CHAP. CXIII. CONl'FERiE. LA'RIX. 2365 



it ; and on the following lines in Ovid, which seem to allude to some resin- 

 ous tree, — 



*• The new made trees in tears of amber run, 

 Which harden into value by the sun." 



Lucan tells us that the "gummy larch" was one of the articles burnt to drive 

 away serpents. Among the British poets, Ben Jonson mentions the larch. 

 A witch says, — 



" Yes, I have brought to help your vows 

 Horned poppy, cypress boughs, 

 The fig tree wild that grows on tombs, 

 And juice that from the larch tree comes." Masque of Queens. 



Properties and Uses. The wood of the larch, according to Hartig, weighs 

 681b. 13 oz. per cubic foot when green, and 36 lb. 6 oz. when dry; and 

 according to Kasthoffer, it lasts four times longer than that of any other 

 species of Abietmae. That of trees produced in a good soil is of a yellowish 

 white; but that of trees grown in a cold and elevated situation is reddish or 

 brown, and very hard. In a suitable situation, the timber is said to come to 

 perfection in 40 years, while that of the pinaster requires 60 years, and that 

 of the Scotch pine 80 years. (Trans. Soe. Art., vol. xxix. p. 25.) Though 

 the wood of the larch ignites with difficulty, and a fire made of it will, if not 

 attended to, extinguish itself before the wood is half-consumed, yet, if properly 

 managed, the wood of old trees is capable of producing an intense heat ; and 

 M. Hartig ranks it, in comparison with that of the beech, as 1248 to 1540. 

 The charcoal of the larch, according to M. De Werneck, is more rich in 

 carbon than that of either the spruce or the silver fir, but less so than the 

 pine or the beech; being as 6409 to 7299 for the pine, and 6409 to 7871 for 

 the beech. The charcoal of the larch is very heavy, and weighs 16^ lb. 

 (7i kilogrammes) per cubic foot : it is said to be excellent for iron fbunderies. 

 The bark of young larches is astringent, and it is used in the Alps for tanning 

 leather ; where the leaves and young shoots are sometimes given to cattle. 

 The only objections which have been made to the wood of this tree in Britain 

 are, according to Monteath, its being so remarkably hard to season, that it is 

 almost impossible to keep it from bending and twisting ; and that, when it is 

 properly seasoned, it is so very hard, that it is difficult to work, and more 

 especially to be smoothed on the surface with the plane. To remedy the evil 

 of twisting, some adopt the method of steeping it (whilst in the log) in water 

 for twelve months, and then taking it out, and drying it for twelve months 

 more, before cutting it up. Steaming has also been resorted to for the same 

 purpose ; but Monteath prefers a practice which has been often recommended, 

 though but little employed, viz. that of barking the tree standing, and then 

 leaving it a year before it is cut down. 



The Uses of the Wood of the Larch in France and Switzerland. According 

 to Varennes de Fenille, the disposition of the fibres of the wood resembles 

 that of the silver fir ; and each annual layer consists of a zone of very hard 

 wood of dark orange, and a zone of softer wood which is of a pale orange 

 or yellow. The President de la Tour d'Aigues, who has written copiously 

 on the uses of the larch, says: " The wood is not filled with knots, like that 

 of the spruce fir : it is excellent for carpentry ; beams made of it are very 

 strong, and not subject to rot ; it may be employed safely in damp places, as, 

 for instance, in cellars ; and it will remain sound and uninjured, even when 

 resting on the earth." According to Rozier: " Every one who knows the 

 larch agrees that it is the best of all the different kinds of wood, whether for 

 the carpenter or the cabinet-maker. Its strength is at least equal to that of 

 the oak. The Germans make casks of it, which may be said to last for ever, 

 and from which the spirituous particles of the wine are hardly ever found to 

 have evaporated. In Upper Dauphine, Savoy, and the Pays de Vaud, houses 

 are built of it, by placing squared trunks, of the thickness of 1 ft., one upon 

 another, in the manner of building log-houses. (See p. 2123.) The heat of the 



