— 116 — , 



the period from 1911 to 1914, 39370 trees have been marked down for 

 "gemmage a mort", of which 12102 are in the district of Sidi-ben-Abbes 

 and 27268 in that of Telagh. Within the same period 67584 trees in the 

 district of Telagh will be allowed to be treated by the less destructive 

 "gemmage a vie" process. 



The stock of trees belonging to the above species of Pinus growing 

 in the French Department of the Herault has lately begun to attract 

 interest 1 ). A trader from Montpellier has shown that the prejudice against 

 the turpentine from this tree is unfounded, and between February and 

 November 1910 from 21000 to 24000 kilograms turpentine has been 

 collected from 4000 trees of this species. The financial advantages of this 

 experiment should induce the proprietors of the vast fallow lands in the 

 South and South West of France to go in for afforestation. 



The high price of turpentine oil has induced the Government of India 

 to revert to the question of the industrial exploitation of the native Pinus 

 longifolia, a tree yielding a turpentine which is rich in oil 2 ). But to judge 

 from an article on the subject now before us 3 ), it would appear that the 

 authorities in question are unfamiliar with, or have forgotten, a number 

 of technical details. For instance, it is reported that several experimental 

 plots have been started in Kangra and elsewhere, in order to learn some- 

 thing as to the potentialities of the industry, the best methods and times 

 of tapping, the exact yield of given trees and the effect of repeated 

 tapping on the life of the trees. The oil now produced in India, 

 50000 gallons a year, (which is said to be little in view of the abundance 

 of raw material available,) is consumed locally. The commercial side of 

 the undertaking likewise does not appear to be working smoothly at 

 present, for in spite of all efforts on the part of the Administration of 

 Forests, it has been impossible to obtain a market quotation, probably 

 because the officials were not sufficiently familiar with the methods of 

 conducting the trade. It is recommended that in order to promote the 

 Indian turpentine industry its products should be marketed by some 

 commercial house already familiar with the trade. 



The reason for the difficulties in the way of the sale of oil of Finns 

 longifolia may perhaps be due to the fact that, as ascertained by us, its 

 composition differs altogether from that of ordinary oil of turpentine, the 

 oil being especially remarkable for its high silvestrene-content. For this 

 reason it lacks the valuable oxygen-absorbing and drying qualities of the 

 other turpentine oils, which consist almost entirely of pinene. The oil of 

 Pinus longifolia, in fact, possesses some resemblance to pine tar oil. 



*) Bull, pharm. Sud-Est. (1910), No. 15, p. 435. Quoted from Apotheker Ztg. 26 (1911) 137. 



2 ) Comp. Report April 1905, 78; October 1905, 68; April 1906, 64; April 1907, 97; 

 April 1908, 102; October 1909, 118. 



3 ) Chemist and Druggist 77 (1910), 625; 



