By the ancients pitch was much employed for giving flavour and fragrance to their wines. With us it is of extensive use to mechanics, and in numerous manufactures; but the principal demand for it is in ship-building, to secure the joints and crevices of the planks and timbers, and for other purposes. When mixed with a certain quantity of oil and suet, it is made into _shoe-makers' wax_; and, in conjunction with whale fat, forms _carriage-grease_, or the substance with which the wheels of carriages are smeared. The best pitch is imported from Sweden and Norway: and, is of a glossy black colour, perfectly dry, and very brittle. _Lamp-black_ is a soot formed by burning the dregs and coarser parts of tar in furnaces constructed for that purpose. The smoke is conveyed through tubes into boxes, each covered with linen, in the form of a cone. Upon this linen the soot is deposited: and it is, from time to time, beaten off into the boxes, and afterwards packed in barrels for sale. This substance is employed in printing and dyeing; and has its name from the practice that was formerly adopted of making it by means of lamps. 247. _The WEYMOUTH PINE is chiefly distinguished by its leaves growing in fives, and its cones being smooth, cylindrical, and longer than the leaves._ This species of fir-tree grows wild in North America, and succeeds well in strong land in England. Its _timber_ is white, of more open grain than Scots fir, and not so heavy as that. In America it is principally used for the masts of ships, for which, by its toughness, it is peculiarly calculated. 248. _The SPRUCE FIR_ (Pinus abies), _a native of Norway, and other Northern parts of Europe, is known by its short, and four-sided leaves growing singly, and surrounding the branches; its cones being cylindrical, the scales somewhat square, flattened, and notched at the top_ The _wood_ of the spruce fir is what the English carpenters usually denominate _white deal_. It is considered next in value to that obtained from the Scots fir; and is remarkable for having few knots. On account of its lightness it is peculiarly adapted for packing-cases and musical instruments. From incisions made into the trunk of the spruce fir-tree, a fine and clear _turpentine_ oozes, which, after being boiled in water, and strained through a linen cloth, acquires a somewhat solid consistence, and reddish brown colour; and is called _Burgundy pitch_. This is employed as an ingredient in several kinds of ointments and plasters: and is principally manufactured in Saxony. The article called _essence of spruce_, which is used in making spruce beer, is prepared from the branches of this tree, and from those of a species nearly allied to it which grows in America.