Tar is one of the results left in the distillation both of wood and
coal; in places where wood is plentiful and tar in request, it is
produced by burning the wood for that purpose; and in some of the
pits in which charcoal is produced, an arrangement is made to collect
the tar also. Coal-tar and wood-tar are different in some respects,
and are both distilled to procure the napthas which bear the
respective names. From wood-tar, creasöte is also extracted, and it
is this substance which gives the peculiar tarry flavor to provisions
cured or preserved by being smoked over wood fires, such as ham,
bacon, or herrings. Tar is used as a sort of paint for covering
wood-work and cordage, when much exposed to wet, which it resists
better than anything else at the same price; but the tar chiefly used
for these purposes, is that produced by burning fir or deal wood and
condensing the tar in a pit below the stack of wood, it is called
Stockholm tar, as it comes chiefly from that place.