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Birch tar


Birch tar or birch pitch is a substance (liquid when heated) derived from the dry distillation of the bark of the birch tree.

It is compounded of phenols such as guaiacol, cresol, xylenol and creosol.

Birch tar was used widely as an adhesive as early as the late Paleolithic or early Mesolithic era. It has also been used as a disinfectant, in leather dressing, and in medicine.

5,000-year-old chewing gum made from birch bark tar, with tooth imprints, has been found in Kierikki in Finland.

Ends of fletching of arrows were fastened with birch-tar and birch-tar-and-rawhide lashings were used to fix the blade of axes in the Mesolithic period.

Russia leather is a water-resistant leather, oiled with birch oil after tanning. This leather was a major export good from 17th and 18th century Russia, as the availability of birch oil limited its geographical production. The oil impregnation also deterred insect attack and gave a distinctive and pleasant aroma that was seen as a mark of quality in leather.

Birch tar is also one of the components of Vishnevsky liniment.

Birch tar oil is an effective repellent of gastropods. The repellent effect lasts about two weeks. The repellent effect of birch tar oil mixed with petroleum jelly applied to a fence lasts up to several months.


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Wikipedia

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