North Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1850-1852, 1851-09-24
TFrom DeBow's Reyiew.1
IT II IOIH DeOO'N INeNIeW.I =.
Product of Turpentine at the So

Thus, with long, narrow axe, box or chop is made
in the from three to inches from the ground,
or Just above the swell of the The width of
tire box is governed by the size of the tree, but
ally from eight to sixteen inches II is not cut far
inward, but aims downward and to the line separating
the sap and heart of the tree The rim OF the box ia
kept level, and it is designed to hold from two
quarts--in small trees they do not hold much
! This boxing continues until the middle end of
March, when the sap begins to rise freely, and
will embrace about four months, the only suitable
boaing of the year and he is good hand who
can in this period cut his own crop for the coming
! year, though it may be done. The average number
for hand to in day is 80 ga few less in
the shorter and in the longer days of that sea-
| son. Here 1 may remark that estimate the cut
ting of boxes at about dollar the acre though it
may not cost quite so much, but nearly The
| usual number of boxes for a hand, as crop, is
thousand; though they can do well with either more
| or less. An averages about one hundred boxes
the larger affordng for three boxes, the
middle size for only two and the smaller (being about
9 or 10 inches in diameter,) only box.
| When the hundred acres are thus boxed, the hand
has his crop or held In preparation for the following
ten fifteen years. The boxes being cut, the next
work is cornering, which is often performed by two
strokes of the same axe at each of the box,
taking out light chip; perpendicular line of about
four to six inches is thus started upward from each
corner. This operation is executed with great dis
patch, hand will from six 10 eight hundred
in day. With this last work the boxes will usual
ly fill with turpentine, issuing well from the
nerng as from the face made in emitting the box The
next thing TO be done is to lay off the ground in what
|
in parallel lines, of forty yards in width with
visible and pretty permanent stakes this is
ry to enable the hand to follow his s. through or
row. regularly, and miss no tree in all his future
tenon to them. All this being done, and the boxes
being full, nearly so, (bu it is proper remark
that the boxes all full alike, trees is
SUING much more and faster than ohers the full ones
Indicate the necessity of L" dippng,' which is done
with iron trowel-like instrument called dpper,
having socket TO receive wooden handle of three
four feet. The blade is twelve inches long,
about six inches wide in the middle tapering
oval point,and fat both sides, with the substance
of about one fourth of inch in thickness in the mid
die, declining dull edge the point aud sides.
This instrument in hand, and two rude pine buckets
with bale or handle TO them, and barrels, with
head out, fixed stated distances in the pattern -
"" through, the man begins his dipping by thrust
ing his dpPer in at one corner of the box, ranging
down 10 the bottom, and pressing it upward toward
the opposite corner all with quick motion. When
nearly the whole contents OF the box collected
the flat surface OF the diPper--which is Immediately
carried TO the bucket that being set quite up to the
tree-;he dipper is drawn over the edge of the
bucket cleanse it from the adherng turpenne, and
accomplish this the more efectually, strip of
hoop-iron is fixed in the edge of the bucket to draw
the dipper The first box being thus emptied with
quick step the is reached, and continued until
the bucket is nearly fu-it holding about eight gal
Ions when full the carries II 10 the barrel and
turns in, and there leaves it to drain, while he is
filling the other bucket, which is to take its
place. Thus, hand will fill from four to
barrels day; some active, quick hands, have filled
as many as ten barrels in day. This is the whole
process Of dipping. The first dipping of newly cut
boxes is the purely "vrgn Dip though the whole
product of the first year OF the pine Is commonly call
ed virgin Dip
1t is little remarkable that the first dipping is
very different in being thin, oily, and transparent,
than any that the Tree will ever again afford;
and perhaps less strange that the product of each
succeeding year, long the tree is cultivated, IS
different from their antecedents. Every succeeding
year the turpenline becomes thicker and deeply
cOlOred. from light cream toward an orange; and
vet differing Perceptlby in its yield of spirits 1t
is from the virgin Dip only, that the white, trans
parent rosin much used in the arls and especially
in making the fine white soaps, can he made. w hen
the dipping is thus the next work IS to chip
scafy the tree Immediately over the box, and ex-
tending the face between perpendicular lines,
arising from the outer edges of the box.
This done by instrument usually called 81 hack
err sometimes shave" Its form is somewhat like
round shave,'' narrowing al the cutting place TO
the diameter of an inch, with shank, to he fixed Sc
curely into strong heavy handle OF about two feet
in length, while tie faces of the trees low, bu;
the handle is made longer years advance the faces
higher. With the hacker the man stands nearly in
front of the box and makes stroke from the perpen
dicular line to the corner, toward the centre line
from the middle OF the box upward, cutting furrow-
like cash through bark and sap-wood, and about
fourth of inch deep into the wood. This is mostly
done with one stroke, when the man Immediately
changes hands position, or makes like stroke
on the opposite side towards the centre. In this way
he passes through his patterns until he gets over
his whole crop, which he may readily do In SIX 10
eight days; and, over, he returas 10 where
he began, and goes them again and again until
his boxes are full. The filling is generally done with
four to six chppings,' or four to six weeks, when
dipping round again. In chipping, each sue
ceedng is made Immediately in the upper edge
of the last, and should be made in breadth
the hacker be made to cut it-as it is well as
certained that a small narrow cut, if deep
enough, does well, better, than larger, and
broader one, and the economy of the narrow cuts is
in saving the many years longer culture, while
the wide cut would carry the face out of reach pre-
maturely.
| This succession of g. chipping" and &" dipping y"
continues from April to October, until frost, when
the turpentine is done running from want of sufficient
| heat. New boxes commonly dipped five or six
times in that perod-older boxes only three and four
times. The quantity made by nand is quite various,
but may be rated averaging one hundred and fifty
barrels. Many make two hundred, and some even
as high three hundred barrels in the year: When
the last dipping is finished, which is generally in the
month of November, collecting the scrape" is the
of the turpentine down the face of the box, from the
chipping of the hacker and which face is heightened
upward about foot every year, there adheres to
the face smooth surface the box considerable
portion of the issuing iurPenne it often nearly
inch thick considerable portion of the face, and
is well worth being collected, which is done by scrap
ing it off with several different instruments, as may
| be most fanced by the operator; often with small
shade, detaches it from the wood, to fall into
two-legged stool box, open at one end, which
open end is against the tree, below the face, TO
catch the scrdpe' it falls from the face OF the
and the instrument. When the box Is thus NIL
ed it is carried openheaded barrel near to hand,
and empted, and continued until the barrel IS full