Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1875-07-29

. notice II communication headed
"The Maine Uoods-the Forests of Hancock
! CouRty-Dereloping its resources-EstoJ-
fishing Rec industries Projected enter
! prises- Camp Hfe, etc"
The writer Says "tlat in his travels through
/ Hancock County and In that part Of Penobscot
4 County lying East Of the river. he has di.co,-
/ cred or seen large fields Of Sweet Fern. an
, amount suflicient-judging from personal OBJ
>erVation. and from the representations of the
/ inhabitants with whom he conferred. to stock
/ halt dozen small Extract factories
That this shrub is richly impregnated with
choice fannin properties most valuable for the
manufacture Of the finer grades Of leather. is
vel established fact with those familiar with
the leather trade, aud when properly prcpared
for Use will command a ready sale ut prices
! corresponding with that which the choicest
A ianuin agents command in all our leather man
3 ufacturing districts. There j. in fact. y, every
! body knows. none of nu staple products that
I commands more ready >slc than tannin ma
tcrial in all IT, varieties.
II is fact too. well understood by all intei-
/ gent business men who have given any thought
/ 10 The subject, 10 make comment ncce> >ary,-
! that while the manufacture of leather through
oul tn" country j. steadily sugmentiug. that
B cur hcrnlock forcSts-onct. - abundant are
rapidly disappearing and must at no distant
DAY hcromc arccollcction Of the past, ~ no
Precaution can stay the clement, OF waste.
which are fastening their destruction on all
sides, or lessen the iuroad, which The lumber
demand and thu requirements which the lcath-
} er trade annually make upon them. 1t there
fore becomes n important to the people of
Maine it i To the manufacturer, Of leather
I throughout the country, that all our native
iannin material should be- preserved aud util-
/ lied for the benefit OF an industry which forms
/ - important branch of our manufacturing
enterprises. particularly A. it furnishes steady
and remuneraiive market for a resource in IT,
reviewed varieties almost unlimited IN extent,
3 and opens field Of home employment for our
( steadily increasing population yielding them
! A. high a remuneration for their labor and
z skill, a. they cen realize in the development
and utilization Of any "f the resource, with
which Providence ha- favored u or planted
within our rugged soil.
know from personal oh-,r, alton that the
>wcc, Fern abound- not only in Hancock and
Frnoh>cot County. but j. grown in almost I'M
limited quantitie. in most of the counties Of the
state. II grows luXuriou,ly On all our barren
or burnt land-. and cover, orr rocky pastures
and Worn ont upland. II i safy to ,ay there
are millions NJ acres in the -iatc. on which
thi~ shrub j. grown 10 greater or lc,, extent.
aud which for other purpose, has little or 10
value.
The Sweet Fern like the hrmocA, i, more
c3ngrnal 10 Northern ATTITUDES. aud like the
henlock, increases in thu percentage of It.
tannin properties ~ It approaches the higher
ATTITUDES. The sumar and OAK on the other hand.
are more conScnial To Southern ATTITUDES, and
[ increase in the prOpcrtic, for which they are
valuable 10 tanners, - they near the tropics.
For instance in thi, latitude. both the -umac and
OAK are almost worthless for tanning purposes
while south Of the ohio aud Potomac, they arr
rich with the prop rites for which they ar val
uahlc to the tanner. On the other hand the
hemlock and fern grown South of tlls 10th par
! allel. have little or no tannin properties. while
IN this latitude they are richly iinpregna,ed
, with tanning properties most choice TO North
| crn tanners. in which states nine-ionths Of all
the leather produced in the United stat s.,
manufactured.
Il i claimed that the >umac grows in the
southern sia:e> j. richer i'll tannin principle
than III any known product Of this continent,
and although thi, plant grow with great lux
uriance in all tho states of the south, complete
ly uycrrunning many of their worn out pla,lt.-
I tion> and though II Is used almost exclusively
in the manufacture Of goat skins and Morocco.
and enters largely into the manufacture Of 9TH
ers Of the choice grades oflcaGhcr, and used eN-
ten>iVc.y l., ay asa O. .s-.u- z. NJ. IL ha.,
until within few Years past, been wholly sup
piled 10 our manufacturers. from the Islands
! and countries along the shores Of the Mediier-
rinean ia.
Il in fact required persistent effort ON the
part Of our most eminent chemists, and scien-
ililc men to convince the people of irginia and
the southern people generally thar the sumae
of those states. was equally valuable % the
choicest brand imported from Palermo or from
any of the Mediterranean States. and that il
utilized il would prove one OF their rnost abund-
ant and productive resources. They were fnal-
ly coaNed into it, deN elopment, and tlse prepa-
ration Of this plant already form, one of their
most important manufacturing industries,
furnishing profitable employment to thousands
Of their people and making their worn out
lands a productive and profitable 10 The pres
ent occupants. ~ they were 10 those who reared
that Ari.tocracy, " ho,e only inheritance now, ,
i that they >Pran@ from the first families of
the old Dnmini N aiiJ fthc ~yu.h. From pres
elt indi alton. the tim j. not lis ant when the
manniacturr. or preparation Of southern ,u-
mae Tor The Use Of our manufacturers, Min shut
~, Ii,
The sweet Fern more abundant on our UNI
protective land, than the >uniac on the worn
ouI plantations OF the south. and though per
hap. Welding less percentage oftannfn. + as
valuable tnnin agent for al the purposes
for which the sunIar i held in 20 high reputc.
by tlio," engaged in the production Of the finer
or choicer grades of leather, while The expense
or cot Of gathering, curing and in its prepara-
ration for he Use of the tanner, i, much iess
The fern j. harvested in the months Of Au-
gust September and October. The mode of
gathering is to pull the plant which readily
gives way at the joint, just at the root.
Boys from twelve to fifteen years OF age, can
gather it with ease and rapidly. An ordinary
day iaborer, will gather from one 10 two tons
per day. When pulled. il is exposed 10 the ae-
ton OF the sun like hay, until it is cured. 1t is
then tied up in bundles Of from 80 to 100 lbs.
and in that form is delivered 10 the manufact-
urer, where it, tannin properties are extract
ed, concentrated, barreled and shipped to mark
| ct.
The process of manufacturing OF making the
extract is very simple. and involves but little
outlay of capital. There is no wny BY which
tanners who most require the use Of this tam
min material can be supplied with it, other
than by extracting and condensing its proper
ties TO an imperishable consistency lbr the con-
venience of shipment, and the saving in cost in
transportation. As it takes bat a few weeks,
and little money to construct fhe appliances
for making the extract, there's no reason why
several of those small factories may not be put
IN operation during the coming Antumn, and
supply stock with Fern for the Winter.
Ellsworth, July 9th, 1873. .tsA II. W. J.
BANGOR. July y -Geoiii,is ssas broken