418 THE FARMER AT HOME. 



any one. The Creole women prefer bread made from it to wheat 

 bread ; but for bread we consider it insipid. 



TAPIR. The American tapir, when full grown, is six feet in 

 total length, and about three and a half in height. In general form 

 it resembles the hog ; but the legs are rather longer in proportion, 

 and the nose is prolonged into a small movable proboscis. The fore 

 feet have four toes, and the hind ones three only. The eyes are small 

 and lateral, and the ears long and pointed ; the skin thick, and 

 covered with scattering, short silky hairs ; the tail short, and slightly 

 hairy. The teeth resemble those of the horse. It is the largest 

 animal of South America, and is found in all parts of that continent, 

 though most abundant in Guiana, Brazil, and Paraguay. It shuns 

 the habitations of men, and leads a solitary life in the interior of the 

 forests, in most situations, but selects for its abode a place somewhat 

 elevated and dry. By travelling always the same rounds, it forms 

 beaten paths, which are very conspicuous. It cornes out only in the 

 night, or during rainy weather, and resorts to the marshes. Its ordi- 

 nary pace is a sort of trot ; but it sometimes gallops, though awk- 

 wardly, and with the head down ; and, besides, swims with facility. 

 In the wild state, it lives on fruits and young branches of trees, but 

 when domesticated, eats every kind of food. Though possessed of 

 great strength, it makes use of it only for defence ; and its disposition 

 is mild and timid. The flesh is dry and disagreeable tasted ; but the 

 skin is very tough, and might be applied to useful purposes. The 

 Indian tapir has only been discovered within a few years. It inhabits 

 Sumatra, Malacca, and some of the surrounding countries. The 

 colors are remarkable. The head, neck, feet and tail are black ; the 

 rest of the body and tip of the ears white. 



TAR. Tar is obtained from the wood and roots of various kinds 

 of pine by the agency of fire ; it is too well known to need descrip- 

 tion ; that which is thinnest arid blackest is the best. It is exten- 

 sively manufactured in Norway, Sweden, Germany, Russia, North 

 America, and other countries in which those trees abound. The 

 mode of making tar in Sweden is as follows : a conical cavity is made 

 in the ground, generally in the side of a bank or sloping hill ; the 

 roots, as well as billets and logs of the fir, are packed into the cavity, 

 when the whole is covered with turf, which is beaten down firmly 

 upon the wood. The fire is then kindled, and a slow combustion 

 takes place without flame. The tar exudes into a cast iron pan, at 

 the bottom of the funnel, having a spout, beneath which barrels are 

 placed to receive the tar. This process is the same, in fact, as that 

 described by Theophrastus and Dioscorides, as practised by the ancient 

 Greeks. Tar is made in France and Switzerland in ovens built for 

 the purpose. Tar is used in medicine ; and for innumerable purposes 

 in the arts. In England a vast amount of tar is wanted for the navy, 



