TURPENTINE. 



thftt of Chio or Cyprus, that of Venice, that of Straf- 

 burg, and the common turpentine. 



The turpentine of Chio, or Cyprus, which is the fineil 

 genuine kind, and that which gives the denomination to 

 all the reft, is generally about the confidence of thick 

 honey, very tenacious, clear, and almoft tranfparent, of 

 a white colour, with a call of yellow, and frequently - of 

 blue, of a warm, pungent, bittcrifh tafte, and a fragrant 

 fmell, more agreeable than that of any of tht other tur- 

 pentines. 



This is the produce of the common terebinth, or p'ljlacta 

 terehtnthus of Linnaeus (fee Pistacia), an evergreen baccife- 

 rous tree or flirub, growing fpontaneoufly in the Eaftern coun- 

 tries, and in fome of the fouthern parts of Europe. The tur- 

 pentine brought to us is extrafted in the iflands whofe name 

 it bears, by wounding the trunk and branches a little after 

 the buds have come forth : the juice iflues thin and clear as 

 water, and by degrees thickens into the confiftence in 

 which we meet with it. A like juice, exuding from this 

 tree in the Eaft, infpiffated by a flow fire, is faid by 

 Kaempfer to be ufed as a mafticatory by the Turkifh 

 women, for preferving the teeth, fweetening the breath, 

 and promoting the appetite. 



The turpentine of Venice is ufually thinner than any of 

 the other forts, of a clear whitilh or pale yellowirti colour, 

 a hot, pungent, bitterilh, difagreeable tafte, and a ftrong 

 fmell, without the aromatic flavour of the Chian kind. The 

 true Venice turpentine is faid to be obtained from the larch- 

 tree, or pinus larix of Linnaeus (fee Pinus), growing in great 

 abundance on the Alps and Pyrenees, and not uncommon in 

 the Englifti gardens. For this purpoie, incifions are made at 

 about two or three feet from the ground into the trunk of 

 the trees, and into thefe they fix narrow troughs, about 

 twenty inches long. The end of thefe troughs is hollowed, 

 like a ladle ; and in the middle is a fmall hole bored, through 

 which the turpentine runs into a receiver placed below it. 

 The people who gather it vifit the trees morning and even- 

 ing, from the end of May to September, to colleft the tur- 

 pentine out of the receivers. When it flows out of the 

 tree, it is clear, like water, and of a yellowifh-white ; but 

 as it grows older, it thickens, and becomes of a citron co- 

 loiu-. No trees under twelve inches in diameter are tapped ; 

 but vigorous trees will yield annually feven or eight pounds 

 for forty or fifty fnccedive years, or during the term of 

 their life. Though this kind of turpentine bears the name 

 of Venice, it is not the produce of the Venetian territories : 

 it is brought from fome parts of Germany, and one greatly 

 refembling it, as it is faid, from New England. It is alfo 

 procured in great abundance in the neighbourhood of 

 Lyons, and in the valley of St. Martin, near Lucern, in 

 Switzerland. 



The turpentine flowing naturally, and called by the pea- 

 fants bijon, is a kind of balfam, not inferior in virtue to 

 that of Peru. That drawn by incifion, after the tree has 

 ceafed to yield fpontaneoufly, is alfo of confiderable ufe 

 in feveral arts, and it is even of this that vamifli is chiefly 

 made. It muft^ be chofen white and tranfparent ; and care 

 fliould be taken it have not been counterfeited with fome 

 other turpentine. 



In the ftiops, turpentine of Venice is often fupplied by 

 a compofition of rofin, and the diftiUed oil of common 

 turpentine. 



Turpentine of StraflDurg. is generally of a middle con- 

 fiftence between the two former, more tran^arent and lefs 

 tenacious than either, in colour yellowifli-brown, in fmell 

 more agreeable than any of the other turpentines, except 

 the Chian ; m tafte the moft bitter, yet leaft acrid. This 

 juiee IS extrafted, in different parts of Germany, from the 



filver and red fir, (fee PiNUS Picea,) by cutting yut I'uc- 

 ceflively narrow ftrips of the bark, from the height which a 

 man can reach, to within two feet of the ground. In fome 

 places, a refinous juice is coUefted from certain knots, under 

 the bark : this, called lacryma ab'ugna, and oleum abietinum, 

 is accounted fuperior to the turpentine. Neither this tur- 

 pentine, nor any thing under its name, is at prefent com- 

 mon in the ftiops. 



Common turpentine is about the confiftence of honey, of 

 an opaque, brownifli, white colour, the coarfeft, heavielt, 

 and in fmell and tafte the moft difagreeable, of all the kinds 

 of turpentine. V It is obtained from the wild pine, (foe 

 Pinus Sy/vejlris,) which is extremely refinous ; infomuch 

 that, if not evacuated of its juice, it often fwells and burfts. 

 The tree is at its perfeftion when between feventy and 

 eighty years old ; but is fit to yield turpentine at the age of 

 forty. Thofe trees which are moft expofed to the fun, and 

 have the thickeft bark, afford it in the greateft abundance. 

 The operations for procuring it commence in the month of 

 May : the outer bark is flripped off for fix inches, fo as to 

 expofe the inner fmooth bark, near the foot of the tree, and 

 a wound made with a (harp tool three mches fquare, and an 

 inch deep. The refinous juice foon begins to exude in tranf- 

 parent drops, which fall into a hole previoufly dug at the 

 foot of the tree : frefh incifions are fucceffively made till 

 September, when the cold begins to check the further ex- 

 udation. The warmer the weather is, the greater quantity 

 of turpentine is obtained ; and a healthy tree may thus yield 

 from fix to twelve pounds of turpentine annually, for a cen- 

 tury of years. Part of the juice concretes in the wounds, 

 and is called galipot in Provence, and barras in Guienne ; 

 but although it contains oil, yet it is not ufed for the pur- 

 pofe of procuring it. The proper turpentine is purified by 

 being expofed to the fun's rays in barrels perforated in the 

 bottom, through which it filters when liquefied by the 

 heat. 



The juice, as it iffues from the tree, is fometimes re- 

 ceived in trenches made in the earth, and afterwards freed 

 of its groffer impurities by colature through wicker baflcets. 

 The cones of tlic tree appear to contain a refinous matter, 

 of a more grateful kind than that of the trunk ; diftiUed 

 while frefli, thty are faid to yield a fine effential oil, called 

 by the Germans carpalhicum oleum, much fuperior to that 

 of the turpentines. 



The oil of turpentine is obtained by diftilling the reiki 

 with water in a common ftill, when the oil is found in the 

 receiver fwimming on the water, from which it is cafily fepa- 

 rated : the average proportion is 60 lbs. of oil from 250 lbs. 

 of good turpentine. This procefs is carried on botli abroad 

 and at home ; but the oil drawn in this country is always 

 preferred. 



The Canada turpentine (fee Balsam) is obtained from 

 a tree which is a native of North America, that flowers in 

 May, and is brought to this country in caflcs, each of 

 wliich contains about one hundred weight. It has a ftrong 

 not difagreeable odour, and a bittcrifli tafte ; it is tranf- 

 parent, whitifti, and has the confiftence of Copaiva balfam. 

 Although Linnaeus, and feveral other writers on the Ma- 

 teria Medica, refer the common tiu-pentift* to the pinus fyl- 

 veftris, and the terebinthina argentoratenfis, or Straft)urg 

 turpentine, to the filver fir-tree ; yet <ipon the authority of 

 Murray, who follows Du Hamel and Haller, Woodville 

 has afcribed the terebinthina vulgaris to the pinus picea, 

 which pours out the turpentine fo freely, that it is feldom 

 neceflary to make incifions through the bark for the 

 purpofe. 



All thefe juices diffolve totally in reftificd fpirit, but give 



out little to watery menftrua ; they become mifcible with 



y water 



