The Placer herald., 1862-12-27
Produce of Tar and Turpentine.

The immense forests of North Carolina,
which cover the sand ridges between the
swamps and water-courses, consists almost
wholly of the long leafed pine, the Pinus
patustris of the Southern States. From
them is gathered one of the great staples of
North Carolina-the tulpentine. And all
though this product AID its derivatives are
in our country, almost in as common use as
bread and meat, very little is known of the
manner of procuring them. We will there
fore endeavor to describe it accurately -
These trees al maturity are seventy or eighty
feet high, and their trunks eighteen or twenl
ty feet in diameter near Nhe base They
grow close together, very straight, and with
out branches to two thirds of their height
Overhead their inerocking crown from a
continuous shady canopy; while beneath the
ground is covered with thick, yellow mat,
ting of pine straw, clean, dry level, and un
broken by undergrowth The privilege Of
tapping the trees is generally farmed out by
the land owners, at a stated price per thou
sand, say from twenty to thirty dollars. UNI
der this privilege the laborer commences hi
operations. During the Winter he chops
deep notches into the base of the trees, a
few inches from the ground, and sIanti in
ward. Above, to the hight Of two or three
feet, the surface is scarified 10y chipping off
the bark and outer wood. From this sur.
face the resnous sap begins to flow about the
middle of March, at first very slowly, but
more rapidly during the heat of the Summer,
and slowly again as winter approaches. The
liquid turpentine runs into the notches, or
boxes, as they are technically called each
holding from quart 10 half gallon
This, AS it gathers is dipped out with a wood
en- spoon, barreled and carried to market,
where it commands the highest price. 1nat
which oozes out and hardens upon the scarf,
fed surface of the tree is scraped down
with an iron instrument into sort of hod,
and is sold at an inferior price. Every year
of scarifying is carried two OF three feet high
er up the trunk until it reaches the hight OF
twelve or fifteen feet-as high as man can
conveniently reach with his long handled
cutter When this ceases to Weld, the same
process is commenced on the opposite side
of the trunk An average yielded is about
twenty five barrels Of turpAntine from
thousand trees, and it is estimated that one
man will dip ten thousand boxes.
Iuo ptouuCe Is tdtIltu W market OH II SOTC
of dray or cart which holds but two barrels,
consequently the barrels are seen setting in
the woods in couples. The trees at length
die under these repeated operations They
are then felled, split up in small sticks and
burned for tar. The dead trees are preferred
for this purpose, because when life ceases,
the resinous matter concentrates in the inte
rior layers of the wood. In building tar
kiln small circular mound of earth is first
raised, declining from the circumference to
the center, where cavity is formed, com
munica,ing by conduit with a shallow
ditch surrounding the mound. Upon this
foundation the split sticks are stacked to the
hight Of ten or twelve feet. The stack is then
covered with earth as in making charcoal,
and the fire applied through an opening in
the top. As this continues to burn with
smouldering heat, the wood is charred, and
the tar flows into the cavity in the center;
and thence by the conduit into the ditch, or
into vessels sunk to receive it.