PINUS PINASTER. 385 



the trees are fit for producing resin ; and when exhausted 

 for this purpose they are cut down to make room for their 

 self-sown progeny. In this way many thousands of acres 

 have been reclaimed and converted into plantations, which 

 afford occupation to the inhabitants of the surrounding 

 districts, who gain their livelihood by the manufacture of 

 resin and tar. From its power of resisting the sea-blast, 

 the Pinaster is . sometimes called the Sea Pine (Finns 

 maritima). I am not aware that its valuable property of 

 binding sandhills has been tested in this country, but in 

 the west of England it is frequently planted on the sea- 

 side of plantations composed of other trees, and proves an 

 effectual shelter, never showing the least tendency to bend 

 before the prevailing wind, and never having its outer 

 branches blighted. 



The common resin of commerce is extracted from the 

 Pinaster while it is in a growing state. In summer, trees 

 are selected which have a trunk about four feet in diameter, 

 and longitudinal cuts are made through the bark about six 

 inches wide and a foot long, with a cavity at the base. 

 Into this the resin flows from between the bark and the 

 wood, and is scooped out occasionally with a ladle. It is 

 found necessary to lengthen the cut very frequently, as the 

 resin does not flow freely from an old wound. In a few 

 years the tops of the grooves are too high to be reached by 

 a man standing on the ground ; the operator, therefore, 

 climbs the tree by the help of a notched pole ; and when 

 the trees have ceased to produce resin, they are cut down 

 to be manufactured into tar. The resin is melted in 

 caldrons, and strained through straw to free it from im- 

 purities : it is then stored away in barrels and is fit for 

 the market. 



To make the best lamp-black, the straw through which 

 resin has been strained is put into a stove and kindled : 

 the smoke passes through a chimney into a chamber which 

 has an opening in the roof ; over the opening is placed a 

 flannel bag, supported by wooden rods in the form of a 

 c c 



