136 
THE  GUMS  AND  RESINS  OF  COMMERCE. 
to  about  5000  laborers  in  making  it,  and  perhaps  three  times  as 
many  more  human  beings  are  supported  mainly  from  the  proceeds 
of  its  first  sale.  There  are  about  200  stills  in  operation  there. 
The  income  of  North  Carolina  from  her  pineries  alone  must 
reach  half-a-million  sterling. 
The  multifarious  uses  of  the  pine  tree  seem  to  augment  with 
the  development  of  the  inventive  talent  and  ingenuity  of  the 
age.  Manufacturers  already  extensively  use  it  in  various  pro- 
cesses. The  painter  draws  deeply  upon  the  turpentine  to  paint 
the  four  million  of  dwelling  houses  in  Great  Britain,  and  the 
same  number  in  the  United  States,  besides  the  carriages  and 
other  vehicles.  That  great  lever  of  public  opinion,  the  press, 
could  not  put  forth  a  printed  page  without  it.  Turpentine  to 
the  value  of  .£50,000  or  £60,000  is  annually  consumed  in  Ame- 
rica by  the  India  rubber  manufacturers.  The  new  process  of 
lighting  up  houses  and  whole  cities  with  rosin-gas  in  America  is 
consuming  every  barrel  made,  and  has  greatly  raised  it  price 
there.  The  soap-maker,  too,  has  long  used  it,  and  could  not 
now  dispense  with  it. 
A  liquid  resinous  exudation  known  as  Chian  or  Cyprus  tur- 
pentine is  obtained  from  Syria  and  the  Greek  Archipelago  from 
Pistaeia  terebintlius.  The  trunks  of  the  largest  trees  are  cut 
across  with  a  hatchet,  and  the  turpentine  runs  down  on  flat  stones 
placed  for  the  purpose,  where  it  hardens.  The  quantity  obtained 
from  each  tree  is  only  about  eight  or  ten  ounces. 
The  coniferous  trees  of  Europe  and  America  furnish  the  tur- 
pentine, tar,  and  pitch  of  commerce,  especially  in  Europe,  Pinus 
sylvestris,  and  P.  pinaster. 
The  swamp  or  long-leaved  pine  supplies  the  chief  portion  of 
the  turpentine,  tar,  &c,  consumed  in  or  exported  from  the  United 
States.  P.  toeda,  abundant  in  Virginia,  yields  common  tur- 
pentine, but  of  a  less  fluid  quality  than  that  which  flows  from 
the  preceding  species. 
The  resins  are  chiefly  used  in  making  varnishes  and  lacquers, 
for  several  purposes  in  dyeing,  for  sealing  wax,  and  for  orna- 
mental house  papering. 
Varnishes  may  be  divided  into  three  classes,  spirit  varnishes, 
volatile  oil  varnishes,  and  fixed  oil  varnishes.    The  first  class 
