VARNISH TREE. 
96 
and cream. As to its operation, within a few hours 
after the person is poisoned he feels an itching pain 
that provokes scratching, which is followed by an 
inflammation and swelling; sometimes a man’s legs 
only have been poisoned, and have run with water. 
My neighbour, that was so sadly poisoned with 
handling it, told me one thing very remarkable ; 
and that is, that, when he touched it, he plainly 
perceived it to differ from the other wood that he 
was throwing into his cart, by its being as cold as a 
piece of ice ; and withal assured me, that he could 
distinguish it blindfold, from any other wood in the 
world, by its coldness; but the poor man is as much 
afraid of it when he goes into the woods as of a rat- 
tle snake. He further tells me, that he felt an itch- 
ing in a few hours after he had handled the wood, 
but the swelling did not come on till about three 
days after.” 
It is from this tree that the Japanese obtain a kind 
of varnish with which they blacken their different 
utensils. In order to collect the varnish, they make 
a number of incisions in the tree, from whence 
there flows a white and viscous liquor, which they 
receive into wooden vessels, and which blackens 
upon being exposed to the air. This they preserve 
in jars covered with oiled skin. 
But the Japan varnish is very inferior to what 
the Chinese obtain from a tree known in the coun- 
try by the name of Tsi-chu. As this is possessed 
of similar properties with the preceding, it will 
not be improper to describe it under the same head. 
