"A DISCOURSE

3 ' 18

-book i. well done in furnaces of large capacity, were it worth 'the expence.

When the tar is now all melted out and run, they stop up all the vents■very close, and afterwards find the knots made into excellent charcoal,preferred by the smiths before any other whatsoever which is made ofwood, and nothing so apt to burn out when their blast ceaseth ; neitherdo -they sparkle in the fire as many other sorts of coal do ; so as, in defectof sea coal, they make choice of this as best for their use, and give-greater prices for it. Of these knots likewise do the planters split out-small slivers about the thicknefs .of one’s finger, or somewhat thinner,•which serve them to burn, instead of candles, giving a very good light.This they call candle-wood, and it is in much use in New-England andVirginia, and amongst the Dutch planters in their villages ; but for that•it is something offensive, by reason of the much fuliginous smoak which•comes from it, they commonly burn it in the chimney corner, upon a flat•stone or iron, except, occasionally, they carry a single stick in, their hand-as there is need of light to.go about the house. It must not be conceived,by what we have mentioned in the former description of the knots, thatthey are only to be separated from the bodies of. the trees by devouringtime, or that they are the only materials out of which tar .can be ex-tracted ; for there are in these tracts millions of trees which abound with.the same sort of knots, and full of turpentine fit to make tar : But thelabour of felling these trees, and of cutting out their knots, would far.exceed the value of the tar, especially in countries where workmen are sovery dear : But those knots above-mentioned, are provided to hand, with-out any other labour than ,the gathering only. There are sometimesfound of those sort of Pine-trees, the lowest part of whose stems towardsthe root is as full of turpentine as the knots; and of .these also may tarbe made. But such trees being rarely found, are commonly preserved tosplit into candle-wood, because they will be easily riven out into anylengths and seantings desired, much better than the knots. There be,who pretend an art of fully impregnating the body of any living Pine-tree, for six or eight feet high ; and some have reported that such an .artis practised in Norway . But, upon several experiments, by girdling thetree, as they call it, and cutting some off the bark round, and a little intothe wood of the tree, six or eight feet distant from the ground, it hasnever yet succeeded. Whether the just season of the year was not ob-served, or what else omitted, were worth the disquisition, if at least there.be any .such secret amongst the Norwegians, Swedes, or any other nation.