ON  BURGUNDY  PITCH. 
547 
jourdhui :  car  la  meillure  poix  grasse  vient  de  Holland  et  de 
Strasbourg,  d'ou  nous  la  faisons  venir." 
Knowing  these  facts,  and  having  failed  to  gather  any  precise 
information  from  pharmacological  writers  as  to  the  districts 
where  the  resin  of  the  spruce  fir  is  an  object  of  industry,  it  was 
with  some  interest  that  I  examined  the  various  collections  of 
forest  products  in  the  French  Exhibition.  Nor  was  I  disap- 
pointed, for,  among  the  contributions  from  Finland,  I  discovered 
a  suite  of  specimens  illustrating  this  very  subject.  Baron  Un- 
der, of  Svarta,  near  Helsingfors,  is  the  exhibitor  of  the  resin  of 
the  spruce  fir  in  two  forms,  namely : — 
1.  The  crude  resin  as  exuded  from  the  trunk  of  the  tree,  and 
described  in  the  following  words  : — "  Barras  ou  gomme  concrete, 
adhe'rente  aux  sapins  (Pinus  Abies).  Produit  brut  servant  a  la 
fabrication  de  resine,  etc.,  etc.    Prix  12  francs  les  100  kilogr.1' 
2.  The  resin  purified  by  melting  in  contact  with  the  vapor  of 
water  and  straining.  It  is  thus  described  on  the  label  attached 
to  the  specimen  : — "  Resine  jaune  cuite  (a  vapeur  d'eau  a  cha- 
leur  moderee)  de  barras  de  sapin  {Pinus  abies).  Prix  40  francs 
les  100  kilogr.:  production  annuelle  85,000  kilogr.5' 
Of  these  two  resins,  the  first  is  not  found  in  English  commerce  ; 
the  second  constitutes  genuine  Burgundy  pitch,  precisely  such 
as  may  be  bought  in  the  London  market.  The  quantity  of  this 
purified  resin  produced  annually,  it  will  be  observed,  is  very  con- 
siderable, being  equivalent  to  77,000  lbs,,  or  more  than  84  tons 
weight.  Baron  Linder  is  likewise  an  exhibitor  of  the  crude  resin 
of  Pinus  st/lvestris,  of  the  same  in  a  purified  state,  of  oil  of  tur- 
pentine, Iceland  moss,  and  a  few  other  productions  of  Finland. 
The  Paris  Exhibition  shows  that  true  Burgundy  pitch  is  also 
produced  in  Germany.  Mr.  J.  G.  Miiller,  of  Locherberg,  near 
Oberkirch,  in  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden,  has  taken  the  trouble 
to  exhibit  an  instructive  and  complete  series  of  large  specimens 
in  illustration  of  the  products  of  the  spruce  fir,  comprising : — ■ 
1.  Portion  of  a  stem  of  Abies  excelsa,  about  four  feet  long, 
treated  for  the  production  of  resin.  This  stem  has  had  cut  in  it, 
longitudinally,  at  equal  distances,  four  even  and  regular  chan- 
nels, an  inch  and  a  half  wide,  and  of  the  same  depth ;  from  the 
