THE SUB- ARCTIC ZONE. 173 



sisting chiefly of pines. From these countries 

 we derive our best deal timber ; red (or yellow) 

 deal, which is most valued, being the produce 

 of the Scotch fir, (Pinus sylvestris ;) the white 

 deal comes from the spruce fir, (Pinus dbies.} 

 When the markets of the Baltic were closed 

 during the war, an enterprising individual con- 

 ceived the daring idea of turning the immense 

 forests of pines on the mountains of Switzer- 

 land to the purposes of commerce. This he 

 actually effected by contriving an immense 

 trough, formed of 25,000 pine trees, six feet 

 broad, and from three to six feet deep, and 

 44,000 English feet in length. Along this, 

 constantly kept moist, the pines descended 

 from the mountains into the lake of Lucerne, a 

 distance of between eight and nine miles. 



The larger pines, which were about one 

 hundred feet long, ran through the space in 

 about six minutes. The markets of the 

 Baltic having been once more opened by the 

 peace, the speculation was abandoned as 

 unprofitable. Turpentine and tar are also 

 two important products of the fir tribe. The 

 former is the thick, glutinous sap, which is 

 abundantly poured out when the trees are 

 pierced near the ground. When distilled, 

 spirits of turpentine come over, while the 

 solid residuum is resin. 392,942 cwts. of 

 turpentine were imported in 1848. Tar is 

 procured by heating billets of the wood in a 

 kind of rude oven ; the tar oozes out, and is 

 collected in a reservoir below. The ancient 

 15* 



