CHIAN TURPENTINE.


The following letter has been received by the editors of the _Repertoire
de Pharmacie:_ For some months past, a good deal has been heard about a
product of our island that had quite fallen into disuse, and which
no one cared to gather, so much had the demand fallen off because a
substitute for it had been found in Europe; I mean Chian turpentine.

As this product is destined to take a certain part in the treatment of
cancer, according to some English physicians, permit me, sir, to give
your readers a few interesting details, obtained on the spot, concerning
the turpentine tree and its product.

The turpentine tree (_Pistacia terebinthus_ L.) has existed in our
island for many centuries, judging from the enormous dimensions of some
of these trees, compared, too, with their slow rate of growth. The
trunks of some measure from 4 to 5 meters in circumference, and their
heights vary from 15 to 20 meters. On my own land there is an enormous
tree, by far the largest on the island, the circumference of its
trunk being 6 meters. Many of these great trees have been used in the
construction of mills, presses, etc., on account of the hardness of
their wood. It is in the vicinity of the town and in three or four
neighboring villages that these trees are found. To-day, at a careful
estimate, there may be 1,500 trees capable of yielding 2,000 kilos of
turpentine, mixed with at least 30 per cent of foreign matter. There are
no appliances for refining the product here, except the sieves through
which it is passed to remove the pebbles and bits of wood which are