38L 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October, 
Hemlock or Spruce “Gum.” 
Under the incorrect name of Hemlock or 
Spruce Gum, considerable quantities of an ex¬ 
udation from the Hemlock, or Hemlock Spruce, 
{Abies Canadensis), are annually sold. We say 
incorrect name, as the article is in no sense a 
gum, but is properly a turpentine, consisting 
of resin and a small proportion of volatile oil. 
It is similar in its nature to the white turpen¬ 
tine which exudes from the southern pine, but 
having less oil, is much harder. It is also 
called Canada Pitch. The Hemlock is well 
known as one of the most beautiful of our na¬ 
tive evergreens; it is abundant along our 
northern borders, and especially so in Canada; 
its lumber, though of a coarse kind, is largely 
consumed for various purposes. The Hemlock 
while growing contains very little resinous 
juice, and the lumber is very free from it, but 
when the tree from any cause begins to decay, 
the turpentine or “ gum ” appears upon the 
surface in nodules, some of which are the size 
of a walnut or smaller, while others are as large 
as a hen’s-egg. It is a very common thing 
among young persons who live where the hem¬ 
lock abounds, to get into the habit of gum chew¬ 
ing ; the orientals use mastic for strengthening 
the gums and perfuming the breath, and it is 
possible the use of rhewing-gum originated in 
some such notion. The chewing-gum of a few 
years ago was this turpentine of the hem¬ 
lock, or spruce gum, refined, but this has 
latterly been superseded by paraffine, which is 
a white wax-like product of petroleum or coal- 
oil. The resinous product yielded by the Nor¬ 
way Spruce in its native forests, is known in 
this country as Burgundy pitch, and is much 
used for making a stimulating plaster; the 
Hemlock pitch is also used for the same pur¬ 
pose, and very closely resembles the imported 
article in its effects. In one way and another 
the article finds a sale at prices which make it 
worth while for those who live near hemlock 
forests to collect the “gum,” as it is always 
called by the country people. The artist who 
furnishes the drawing illustrating the method 
of collecting the material, sends the following 
notes: “ Early in the fall or late in summer 
after the haying is over, some of the farmers 
go “ a gumming,” as it is called ; they go to the 
woods, where they erect a log shanty, and 
proceed to collect the gum for the market. A 
long pole is provided, below the tip of which 
is fastened a circular box or receptacle, gener¬ 
ally the leg of a boot, kept in shape by a cir¬ 
cular piece of wood through which the end of 
the pole projects; on the end of the pole is 
fastened a chisel. Having a satchel slung over 
his shoulder, the collector proceeds in search of 
gum-bearing trees, and when found, uses the 
implement in the manner shown in the engrav¬ 
ing. The gum detached by the chisel falls into 
the box beneath, and from this, it is trans¬ 
ferred from time to time to the satchel or 
haversack. These receptacles are emptied into 
a large bag, and when this is full it is taken to 
the log hut. During rainy days, evenings, and 
at odd times, the gum is freed from twigs, bits 
of bark, and other impurities, and made ready 
for market. The collecting of gum is some¬ 
times very profitable; in some cases over $2,000 
having been realized by two men in a single sea¬ 
son, but such returns are exceptional. The 
season lasts until the weather becomes too 
cold to work in, when the camp is broken up.” 
The Shrubby Cinque-foil. 
The Cinque foils, or Five-fingers, as the 
species of Potentilla are called, are some of 
them quite common, while others are more 
local; some are low herbs, one looking much 
like a starved strawberry vine, while a few are- 
shrubby. The one here figured is known as 
the Shrubby Cinque-foil, Potentilla fruticosa; 
it has woody stems from two to four feet high, 
and very much branched so as to make a dense 
bush; the pinnate leaves have five to seven 
leaflets, which are oblong-lanceolate, entire and 
furnished, especially on the under side, with 
silky hairs. The flowers, which are large for 
the genus, are at the ends of the small branches,, 
are numerous, and continue to be produced all 
summer. This is a widely disseminated spe- 
