BAR 



generative sap, from wliPnce all the 

 other parts originate, is received from 

 the leaves. The bark in its intersti- 

 ces contains cells, which are filled 

 with juices of very varying qualities : 

 some, like that of the oak, remarka- 

 ble for their astringency ; others, like 

 the cinnamon, abounding with an es- 

 sential oil ; others, as the Jesuits' 

 bark, containing an alkali ; some mu- 

 cilaginous, many resinous. 



M. Saussure found in 100 parts of 

 the ashes of the barks of various trees 

 the following substances : 



Soluble suits . 

 Earthy phospliates 

 Earthy carboaates 

 Silica .... 

 Metallic oxides . 



Oak. 



7- 

 3- 

 66- 

 1-6 



2- 



Haiel. 



5-5 

 64- 

 0-25 

 1-75 



Poplar. 



5-3 

 60- 

 •»• 

 1-5 



.Mul- Horn- 

 berry. I beam. 



Tr 



4-5 



1-3 

 012 



7- 

 85 

 43- 



15-12 



1-12 



From this analysis the farmer will 

 see that the earthy and saline ingre- 

 dients of the bark of forest trees must 

 be considerable fertilizers : it is only 

 to the slowness with which refuse 

 tanner's bark undergoes putrefaction 

 that its neglect by the cultivator must 

 be attributed. It might certainly, 

 however, be mixed with farm-yard 

 compost with very considerable ad- 

 vantage ; and in its half putrefied, or 

 even fresh state, it produces on some 

 grass lands very excellent effects as a 

 top dressing ; and in instances where 

 carriage is an object, even its ashes 

 would be found, from the quantity of 

 earthy carbonates and phosphates 

 which they contain, a very valuable 

 manure. 



The different uses of barks in tan- 

 ning and dyeing are numerous and 

 important. The strength or fineness 

 of their fibres is also of consequence : 

 thus woody fibres are often so tough 

 as to form cordage, as exemplified in 

 the bark of the lime, the willow, and 

 the cocoanut; the liber of som»trees, 

 as, for example, the lime and the pa- 

 per mulberry, is manufactured into 

 mats ; and it is scarcely requisite to 

 refer to hemp and flax for spinning 

 and weaving. The bark of the oak 

 is used for affording tannic acid in the 

 manufacture of leather. The follow- 

 ing table of Davy will show the rela- 

 tive value of different kinds of bark 

 56 



BAR 



to the tanner ; it gives the quantity 

 of tannic acid afforded by 480 lbs. of 

 different barks in that chemist's ex- 

 periments : 



Average from the entire bark of lbs. 



Middle-sized oak, cut in spring . . 29 



, cut in autumn . . 21 



Elm 13 



Common willow (large) . . . .11 



Ash 16 



Beech 10 



Sycamore 11 



Lombardj- poplar 15 



nirch 8 



Blackthorn 16 



While interior cortical layers of oak bark 72 



The difference of seasons makes a 

 considerable variation in the produce 

 of tannic acid : it is the least in cold 

 springs. The tannic acid most abounds 

 when the buds are opening, and least 

 in the winter ; 4 or 5 lbs. of good oak 

 bark, of average quality, are required 

 to form 1 lb. of leather. 



Cork is the bark of a species of 

 oak^Quercus suber) which grows abun- 

 dantly in the south of Europe. 



The Quercitron bark is the produc- 

 tion of black oak {Quercus linctoria). 



BARK CLEANING. Fruit-trees 

 sometimes become infested with li- 

 chens or moss ; the rough bark offers 

 an asylum for grubs, eggs, and cater- 

 pillars, all which injure, and often 

 destroy the tree. To prevent these, 

 the bark should be scraped in the 

 spring with an old hoe or cooper's 

 knife, and afterward washed with 

 strong lye, brine, whale oil soap dis- 

 solved in water (1 lb. to 3 gallons), 

 lime-water, soft soap, &c. 



BARK-BOUND. Trees, the bark 

 of which appears stretched over the 

 wood, and which does not split off 

 kindly, are said to be bark-bound. 

 Cutting a slit through it from the 

 branches to the root relieves the 

 tree, and, when the wound is kept 

 clean from insects, does good. It 

 should be done in March or April, 

 when frosts are over. 



BARKING IRONS. Instruments 

 for removing the hprk of oak ana 

 other trees. They consist of a blade 

 or knife for cutting the bark, while 

 yet on the trunk, across at regular 

 distances, and of chisels or spatulas, 

 of different lengths and breadths. 



