How Resins Protect Trees and Increase Tree Value

Tree resin (along with other gum and latex fluids) plays an extremely important function in trees by rapidly sealing over wounds  used as introductory pathways by invading insects and fungal disease agents. Organisms that try to enter a tree via a wound can be flushed out, can become stuck and trapped in the seal and can be overcome by the resins toxicity. It is also thought that resins have high antiseptic qualities that prevent decay and that they also lower the amount of water lost from the plants tissues. In any event, consistent resin flow is essential to the continued health of most conifers. If you have regularly handled or touched the bark or cones of pine, spruce or larch, you know about the fragrant sticky resin they copiously ooze. That resin is contained in ducts or blisters that run through the bark and wood and diminish in size and number as they enter roots and needles. Hemlocks, true cedars, and firs have resin mainly restricted to the bark. Wound trauma to a tree can stimulate the production of traumatic resin canals that help in containing the injury and help in healing any resulting infection. Resin-laden blisters contained in the conifer secrete the light liquid, which immediately loses oils to evaporation and forms a heavy solid scab. It is interesting to note that this reaction to trauma by a tree is used in the manufacturing process of certain commercial resins and essential oils by stimulating resin flow by inflicting a purposeful injury or bark irritation (see tapping below). The production of resin is very common in nature, but only a few plant families can be considered of commercial importance to resin collectors. These important resin producing plants include the Anacardiaceae (gum mastic), Burseraceae (incense tree), Hammamelidaceae (witch-hazel), Leguminosae, and Pinaceae (pine, spruce, fir, true cedar). How Resins Are Formed, Collected, and a Little History Resins are formed as a product of the oxidation process of a trees escaping essential oils - also called volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea. As already mentioned, the resin is usually stored in ducts or blisters and frequently oozes out through the bark to harden when exposed to air. These resins, as well as being critical to a trees health, can be commercially valuable when collected or tapped. Resinous concoctions have been used for millennia in the form of waterproof and protective coatings made by the ancients. Varnished objects have been found in Egyptian tombs and the use of lacquer in the practice of their arts has been used in China and Japan for centuries. The Greeks and Romans were familiar with many of the same resinous materials that we use today. It is the ability of tree resins to harden as essential oils evaporate that makes them necessary to the production of commercial varnishes. These resins are readily dissolvable in solvents like alcohol or petroleum, surfaces are painted with the solutions and as the solvents and oils evaporate, a thin waterproof layer of resin remains. Tapping is usually necessary in order to obtain a sufficient amount to be of commercial value but can also be extracted during the processing of a tree species for another product - pine resins and oils that can be collected during the paper pulping process. Commercial hard resins are also frequently mined and extracted from ancient fossil materials like copal and amber for varnish. It is important to understand that resins, unlike gums, are insoluble in water, but they are easily dissolved in ether, alcohol and other solvents and used in many products. Other Resin-Based Products Hard transparent resins, like copals, dammars, mastic, and sandarac, are mainly used for varnishes and adhesives. The softer odoriferous oleo-resins like frankincense, elemi, turpentine, copaiba and the gum resins containing essential oils (ammoniacum, asafoetida, gamboge, myrrh, and scammony) are more often used for therapeutic purposes and incense. Resin, Kraft or pine soap (one trade name is Pine Sol) is made by reacting resin acids in wood with sodium hydroxide. Kraft soap is a byproduct of the Kraft process for manufacturing wood pulp and used as a super strength cleaner for heavily soiled and greasy cleaning jobs. Resin in the form of rosin is applied to the bows of string instruments because of its ability to add friction to bow hairs to increase sound quality. It is used similarly in sports to provide tack to grip bats and balls. Ballet dancers may apply crushed resin to their shoes to increase grip on a slippery floor.

Benefits Of Sustainable Agriculture Practices - 907 Words

Today, the majority of food produced in the U.S. is not grown or raised on sustainable farms but instead on industrialized farms. The production of industrialized crops and livestock threatens the environment, animal welfare, human health, and rural communities. However, since more are becoming aware of the problems caused by industrial agriculture, more sustainable agriculture practices are being developed. These particular practices do not grow crops with hazardous pesticides that are dangerous for the consumer and surrounding communities. Also, stainable farms do not use non-therapeutic antibiotics or arsenic-based growth promoters on their livestock. Sustainable agriculture practices can sustain itself without degrading the land, the environment, or the people. This is why it would be very beneficial for everyone to become aware of all the different sustainable agriculture practices. (Grace Communication Foundation, 2014) Crop rotation is probably one of the oldest and s implest sustainable agriculture practice used. Research has shown that crop rotation keeps soil healthier and this will result in better harvests for many different crops. Crop rotation is done by rotating plant families from one season to the next to insure that related crops are not planted in the same spot for three years. Rotating crops will help to maintain the balance of nutrients, organic matter, and microorganisms needed for healthy soil. Potatoes are a good example for a crop thatShow MoreRelatedHow Can Sustainable Agriculture Be Better For Americans Vs. Industrial Agriculture?1481 Words   |  6 PagesHow can sustainable agriculture be better for Americans compared to industrial agriculture? Sustainable agriculture is the idea to agriculture that prioritize in fabricating food in a manner that does not demean nature and does not threaten human or animal s health. 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Farewell to Arms by Hemingway Free Essays

Roxane Noffra Mr. Livingston 06/11/2012 Task 2 In Farewell to arms, written by Hemingway, we can appreciate how the (Henry) protagonist grew due to his relationship with Catherine and his experiences in war. We will write a custom essay sample on Farewell to Arms by Hemingway or any similar topic only for you Order Now His growth represents a genre convention: a typical development in the characters, overall in the protagonists. At the beginning of this book, Henry is characterized as being a drunken, womanizer fascinated with the nightlife; in fact, when he knew Catherine, he considered her just as another adventure, as the women he used to meet in the brothel. In chapter 3, it’s easy to noticed how Henry indulged the temptation preferring to drink and having fun with girls, just for pleasure, without getting involved in a serious relationship â€Å" . . . and the strange excitement of waking and no knowing who it was with you . . . † (pag. 13). Through his best friend Rinaldi, Henry met Catherine, the woman that will influence his changed. She was a mature woman, a woman that had a fiancee who died in a battle before they could get married; In fact, she had a different perspective of war from Henry’s point of view, she was more realistic about it instead Henry was not even interesting in the war, he did not really know why he joined the war effort. However, as his experiences in war intensify, he became deeply pessimistic about the war. However, he realizes that his love for Catherine is the only thing he is willing to commit himself to, considering her as his religion. One of the relevant developments of Henry character is how his point of view toward war changed. On chapter 5 the difference between Catherine and Henry’s point of view is highlighted through their conversation in which Catherine looks more mature and realistic â€Å" . . . Let’s drop the war. † Henry said, Catherine answered, â€Å"It’s very hard. There’s not place to drop it† but on chapter 9 when Henry had more experience and is in love with Catherine his point of view changed, when he responded to Passini that omething worse than war is defeat (pg. 50). In point of fact, Henry became pessimist toward war. Some of his arguments were that he had not seen or appreciated any kind of glory or sacred (pg. 185), something that they were supposed to feel and go through in war. This conversation with the Italian soldier Gino, stand out how he was growing through his experiences. He claimed that the people sacrificed themselves for nothing; there w ere not results in war just more number of deaths. Previously, Henry did not consider his relationship with Catherine a serious one. However when he was wounded, learned to value life and to prepare him to enter into a love relationship with Catherine. His first step to realize, that his feelings toward Catherine were different can be read in the next passage â€Å"I had treated seeing Catherine very lightly, I had gotten somewhat drunk and had nearly forgotten to come but when I could not see her there I was feeling lonely and hollow. † (pg. 41). Here Henry is realizing that with her he was changing his manner of treat women and that being away from her affected him. First of all, she was the first person whom gave him a reason of being scared of, since had something to lose; there is a quote on page 137 said by Catherine before she confessed his pregnancy â€Å"Life isn’t hard to imagine when you’ve nothing to lose. † Here she means that until that point they did not have any to loose but now they were going to have a baby: an objective in life. But for Henry the thing that he had more fear of losing was Catherine, as we can read in the last chapter â€Å" . . . you took the baby but don’t le her die. That was all right but don’t let her die. Please, please, dear God . . . † (pg. 330) also we can see how the character desperately pleaded with God to save his love, something that never occurred in the novel before. On contrary, Henry never showed any kind of belief in God. In fact, his relation-ship with Catherine had been the main reason of his development. Being in company with a brave and mature woman taught him those characteristics. His growth is very clear: from a guy that did never feel in love, whom loved to drink and have fun, became a responsible and mature guy, something that even his closest friend noticed. Through his experiences, he understood that one must be engaged in life and be responsible. In fact, the development of this character represents a genre convention; the author used the relationship between Henry and Catherine to highlight Henry’s growing. How to cite Farewell to Arms by Hemingway, Essay examples