almost as much a luxury at the table as a valuable article of medicine. By what particular principle in the
liquor its power ol preventing and subduing scorbutic complaints is effected, or whether this ellicacy be not
I he result of the general preparation, does not appear to be as yet determined; but, as simple decoctions and
infusions of the branches of several species of Pinus have been found conducive to the same purposes, it is
most reasonable to suppose that the spruce alone is the essential part of the medicine. Some authors have
imagined the salutary properties of medicines of this sort to consist in their gently increasing the secretions
from the kidnies; whilst others have contended for a peculiar power in the vegetable acids to promote venous
absorption. \\ hatever be the modus operandi, however, the acid contained in infusions of fir, and which has
been called Acidum Abietis, has been found, when exhibited by itself, to act as a diuretic/ and, though the
properties of this acid may be no way different from those of others extracted from vegetable substances, it
is highly probable that this is one of the most active principles in terebinthinate infusions.
T H E LARCH.
L IQ U ID R E S IN .
(Resina liquida Larigna). Largatum of the Italians.
Terebinthina Veneta. Pharm. Ed.
Venice Turpentine.
I ills resin is by most writers, and in the shops, esteemed the best (after that of Pistachia Terebinthus)
ol those juices commonly called Turpentines. It is usually thinner than any other sort, of a pale yellowish
colour, and of a hot, pungent, bitterish taste. The smell is strong, and far from being agreeable. Though
it bears the name of Venice Turpentine, very little of it is exported from the Venetian territories; but it is
probable that the merchants of that country were the first who substituted it for the genuine Turpentine of
Cyprus. That which is most commonly met with in the shops comes from New England; from what tree
we are uncertain. The true liquid resin of the larch is obtained chiefly from France and Germany.
The extraction of the juice of the Larch is performed by boring holes, of about an inch in diameter, and
with a gentle descent outwards, in the most knotty parts of the tree, proceeding from the height of two
inches above the ground to ten or twelve. The south side is generally preferred, on account of the sun’s heat
facilitating the flow of the juice. There are adapted to the holes what may be called gutters, which are
fifteen or twenty inches in length, and terminate like pegs perforated in the centre. The juice passing alono-
these tubes falls into troughs placed at their most depending 'part. The result of the process is carefully
examined every morning and evening, from the end of May (which being the time at which the trees are
fullest ot sap, is also that at which they are generally perforated) to the end of September. As soon as the
supply appears to diminish, the holes to which the gutters were attached are stopped up with pegs for about
a fortnight, after which interval they are opened again, to discharge the re-collected resin. This operation
is repeated until the tree being drained furnishes but a very small quantity of juice; the pegs are then replaced,
and not withdrawn until the succeeding season. As it is impossible to secure the troughs from leaves, and
other extraneous matter which w ill mix itself with the fluid, the latter is usually strained through a hair sieve
into Other vessels, in order to be transported to the places of sale. It is only from the most healthy and
vigorous trees that the resinous juice is obtained; those which are too young or too old produce only a small
quantity, though at all ages tears of this substance may be seen on various parts of the trees, and especially
where knots exist. Some of the mature trees (Haller says’) will discharge five pounds of juice in a year.
The resin seems to reside in the exterior circles of the wood, for, if the healthiest part of the tree be cut into
billets, there are often found, at the distance of five or six inches from the inmost part, dépots (as it were)
of this resinous matter, which are sometimes an inch in thickness, three or four inches in width, and as many,
or more, in length. In a tree thirty or forty years old, it very frequently happens that five or six of these
The late Dr. Hope made frequent trial of this acid in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, and conceived it to be beneficial in obstinate coughs
and catarrhs. (See Lewis’s Mat. Med. Art. Alia.) • Slirp. Indig. Hclv. Tom. 2. p. 314.
reservoirs are found, and a multitude of smaller ones, which occasion great inconvenience in sawing, on account
of the teeth of the saw being clogged by the glutinous matter/
The resinous juice of the Larch is said to remain always, or at least a very long time, in a state of liquidity;
if it should at length become at all concrete, it would be only at the edges, or on the sides of the vessel in
which it may he contained.* This property is adverted to by Pliny."
The resinous juice of the Larch is substituted, in medicine, for that of the true Turpentine tree under those
circumstances to which the latter is supposed to be particularly suited. As a diuretic the Venice turpentine
is generally preferred to all the other sorts, and it loosens the belly most, on which account Riverius1 thinks
it more safe than most other irritating diuretics. Some authors have thought that it had a greater tendency
to produce vertigo, and even drunkenness, than other terebinthinate juices, when taken internally, hut this
is not well ascertained. Cullen k observes that its effects, when it is employed in an enema, are more certain
and durable than those of saline medicines, for remedying obstinate constipations of the bowels. Ollier
practitioners have employed it with advantage in some nephritic cases, exhibiting it in a similar form, by the
rectum. With regard to external use, this resin is much employed in the Tyrolese territories for the cure of
wounds. It forms a part of several plasters and ointments, as, for instance, the Emplastrum de Belladonna,
of the Brunswick pharmacopoeia, the Unguentum Infusi Cantliaridum, of Edinburgh, and the Ung. digestivum,
of the Russian shops, being esteemed not only on account of its mechanical uses, but as an efficient digestive
and discutient.
G U M.
(Gumrni Larignum.J
Gummi Orenburgense, of the Russian shops.
T his gum does not appear to be used any where but in Russia, yet it is described as a good substitute
for Gum Arabic, of which it possesses much of the glutinous quality. It is dryish, of a reddish colour, and
of a sub-resinous taste, but wholly soluble in water.
The mode in which this substance is obtained is very remarkable.' It sometimes happens that whole forests
of Larch, in some parts of the Russian empire, are consumed by fire, in consequence of the flames being
driven from the open hearths of the huntsmen to the foliage of the trees by a high wind. During the combustion
of the medullary part of the trunks, a gum issues forth, which is diligently collected by the natives
for the purpose not only of rendering their hows glutinous, but also of being eaten as a delicacy. It is likewise
supposed to act medicinally, as an antiscorbutic, and an useful astringent of the gums.
M A N N A O F T H E L A R C H .
(Manna Larigna.J
Manne de Briançon, of the French shops.
A h ou t the month of June, and when the sap of the Larch is most exuberant, this tree produces small white
drops of a sweet, glutinous matter, like Calabrian manna. The young trees generally produce most, appearing
quite white with it early in the morning before the rays of the sun have acted strongly and dissipated it; and,
what is very singular, it adheres almost exclusively to the extremities of the branches. Bellonius" remarked
that (as was the case with the Cedars of Mount Libanus) the drops are discoverable only on those trees
which occupy the highest spots. Professor Martinn noticed a hoary powder on a Larch which grew near his
house, in the year 1798, but neglected to examine whether it had any of the qualities of manna. The following
year there was no appearance of this powder, which (as the Professor observes), may be accounted tor from
the latter being a cold, wet season, and the former a hot, dry one.
We are informed by the French author above quoted that the manna is collec
1 Duhamel Traité îles Arbres, Tom. 1. p. 335. 8 Duplessy, Tom. 2. p. 268. h Lib. 16. c. 10
k Mat. Med. ' Pallas. Flora Rossica. Vol. I. p. 2. m “ DeArb. coniferis.” (Paris, 4to. 1553.) p. 9.
2 t
ed by the peasants, who go
1 Prax. Med. Lib. 14. c. 1.
n Miller’s Diet. P in u s Larix.