556 PINACE^. 



Gigantic in size, rapid in growth, noble in aspect, robust in constitution, 

 these trees form a considerable proportion of every wood or plantation in 

 cultivated countries, and of every forest where nature remains in savage 

 state. Their timber, in commerce, is known under the names of Deal, 

 Fir, Pine, and Cedar, and is principally the wood of the Spruce, the Larch, 

 the Scotch Fir, the Weymouth Pine, and the Virginian Cedar ; but others 

 are of at least equal, if not greater value : the Norfolk Island Pine is an 

 immense tree, known to botanists as Araucaria excelsa ; the Kawrie tree 

 of New Zealand, or Dammara australis, attains the height of 200 feet, and 

 yields a light compact wood, free from knots. {Ed. Ph. Journ. 13. 378.) 

 But they are both surpassed by the stupendous Pines of N. W. America, 

 one of which, P. Lambertiana, is reported to attain the height of 230 feet, 

 and the other, Abies Douglassii, to equal, or even to exceed it. The latter 

 is probably the most valuable of the whole for its timber." (Lindl.) " The 

 terebinthinate secretion, for which the order is chiefly noted, abounds in 

 the bark, but is also found in the wood and in the cones. Turpentine, con- 

 taining a resina and an essential oil, is known under different names, such 

 as Common, Venice, Strasburg, American, &c., but might also be had in 

 any quantity from the Himalayan Pine forests. Pitch and tar have both 

 been made from Himalayan pines, but remain still unnoticed by the com- 

 mercial world. As the seeds of several exotic pines are eaten in the coun- 

 tries where they are indigenous, so, in the Himalayas, the seed of one spe- 

 cies, Pinus Gerardiana, forms one of the principal articles of subsistence in 

 Kunawur, as well as of considerable trade from the hills to the plains." 

 {Roi/le. ill. p. 351-53.) 



A. PiNEvE, (Abietinse, Rich.) 

 Pinus, L. {Spreng. syst. 3, p. 763, No. 3H3;—Endl. gen. pi. 1. p. 260.) 

 Pine. 

 1. longifolia. Lamb. {Pin. t. 21. 8vo. ; — Spreng. syst. 3, p. 887 ; — Roxb. 

 fl. ind. 3, p. 651 ;—Royle ill. t. 85, /. 1.) L. b Entrance to Nepal, 

 in the Kheree Pass, along the Tonse and Jumna Rivers, and at 

 elevations of 5-6000 feet within the Himalayas. Fl. C. S. In the 

 Upper Provinces, called Cheer or Surul. Being found at the lowest 

 elevations, and therefore most accessible from the plains, it is often 

 employed as a substitute for English deal. The wood is light, and 

 being full of resinous matter, like that of the Deodar, both are fre- 

 quently employed in the hills for making torches, as pieces of other 

 species often are in other parts of the world. The Cheer exudes, or 

 yields to incisions, a very fine turpentine. This is chiefly valued by the 

 natives for its resin, and as the latter is only obtained by exposing the 

 turpentine to heat, the oil, the more valuable product, is dissipated to 

 procure the resin ; but by adopting a very simple still, the resin was 

 obtained as good as ever for the purposes of the natives, while the oil of 

 turpentine, which distilled over, was pronounced, on being sent to the 

 General Hospital of Calcutta, " to be of very superior quality." {Royle.) 



