The Ohio organ, of the temperance reform. (Cincinnati, [Ohio]) 1853-1854, 1853-05-20
142



or seeing the beautiful black Japan Var
nish, which is 90 much admired for TN
elegant gloss it imparts, know whence Il
is obtained, or are familiar with the man
per in which it is procured, and the un'
pleasant exposure attending the operation
II Is tbe product Of a tree, which grows
wild both In China aud Japan. II is cul-
tivatad in plantations, and is so much inn
nroved bv the treatment it receives, that a
Cultivated tree Yields three times as much
varn;sb as wild one The Chinese call
tbs tree " Tsi ShoO;" it has some resem-
blapce to the ash, with leaves shaped like
those of the laurel, of light green color
and downy feeling There is scarcely any
thing more curious about the trees than the
common manner of propagating, which is
neither by seeds nor suckers. Early in the
spring a small branch or twig is selected,
a foot and half or two feet In length, and
a ring of bark cut from it all round, about
half an inch in breadth. The wound is
Immediately coated up with soft clay, and
a ball of the same clay formed around five
or six inches in diameter. This is then
covered up with mating to prevent it from
falling to pieces, and vessel of water hung
over with a very minute hole in the under
part, sufficient 10 admit the water to drop
slowly upon the ball and keep it constantly
moist. In the course of six months, with
this treatment, the wounded edges of the
bark shoot forth into the fiber like roots.
which forms the more readily as the tree
is still supported by the sap from the pa
rent stock. When the twig has taken suf
tiCient root in the mass of the clay to sup
port an independent existence, it is cut from
the tree lit lie below the clay, placed i'm
mediately in the earth, and at once becomes
a self-sustaining tree.
When these trees are seven or eight wears
old, they are capable of supplying the var
nish, which is gathered in the following
manner About the middle of summer the
laborers proceed to the plantations of the
varnish tree, each furnished with crooked
knife and large number of hollow shells, |
somewhat larger than oyster shells. With |
their knives they make numerous incisions |
in the bark of the trees, about two inches /
in length, and under each incision they |
sOrce in the edge of the shell, which easily Il
Denetrates the soft bark and remains in the Il
zee. This operation is performed in the
evening, as the varnish flows only in the H
night The next morning the workmen
'evisit the trees and find each shell either
Fholly or partially filled with varnish,
which they scrape out carefully with their
Inives, depositing it in a vessel which
hey carry with them, and throw the shells
nto basket at the foot of the tree. In
he evening the shells are replaced, and
he varnish again collected in the morning Il
This process is continued throughout the 4
or until the varnish ceases to flow L
t iscomputed that fifty trees, which can be
TENDED by a single workman, will Weld a
,ound of varnish every night When the
Gathering is over, the varnish is strained
trough thin cloth, loosely placed over an
arthern vessel, and the little impurity that
emains is used in physic. The natural
olor of the varnish is white, and it looks
ike cream, but it blackens on exposure to
he air.
There is corrosive property in the var
lish which operates very iniuriOusly to the H
employed in the preparation of it,
f the utmost care and precaution is not ia
Ken to avoid its distressing effect. A kind
VI ISGtCl dppCdlS O4 Vic lace, ana III the II
course of few days spreads over the whole
body; the skin becomes red and painful,
the head swells, and the whole surface of
the body is covered with troublesome sores.
To prevent these effects the workmen rub
their bodies well with prepared oil, before
they proceed to their work they wash
themselves with decoction Of herbs and H
bark, and prepare themselves by a course
of medicine. In addition to these precau.
tons they wrap their heads in linen wells
whenever they are at work, leaving only
two holes for the eyes and also cover
themselves with close dress of leather,
and wear long gloves reaching above the
elbows By these means they are enabled
TO escape the disease generated by the nox-
iOus vapOrs of the Varnish tree.-BOstOn
Journal