CflAP. VII.
729
the same conical shape, arc let into this cavity ; the whole is then covered with turf toprevent the volatile parts from being dissipated, which by means of a heavy wooden mallet,and a wooden stamper worked by two men, is beaten down and rendered as firm as possibleabove the wood; the stack of billets is then kindled, and a slow combustion of the pinetakes place as in making charcoal: during this combustion the tar exudes, and a cast-ironpan being fixed at the bottom of the funnel, with a spout which projects through the sideof the bank, barrels are placed beneath the spout to collect the fluid as it comes away ; asfast as these barrels are filled they are bunged, and are then ready for immediate exportation.The turpentine melted by fire mixes with the sap and juices of the pine, while the wooditself becoming charred is converted into charcoal.
Pitch is made by putting the tar without any addition into large copper vessels fixed inmasonry to prevent any danger from it taking fire, and is there suffered to boil for sometime, after which it is let out, and when cold hardens and becomes pitch. Tar and char-coal are obtained in Russia , much in the same manner as in Sweden , from the bottomsof the trunks and roots of trees: in Germany the process is conducted with very greataccuracy.
Resin. — The resinous matter which exudes from the pinaster is called by several namesin Prance, even in its raw state: that which encrusts on the sides of the wound is calledbarras; it is nearly as white as wax, and is used for mixing with that substance for makingtapers, to which it gives suppleness and elasticity : the barras is collected only once inthe year at the end of the season, and is scraped off' with an iron rake : the principalsubstance which flows from the tree is called galipot, or resine, molle; this having beencollected in the hollow cut of the tree, or in the trough attached to it, is put into largepits or reservoirs capable of containing 150 or 200 barrels each, which pits are dug in theearth, and lined with planks made of the pine trees, fitted so close together its to preventthe liquid oozing through : it is afterwards melted in large copper caldrons set in brick-work to free it from the impurities mixed with it, with a proper chimney to convey awaythe smoke, as should it be suffered to come in contact with the resin, the whole wouldprobably take fire; it is also necessary to keep continually stirring the caldron to preventthe resin from burning to the bottom.
When the matter is to be made into brown resin, some of the barras is to be mixedwith it, and when it is thought to be sufficiently boiled a little is poured upon a piece ofwood; when it becomes cold, if it will crumble between the fingers, the resin is ready.It is then poured through a filter made of straw laid horizontally, 4 or 5 inches thick, andrun into barrels, where it is left to harden : in this state it is brown and brittle, andcalled by the French crai sec, which is the brown resin of the shops.
Ydlow Resin. — When the resinous matter is boiling a quantity of cold water is added,a few drops at a time; this makes the resin swell, and a trough having been previouslyfixed to one side of the caldron, the matter flows through it to a vessel placed to receive it;from this the operator raises it by a ladleful at a time and puts it back into the caldron,repeating the operation several times, till the resin has become yellow and as clear aswax ; it is then filtered through straw into moulds hollowed in the sand, where it isformed into cakes, as sold in the shops. To make these moulds, a circle is first tracedin the sand with a forked stick which acts like a pair of compasses; the sand is thenhollowed out with a knife, and the bottom and sides of'the mould are well beaten withwooden mallets to make them perfectly hard and smooth; the cakes of resin generallyweigh from 150 to 200 lbs. each.
Lamp-black is made from the waste materials used in preparing the resin, which arecarefully preserved; the straw and pieces of wood are all burnt in a close furnace, or,when the wood of the pine tree is burned for tar, lamp-black is formed on the cover ofthe furnace.
Pinus Australis , (the long-leaved pine): four-fifths of the houses in Carolina, Georgia ,and the Floridas, are built with it; no other species is exported from the southern statesto the West Indies , and it is preferred before all other pines in naval architecture: it issent in large quantities to Liverpool, where it is called the Georgia pitch-pine, and is sold25 to 30 per cent, higher than any other pine imported from the United States , where itsupplies nearly all the resinous matter used for ship-building. The resinous products areturpentine, scrapings, spirit of turpentine, resin, tar, and pitch.
Turpentine is the raw sap of the tree obtained by making incisions in the trunk ; itbegins to distil in the month of March when the circulation commences, and it flows withincreasing abundance as the weather becomes warmer, so that July and August are themost productive months. The sap is collected in boxes, or notches cut in the tree, 3 or 4inches from the ground, of a size to hold about 3 pints of sap, but proportioned to thedimension of the tree, the rule being that the cavity shall not exceed \ of its diameter:these cavities are made in January or February, commencing with the south side, whichis thought the best, and going round the tree. The next operation is clearing theground from the leaves and herbage: about the middle of March, a notch is made in the