CCXXIII. CONIFERS. 743 



Pines, Firs, Larches, and Cedars, which composed the genus Pinus of Linnaeus, cover a vast area of 

 the northern hemisphere ; they are gregarious on the mountains of temperate regions, and descend towards 

 the plains as they approach the pole ; in the Alps they mark the limit of arborescent vegetation (P. 

 Pumilio, Larix). Many species of Pinus, L., occur in North America, from the lofty mountains of Mexico 

 to the Frozen Ocean ; there are fewer in Europe. Asia possesses the Cedar of Lebanon [and of the Taurus], 

 and that of the Himalayas (Deodard) [and North Africa the Cedar of the Atlas]. In China and in Japan 

 are found the singular Stiadopitys and Cunninghamia, besides all our European genera. Sequoia semper- 

 virens and gigcmtea are Californian and Mexican trees which attain a height of 300 feet, and the trunk a 

 circumference of 80. As Dr. Hooker has remarked, it is the southern hemisphere which possesses the 

 largest number of genera which are not found elsewhere, or but rarely. Such are, amongst Abictinecp, the 

 genera Dammara, Eutassa, Araucaria, Arthrotaxis, Dacrydium, Podocarpus, &c., and of the other tribes 

 the genera Callitris, Actinostrolus, Pachylepis, Thuja, Phyllodadus, &c. 



Araucaria forms vast forests on the mountains of Brazil and Chili ; Dammara grows in the Moluccas 

 [Pacific Islands] and New Zealand ; Eutassa is Australian, Norfolk Island and New Caledonian ; Arthro- 

 taxis, which is remarkable for having the habit of Lycopodium, is confined to Tasmania. Dacrydium 

 belongs principally to New Zealand [but extends to the Malayan Peninsula, Tasmania, and New Cale- 

 donia]. Podocarpus is cosmopolitan, inhabiting Australia, New Zealand, tropical Asia, Africa, Chili, 

 Japan and the Antilles. 



Alrietinete, besides their elegant habit, gigantic stature, their persistent [except Larix, Pseudolarix, 

 and Glyptostrobus] and singular leaves and fruits, which give so marked a character to the landscape, 

 take the first rank amongst plants useful to man; this depends principally on the nature of their wood, 

 which is flexible, light, and so saturated with a resin as to resist humidity and avert decay. This durability 

 of Abictinea renders them useful for building purposes, both on land and water. The resins which they 

 contain are very important both in the arts and medicinally. The trunks of Pines, Firs, and Larches 

 especially either exude or yield by incision Turpentine, a semi-liquid substance, acrid and of a penetrating 

 odour, essentially composed of a fixed resin dissolved in a volatile oil, in combination with a certain 

 quantity of succinic acid. Several natural and artificial products are obtained from turpentine, which, 

 according to its consistency and the season of the year, is designated as ' en pate,' ' de barras,' ' de galipot.' 

 Exposed to the sun it is termed Yellow or White or False Venetian Turpentine. Oil of turpentine is that 

 refined by filtration. Distilled over a gentle fire, it yields the spirit of turpentine so extensively used in 

 the arts, and which, when mixed with alcohol, forms the liquid hydrogen, used for lighting. The 

 residuum of the distillation is rosin (arcanson or colophane or colophony). The galipot, triturated in water, 

 is the yellow resin of commerce. Pitch is prepared by burning in a copper the resinous refuse. Tar (poix 

 noire or brats gras) is half-liquid pitch, obtained by burning the refuse of the preceding products in a 

 covered vessel. Lampblack is the product (soot) of all the above-named materials, after being burnt in a 

 furnace leading to a chamber in which the smoke is deposited as an impalpable powder. The turpentine 

 of the Larch (Larix europaed) is most esteemed of any, and is known as Venetian Turpentine. 



The Balm of Gilead Fir (Abies balsamed), a North American tree, yields Canada Balsam, a sweet- 

 scented turpentine, administered in affections of the urethra ; in North America antisyphilitic qualities are 

 attributed to a decoction of its root. The Canadians use the cones of Pinus Banksiana as a sudorific. The 

 Silver Fir (Abies pectinatd) is one of the most useful species for ship-building, timber- work, planks and 

 furniture ; its buds, which are resinous in smell and taste, are used medicinally. The Larch yields, 

 besides turpentine, a white substance, sugary and laxative, named Manna of Briancon, and which is 

 analogous to gum arabic. From the trunk of Pinus Sabiniana, of North America, exudes under heat a 

 substance (pinite) analogous to the preceding. The Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus Libani) is one of the most 

 majestic species of the family ; the Jews looked upon its wood as incorruptible. We read in the Bible that 

 the Temple of Solomon was built of Cedar cut on Mount Lebanon, but it is probable that Larch 1 or Cypress 

 wood was used, these being much more durable and compact, and less likely to split. The Deodar (C. 

 Deodard), a species as beautiful as that of Lebanon, inhabits the Eastern Himalayas and Afghanistan ; it 

 is considered sacred by the Hindoos, and yields an oil efficacious in certain cutaneous disorders. The 



1 Larch is found nowhere in Syria or Asia Minor. closely-grained in its native forests, though soft and 

 The wood of the Lebanop Cedar is very hard and loose in cultivation. Ep. 



