V 



r9 



BRANCHES. 



(RamusciiU ahiegni). 



ThE #«..« of the Norway Spruce are supposed to effect a salubrious impregnation and coolness of the 

 an- on wh,ch account, it is usual in Sweden, to cut the branches into pieces of about half a finger's length 

 a..d strew them on the floors of apartn.ents tenanted by invahds/ Jonston in his BendrograpUa, speakt of 

 the wholesomeness of walking in groves of Pines; and Linnaeus informs us that the Laplanders apply the 

 young shoots to the head, for the removal of pains in that part.' . 



THE WHITE SPRUCE FIR 



SPRUCE BEER. 



(Decoctam Ahietis compositim,) 



Tins drink seems to be tlie best of any that is made from parts of firs or pines, being not only most a"Tee- 

 able to the palate, but also most answerable to the indications of cure in those complaints for which decoctions 

 and infusions of cones, tops, leaves, &:c. of various species, have been prescribed. The Decoctiim Tiiriomim 

 Pini, the Essentia Ahietis (of the Augustan college) and otlier forms prescribed for the prevention and removal 

 of scurvy, will probably soon give way entirely to the American Spruce beer, the mode of preparing which 

 we shall extract from the valuable French writer, of whose ivork we have availed ourselves so much already/ ' 



To make a cask of Spruce beer, there ought to be a boiler large enough to hold one-fourth more. This 

 is to be filled with water, and as soon as the latter begins to boil, a bundle of Spruce branches broken into 

 pieces is to be thrown into the boilerj the bundle should be about twenty-one inches round, at the place of 

 ligature. The water is to be kept boiling until the rind becomes easily detachable from the branches, and 

 whilst this process is going on, a bushel of oats are to be roasted several times over in a large iron pan, and 

 fifteen sea-biscuits, or, instead of these, twelve or fifteen pounds of bread cut into slices, should be well 

 browned, to be mixed altogether with the liquor in the boiler. The branches of Spruce are then to be taken 

 out, and the fire extinguished. The oats and bread fall to the bottom. The leaves, &c. floating on the surface - 

 of the liquor being skimmed off, six pints of molasses, or coarse syrup of sugar, or, in default of these, twelve 

 or fifteen pounds of brown sugar are to be added. This mixture should be immediately turned into a fresh 

 port-wine cask, and, if it be intended to give a colour to the beer, the dregs, and from ?iYe to six pints of 

 the wine, may be left in the cask. Whilst the liquor remains tepid, half a pint of yeast must be added, 

 and briskly stirred about, in order to incorporate it well with the decoction, after which the cask is to be 

 filled up to the bung-hole, and the latter left open. The liquor will ferment and throw off a good deal 

 of excrementrtious matter; in proportion to the quantity that works out, the cask is to be replenished with 



f the same decoction kept apart for the purpose. If the bung-hole be stopped at the end of twenty-- 

 four hours the spruce remains sharp like cyder; but if it be intended to drink it softer, the bung must not- 

 be put in until the fermentation is over, taking care to replenish the cask twice a day. 



The writing's of physicians and voyagers abound Avith testimonies of the antiscorbutic virtues of Spruce- 

 beer the reputation of which seems now to be so general and so well founded that it is wholly unnecessary 

 to dwell on this subject. The beverage has not only its wholesomeness, but becomes pleasant to the palates 

 of most persons who have habituated themselves to its use. From its refreshing and strengthening quali-. 

 ties it is very generally had recourse to as a common drink during the heats of summer, and is considered 



" Murray, Vol. I. p. 29- ' F^<^^^^ ^^^PP- (Smith's Edit.) p. 287- 



1^ j^lgQ j.]jg description given by Kalm, in the Trans, of the Acad, of Sc. of Stockholm for 1751, p. igo. This traveller's 



_^ . . -, p .,Ki;«lipd -1 mode of makin"- this sort of drink from the Scotch Fir, which, as well as many other species of Finus, 



countryman, Dr. Arvm l^axe, puunsut-u o a r ^ -r. ^ i i ■ . i . ■ • i i <.•. * i c 



, , . , .^ ^r^.^vev where the Spruce firs are not to be found. Duhamcl thmks that jumper may be substituted for spruce. 



may, no uouutj be maue to du»wi,i tm'-iv. i 



■ ■- . 2 S 



some o 



