2260

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

leading to the ditch; in which is formed a receptacle for the tar as it flowsout. Upon the surface of the mound, after it has been beaten hard, andcoated with clay, the wood is laid round in a circle, like rays. The pile,when finished, may be compared to a cone truncated at two thirds of itsheight, and reversed ; being 30 ft. in diameter below, 25 ft. or 30 ft. above,and 10 ft. or 12 ft. high. It is then strewed over with pine leaves, coveredwith earth, and held together at the sides with a slight cincture of wood.

This covering is necessary, in order that the fire kindled at the top maypenetrate downwards towards the bottom, with a slow and gradual com-bustion ; for, if the whole mass were rapidly inflamed, the operation wouldfail, and the tar would be consumed instead of being distilled : in fine, thesame precautions are exacted in this process as are observed in Europe inmaking charcoal. A kiln, which is to afford 100 or 130 barrels of tar, iseight or nine days in burning. As the tar flows off into the ditch, it isemptied into casks containing 30 gallons each, which are always made ofpine wood. Pitch is tar reduced by evaporation : it should not be diminishedmore than half its bulk to be of good quality. ( Michx .)

Accidents, Diseases, 4'C. Forests of the long-leaved pine are particularlyliable to be consumed by fire, on account of the abundance of resin whichthe trees contain, and the great length of their leaves, which easily take fire,and spread it rapidly. Immense swarms of small insects, Michaux observes,insinuate themselves under the bark of this pine, penetrate into the body ofthe tree, and cause it to perish in the course of a year. This has been ■noticed also by Dwight, in his Travels in New England ; and it appears thatthis insect is not peculiar to the long-leaved pine, for extensive tracts, accord-ing both to Michaux and Dwight, are seen, both in the northern and southernstates, covered solely with dead pines. In Abbott and Smith’s Insects of i

Georgia, i. t. 42., is the figure of a moth which attacks this pine (5phimr coni- !

ferarum), of which our Jig. 2161. is a copy. “ The larva was taken feeding on \

the long-leaved pine in August, on the 27th of which month it went into theground. Another buried itself so late as the 10th of November. The mothwas produced on April 8. It is not very common ; but may be found occasion-ally, throughout the summer, in Georgia, sitting on the trunks of pines, afeeds also on the cypress, and is found in Virginia. This species is distinctfrom the European S. Pinaster.” (Sin. and Abb,)

Statistics. In the neighbourhood of London , at Muswell Hill, 10 ye.irr planted, it is 8 ft highIn Devonshire, at Luscombe, 20 years planted, it is 14ft. high. In Surrey , at Farnham Castle,years planted, it is 20 ft. high ; at Oakham Park, 9 years planted, it is 5 ft. high. In Cheshire,