ON THE TURPENTINES. 129 
the larch and reciprocally, — and since the greatest number, I 
believe, at least, are not acquainted with the Burgundy pitch, 
which is a production of our own country, it was necessary to 
procure specimens from the trees themselves. What I did 
with respect to the resin of the larch, I also was desirous of ac- 
complishing with respect to the firs ; and having found in the 
Commercial Calendar that the commune of Gerardmer, in the 
department of Vosges, produced a good deal of white pitch, I 
wrote to M. Choulette, a pharmacien, without personal know- 
ledge of him, but persuaded that I should not appeal in vain 
to the spirit of fraternity and the love of science which ani- 
mates French pharmaciens. M. Choulette, a well informed 
botanist besides, had left Gerardmer for Strasbourg, but hav- 
ing kept up his relations in the country, immediately com- 
plied with my desire, and on the 6th of September, 1838, sent 
me specimens of the resinous products of the Vosges, — con- 
sisting of the turpententine of the A. taxifolia, the rough and 
the purified pitch of the A. excelsa, and the black pitch of the 
wild pine, accompanied with branches and fruit of the trees 
from which these products had been obtained, and the informa- 
tion which follows : — 
" The forests of Vosges," says M. Choulette, "are filled 
with the Mies taxifolia ; this species is the most numerous. 
The A. excelsa is also frequently met with. The first, in 
patois, is called sep, the second fie. There also exist different 
species of pines, but arising from artificial dissemination. 
The propagation of the first is accomplished sometimes artifi- 
cially, but it is infinitely better when it is accomplished natu- 
rally. A north exposure appears to be the most favorable. 
" The turpentine is collected upon the common fir. The 
larch, which is also met with frequently in the Vosges, equal- 
ly furnishes it. But the administration does not permit its 
collection either upon one or the other, at least by means 
of gashes made in the trunk, because this operation is injuri- 
ous to the subject of it, and may cause it to perish. In fact, 
the turpentine may be extracted from the fir by merely rup- 
turing the vesicles of the bark ; but this is so little practised in 
VOL. VI. — no. ii. 17 
