again till they are got to a considerable distance; and many of them are broken, and torn to pieces in the passage. Geo. Are these woods used for any thing beside building ? Tut. For a variety of purposes; such as boxes, trunks, packing-cases, pales, wainscots, and the like. Deal is a very soft wood, easily worked, light, and cheap, which makes it preferred for so many uses, though it is not very durable, and is very liable to split. Har. Yes-I know my box is made of Deal, and the lid is split all to pieces with driving nails into it. Geo. Are ships ever built with Fir? Tut. It was one of the first woods made use of for naval purposes and in the poets you will find the words Pine and Fir frequently employed to signify ship. But as navigation has improved, the stronger and more durable woods have generally taken its place. However in the countries where Fir is very plentiful, large ships are still built with it; for though they last but a short time, they cost so little in proportion, that the profit of a few voyages is sufficient to repay the expence. Then from the great lightness of the wood, they swim higher in the water, and consequently will bear more loading. Most of the large ships that bring timber from Archangel in Russia are built of Fir. As for the masts of ships, those I have already told you are all made of Fir or Pine, on account of their straightness and lightness. Geo. Are there not some lines in Milton's Paradise Lost about that? Tut. Yes. The spear of Satan is magnified by a comparison with a lofty Pine. His spear, to equal which the tallest Pine Har. I remember, too, that the walking staff of the giant Polypheme was a Pine. Tut. Ay-so Virgil and Ovid tell us, and he must have been a giant indeed, to use such a stick. Well, so much for the wood of these trees. But I have more to say about their uses. Har. I am glad of it. Tut. Allof the tribe contain a juice of a bitterish taste and strong fragrant smell. This, in some, is so abundant as to flow out from incisions; when it is called Turpentine. The larch, in particular, yields a large quantity. Turpentine is one of the substances called resinous; it is sticky, transparent, very inflammable, and will not mix with water, but will dissolve in spirits of wine. Geo. What is it used for? Tut. It is used medicinally, particularly in the composition of plasters and ointments. It also is an ingredient in varnishes, cements, and the like. An oil distilled from turpentine is employed in medicine, and is much used by painters for mixing up their colours, What remains after getting this oil is common resin. All these substances take fire very easily, and burn with a great flame; and the wood of the pine has so much of this quality, when dry, that it has been used in many countries for torches. Har. I know deal shavings burn very briskly. Geo. Yes; and matches are made of bits of deal dipped in brimstone. Tut. True, and when it was the custom to burn the bodies of the dead, as you read in Homer and other old authors, the pines and pitch-trees composed great part of the funeral pile. Har. But what are pitch-trees? Does pitch grow upon trees? Tut. I was going on to tell you about that. Tar is a product of the trees of this kind, especially of one species, called the Pitch-pine. The wood is burned in a sort of oven made in the earth, and the resinous juice sweats out, and acquires a peculiar taste and a black colour from the fire. This is tar. Tar when boiled down to dryness becomes pitch. Geo. Tar and pitch are chiefly used about ships; are they not? Tut. They resist moisture, and therefore are of great service in preventing things from decaying that are exposed to wet. For this reason, the cables and other ropes of ships are well soaked with tar; and the sides of ships are covered with pitch mixed with other ingredients. Their seams too, or the places where the planks join, are filled with tow dipped in a composition of resin, tallow and pitch, to keep out the water. Wood for paling, for piles, for coverings of roofs and other purposes of the like nature, |