THE TECHNOLOGIST. [March 1, 1865. 



372 THE SUPPLY OF 



Weymouth pine are of the first-class ; the Scotch fir, the larch, and the 

 maritime pine are of the second. 



Colophony, or common rosin, is the residue of the distillation of 

 turpentine. The oil or essence of turpentine passes over, and the 

 residue is a soft yellow substance, which hardens by exposure to air, 

 and is known as white or yellow resin. When melted it loses water, 

 and concretes on cooling into black or common resin. 



M. Anguste Mathieu, Inspector of Forests, in his description of the 

 trees that grow spontaneously in France, points out the following as 

 more or less utilized for obtaining resin and turpentine : — 



Pinus abies, Linn. ; Picea excelsa, Link. — To obtain the resinous sap 

 of this tree, long incisions are made through the entire depth of the 

 bark. This operation, although very productive, is very weakening to 

 the tree, necessarily dwarfing the dimensions to which it would attain. 

 From this product is made spirits of turpentine, rosin, Burgundy pitch, 

 and lampblack. 



Pinus larix, Linn. ; Larix Europcea, D. C. — This tree furnishes the 

 "Venice turpentine, from which is obtained spirits of turpentine and 

 other products. The tree is tapped with an auger of about three centi- 

 metres in diameter ; several incisions are made, inclining downwards, 

 in the direction of the heart of the tree, but not penetrating beyond 

 the sapwood. In these orifices, gutters or channels of wood or bark 

 are placed, conducting the sap to a bucket. 



Pinus picea, Linn ; Abies pectinata, D. C. — This tree is occasionally 

 tapped for its resinous sap. The operation consists simply in piercing 

 with a metal tool the resinous blisters that form on the bark, in order 

 to collect the drops of turpentine which exude. This practice, which is 

 attended with but small results, is, however, being more and more aban- 

 doned. 



Pinus Cembra, Linn., yields a considerable quantity of turpentine of 

 an agreeable odour. 



Pinus sylvestris, Linn. — This tree is not generally tapped for turpen- 

 tine. The resin sometimes accumulates in very great abundance in 

 certain parts of the trunk and impregnates completely the wood, which 

 is hard and almost translucid like horn. The wood is cut up and made 

 into small bundles and sold in the markets under the name of fat wood, 

 for lighting fires. The cones, after extracting the seed are also sought 

 after for the same purpose. Eesinous products aie obtained* from the 

 stumps, where the resin is more abundant than in the stem. This is 

 obtained by burning in close vessels in ovens of masonry of a special 

 construction. The resin is liquified and mixed with the empyreumatic 

 products of distillation, and flows over the surface of the furnace, being 

 carried by a special channel to vessels placed on the exterior to receive 

 it. The dark and viscous deposit is known as tar. 



This operation is performed in fine weather, and the boring the 

 trunk is by preference done near mid-day. A tree of fifty or sixty years 



