2126 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART 111. 



which the following is abridged : "The juice of pine and fir trees, like that 

 of the Pistacia Terebinthus, has an austere astringent taste; it is viscid and 

 transparent, readily inflammable, and easily becomes concrete. In distillation 

 with water, it yields a highly penetrating essential oil; and the liquor is found 

 to be impregnated with an acid, a brittle resinous matter remaining behind. 

 Digestion with rectified spirit of wine completely dissolves all the resinous 

 part, along with which some portion of the insipid gum, or mucilage, is also 

 taken up. If this solution be filtered, and diluted largely with water, it be- 

 comes turbid, and throws off the greatest part of the oil, the gummy substance 

 being retained. If the solution be subjected to distillation, the spirit brings 

 over with it some of the lighter oil, so as to be sensibly impregnated with its 

 terebinthinate odour ; and it leaves behind an extract differing from the rosin 

 separated by water, in having an admixture of mucilage. The native juice 

 becomes miscible in water by the mediation of the yolk or the white of an 

 egg, or by that of vegetable mucilage, and forms a milky liquor. Exposed to 

 the immediate action of fire, the roots, and other hard parts of the tree, pro- 

 duce a thick, black, empyreumatic fluid, which, containing a proportion of 

 saline and other matter mixed with the resinous and the oily, proves soluble 

 in aqueous liquors, and, according to its several modifications, constitutes 

 the varieties of tar and pitch. The resinous residue of the several processes to 

 which the matter extracted from pines may be subjected constitutes the varie- 

 ties of resin, or rosin, colophony, &c. There are also other products, both 

 natural and artificial, much employed in medicine and the arts." (vol. ii. 

 p. 148.) 



Medicinal Virtues. " Terebinthine substances, when taken internally, 

 seem to warm the viscera, raise the pulse, and impart additional excitement 

 to the whole vascular system. Applied externally, they increase the tone of 

 the part, counteract the indolence of action, and deterge, as it were, ill-condi- 

 tioned ulcers." (Ib.) They also act as gentle aperients, and as diuretics ; and 

 they possess a styptic property. Formerly, they used to be considered as highly 

 efficacious in pulmonary complaints ; and, only a few years since, a gentle- 

 man afflicted with asthma is said to have received immediate relief by inhal- 

 ing the fumes of melted rosin, which he was employing to secure the corks 

 of bottles. The virtues of tar-water were celebrated for curing various dis- 

 eases, about a century ago ; and Dr. Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne, wrote a long 

 dissertation on the subject, under the title of Siris ; or a Chain of Philosophical 

 Reflections and Enquiries concerning the Virtues of Tar -Water. Cullen,and other 

 medical writers, appear to have believed in its efficacy, and it was thought to 

 strengthen the tone of the stomach, to excite appetite, and to promote digestion. 

 It was made by pouring a gallon of cold water on a quart of tar, stirring it 

 well together, and then letting it stand for 48 hours, after which the tar-water 

 was strained off for use. 



Domestic and Economical Uses of the resinous Products of the Pine and Fir 

 Tribe. The ancients were accustomed to medicate some of their wines with 

 the resinous substances of the pine tree, the astringent flavour of which was 

 also agreeable to their palates. These wines were supposed to assist diges- 

 tion, restrain ulcerous discharges, and strengthen the bowels ; but Dios- 

 corides informs us that they were known to produce vertigo, pain in the 

 head, and many mischiefs not incident to the same quantity of vinous liquor 

 free from such admixtures. In modern times, tar and pitch are extensively 

 used for the purpose of retarding the decomposition of wood, cordage, and 

 other articles, more especially in marine affairs. Tar alone, or mixed with 

 grease, or, as in some parts of the Continent, with clay, is much used for 

 greasing wheels and machinery. Tar is also applied to wounds in horses and 

 cattle, and as a remedy for sheep having the scab. Yellow rosin is employed 

 in the manufacture of common yellow soap, in the proportion of 3 cwt. of ro- 

 sin to 10 cwt. of tallow, both in Europe and America. Shoemaker's wax is a 

 composition of pitch, oil, and suet ; but it is also made of rosin, bees' wax, and 

 tallow, as is the grafting wax used in gardening, sometimes with the addition 



