130 



CONIFERS. 



quarters of an inch, while for the American species 

 one-fifth only is requisite. The seeds of most of 

 them, except the stone pine and a few others, come up 

 very soon. They are thinned and put in rows at the 

 distance of four or five inches, and three or four in 

 the row. After being a your in these rows, they are 

 removed to others two feet distant from each other. 

 After being two years in the seed-bed, and having at- 

 tained the height of six or seven feet, they are finally 

 planted out, and great care is requisite in the removal 

 not to allow the roots to be long exposed, for though 

 the plants are hardy when grown up, they are very 

 tender when young. Fir plantations should be regu- 

 larly thinned from the time the trees are six or seven 

 feet high, until they attain the height of twenty or 

 thirty feet. At this time the trees, if they are Scotch, 

 spruce, or silver firs, ought to be at least twenty feet 

 distant from each other. Larch firs require more 

 shelter, and ought to be. a little closer. Firs, in gene- 

 ral, require plenty of room, in order that their branches 

 may expand fully. They cannot be pruned, on ac- 

 count of the large quantity of sap which they contain, 

 and which flows freely from the slightest incision, 

 weakening the tree much, and sometimes stopping its 

 growth for several years. 



Various resinous products are furnished by the fir, 

 pine, and larch tribe. They may be divided into 1, 

 those which are yielded by spontaneous exudation, 

 such as Briancon manna, &c. ; 2, those which are 

 got by making wounds into the wood through the 

 bark, as the various kinds of turpentine ; 3, those 

 obtained by decoction, as the essence of spruce, and 

 4, those procured by lire, as tar and pitch. 



The common oil of turpentine of the pharmaco- 

 poeias is procured by distillation, and is the product of 

 several species of pine. It is a transparent, limpid, 

 volatile fluid, having a hot pungent taste, and a pow- 

 erful odour. It is highly inflammable, and is lighter 

 than water. Its propenies, in general, are of a sti- 

 mulating nature, and it is much used in medicine. It 

 acts upon the bowels, and increases the secretion of 

 urine, imparting to it a smell of violets. In large 

 doses it is particularly beneficial in tape-worm. It is 

 also used in epilepsy and in inflammation of the 

 bowels. When given in large doses, it produces 

 temporary intoxication. Externally it is employed in 

 palsy, nervous pains and spasms, and in burns. It is 

 also said to be useful in checking bleeding. It has 

 been lately employed, with great success, in the pro- 

 cess of boring or cutting glass, as it is said that a 

 common awl may be forced through a plate of glass, 

 provided oil of turpentine is kept constantly applied. 



The residuum of the distillation of oil of turpentine 

 receives different names according to the mode in 

 which it is conducted. When the distillation is per- 

 formed without addition, and continued till all the 

 essential oil is driven off, then there remain 

 colophony ; but if water is added to the mass while 

 fluid, or thoroughly blended with the rosin by 

 agitation, then we procure yellow rosin. 



In procuring tar, a conical cavity is dug in the earth 

 which communicates with a reservoir at the bottom 

 and billets of fir are then placed so as to fill the cavity 

 and form a cone above it. The mass is then kindlec 

 at the top, and covered over with turf. In this way 

 the combustion goes on slowly, and all the liquefiec 

 tar accumulates at the bottom. By boiling the tar 

 for a long time, all the volatile matter is driven oft' 

 and a substance called pitch is left. 



Tar or pitch ointment is applied externally in ring- 

 worm and various cutaneous diseases. Tar water has 

 )een recommended as a diuretic and sudorific. Tar 

 umigation has been considered beneficial in consump- 

 ion, by promoting expectoration. 



Cedrus Libani, cedar of Lebanon, (Pinits Cedrus of 

 Linnaeus,) is a native of the coldest parts of the moun- 

 :ains of Libanus, Ainanus, and Taurus. In these 

 places the tree formerly grew in large quantities. The 

 i'orest of Lebanon was famous in the days of Solo- 

 mon ; and in his time cedars were said to be " as tho 

 sycamores that are in the vale for abundance." Now- 

 a-days, however, cedars are by no means common in 

 Palestine. A few still exist, some of them nine feet 

 in diameter. 



The cedar is a large, wide-spreading tree, not so 

 lofty as is frequently represented, and as Milton 

 would make us believe, when he says 



Over head upgrcw, 

 Insuperable height of loftiest shade, 

 Cedar, aiid pine, or fir, or branching palm. 



The timber of the cedar is very indestructible, and 

 was anciently much used in the decoration of temples. 

 In the temple of Apollo, at Utica, some beams of 

 Numidian cedar are said to have been 1200 years 

 old. This wood was also employed in forming sta- 

 tues ; and it is supposed that the famous statue of 

 Diana at Ephesus was constructed of it. The wood 

 was also used in embalming and in preventing putre- 

 faction. The tree yields a saccharine resinous sub- 

 stance. 



The cedar was introduced into Britain in 1683; 

 and in some parts of England, as at Witton Park 

 and Zion House, it thrives well. In the Garden of 

 Plants at Paris, there is a fine specimen of the tree 

 which was planted by Jussieu. 



The cones of cedar must be kept for a year before 

 the seeds are taken out, on account of the softness of 

 the seeds and the resinous matter with which they are 

 surrounded. The cones are imported from the Le- 

 vant, and the seeds retain their vegetating powers for 

 many years. 



Cedrus dcodara, sacred Indian cedar, grows on the 

 high mountains of Nepaul and Thibet, at an elevation 

 of 10 or 12,000 feet above the level of the sea. It 

 is regarded with veneration by the Hindoos, and fur- 

 nishes durable and valuable timber. 



Juniperus communis, common juniper, is common in 

 many parts of Europe. A dwarf trailing variety of it 

 is found on the mountains of Wales, Scotland, and 

 Ireland. It is an evergreen shrub, furnishing a hard, 

 reddish wood, which serves for veneering. Its bark 

 is made into ropes. Its berries are imported in con- 

 siderable quantities from Holland and Italy. They 

 have a strong, disagreeable smell, and a warm, pun- 

 gent, bitterish taste. They consist of essential oil 

 and sweet mucilaginous matter. This oil, which is of 

 a green colour, is separated by distillation, and give.-, 

 the peculiar flavour and properties to Hollands. Gin 

 was formerly made in imitation of Hollands, by the 

 addition of juniper ; but it is now made from whiskey 

 rectified on turpentine. 



Both the berries and the tops of the juniper are 

 used medicinally. They possess tonic, stimulant, and 

 diuretic properties. These qualities are owing to the 

 essential oil which they contain. An infusion of the 

 tops has been used in dropsy. The juniper is the 

 badge of the clan Murray in Scotland. 



Juniperus sabina, common sa\ ine, is a low evergreen 



