine. In percentage of 

 oil, and hence in activity, they stand as follows : Canada 

 balsam, Venice turpentine, common turpentine, and frank- 

 incense. They are occasionally used as stimulants in 

 indigestion, colic, and general debility ; as laxatives, 

 especially when in combination ; and as anthelmintics, 

 diuretics, and expectorants. 



Externally applied, they are stimulants, styptics, and 

 antiseptics, and are used as excipients for making up diuretic 

 and stimulant balls. In the south of France the resinous 

 vapours of the Coniferse have been employed for the relief 

 of bronchitis, phthisis, and rheumatism in human patients. 

 The growing pine forests, and the oleo-resins extracted from 

 them in presence of oxygen, evolve antiseptic camphor- 

 aceous oils and peroxide of hydrogen, which purify the air 

 and destroy disease germs. 



DOSES, etc. Horses and cattle take j. to giij. ; sheep, 

 3J. to 3iij. ; pigs, 3j. to 3ij. ; dogs, grs. xx. to grs. Ix. 

 The maximum doses are stimulant and antispasmodic ; 

 the minimum, frequently repeated, are diuretic and expec- 

 torant. They are administered with milk, oils, linseed 

 gruel, mucilage, eggs, or about ^th part of magnesia. 

 For external purposes they are made into liniments and 

 ointments. 



