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then follows a second washing after which the skins are stretched on frames, are
scraped again, pared, dusted with chalk, and rubbed with pumice. The resulting
skin is very pale in tone, being smooth and nearly white (if a good piece) on the
surface that was the original flesh side, and somewhat rougher and more yellow
on the surface that was the original hair side.
Skins were used as writing materials in ancient times by Near Eastern peoples,
Persians, Phoenicians, Jews, and Ionian Greeks. The word ' parchment' comes
from Pergamum. The story is that the Ptolemies, envious of the growth of the
Pergamene library, refused to export papyrus. Thrown back to the use of skins
for writing purposes, Eumenes II (197-158 B.C.), king of Pergamum, was respon-
sible for developments in their manufacture. It appears certain that at about this
time preparation was enough improved so that both sides could be used. This
made possible the construction of a codex. Illumination of MSS is a practice that
must be almost as old as writing itself, and in Europe such painting on parchment
forms an important part of the history of the art. Pliny (XXXV, 67 and 68)
speaks of paintings on wood and on parchment, and this may be taken to mean a
kind of painting not connected with MS. illumination. By the II century A.D.
parchment was probably coming into Europe. In a short time its use was well
established and the skins available were thin and firm and had a delicate texture.
It seems quite evident that in the later middle ages and in the Renaissance the
painters who illuminated MSS thought of no other support. Even in the XVII
century there are numerous references to it by De Mayerne (see particularly
Berger, pp. 175, 177, and 216).
Pine (Pinus). Although the genus, Pinusy includes many species, the name
* pine ' is often applied to species of other genera, especially to some of the firs.
Modern botanists, however, reserve the name for the spruces and silver firs of the
genera Picea and Abies. The needles of the true pines grow in clusters or tufts
from a membranous sheath whereas in the firs the needles are placed singly on the
shoots. The red pine (P. syhestrts)^ also known as the Baltic pine or Scotch fir,
is the most important timber conifer of Europe. It is found as far south as Italy
and Spain but prefers more northerly latitudes. The stone pine (P. Plnea) is an
important timber tree of Italy; the wood is soft, fine-grained, and easily worked.
In America the white pine (P. strobus) furnishes valuable, white, soft, and even-
grained lumber. Other valued American pines are the southern yellow pine (P.
mitis) and western yellow pine (P. ponderosa), both hard pines. The pine woods
are characterized by a resinous odor and the presence of resin ducts which may
often be seen, even without a lens. The chief structural component of pine wood,
as with other coniferous woods, is the tracheid with its bordered pits. The heart-
wood is usually light orange to reddish brown; the sap-wood is lighter in color.
Pines are divided into two general groups, according to structure: soft and hard.
In the soft pines, like the American white pine (P. strains), the wood is relatively
light in color and the annual rings are not particularly distinct, for there is slight