Pitch Pine?

What is Pitch Pine?





In the passage im reading, which speaks about a steamboat, it states "great volumes of the blackest smoke are rolling and tumbling out of the chimneys- a husbanded grandeur created with a bit of pitch pine just before arriving at a town."








Also, why is the grandeur called "husbanded" is it because it produces a comic effect or does is it because it matches well with the ideals of the crew and townspeople?

Pitch Pine?
It sounds like pitch pine(sap from pine trees) was place in the chimneys to create the effect of black smoke. This smoking chimney was quite a sight for the towns they were approaching.
Reply:From the dictionary at die.net:


Husband \Hus"band\, v. t. [imp. %26amp; p. p. Husbanded; p. pr. %26amp;


vb. n. Husbanding.]


1. To direct and manage with frugality; to use or employ to


good purpose and the best advantage; to spend, apply, or


use, with economy.





For my means, I'll husband them so well, They shall


go far. --Shak.





2. To cultivate, as land; to till. [R.]





Land so trim and rarely husbanded. --Evelyn.





3. To furnish with a husband. [R.] --Shak.





To answer your question, no, the word was not used for a comic effect. It was probably common usage when that was written, but now it's archaic. The meaning used in your passage is that the pitchy pine was "used or employed to good purpose and the best advantage." In other words, the steamboat operator's purpose was to make all this black smoke so people would go ooooh-ahhh. The "grandeur" was created on purpose. Kind of showing off to get attention.





Pitch pine is a scrubby, twisted little tree with a lot of resin -- sticky sap. The knots in the trees are so full of resin, they can be burned as torches. When the resin catches fire, it burns black.