The daily state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 188?-1891, 1890-10-04
THE PINE TREE.
CAROLINA OIL AND CREOSOTE
co. OF WILMINGTON, N. C.
A Full and Accurate Description of
the Process of Making Creosote-Wil-
mIngton Ahead.
BY T. H. PRITCHARD.
NO. 3.
Especial Cor. State Chronicle. |


mington was still entitled to be sty led |
"THE CITY OF THE PINE by reason of
the remarkable application of the green
pine straw in manufacturing fibre, mat
ting, bagging and medicated oils. |
wish to show in this article that she still |
more worthily wears this honor, because
here for the first time, certainly the first
on large scale in the United States, if
not in the world, an essential oil of the |
pine has been extracted and applied for
the preservation of timber exposed to
the atmosphere and the insects of the
sea.
I find that in 1888, John Bethel, of
England, used distillate of coal tar
called "dead oil" for preserving wood |
from which it is claimed the "creosoting
process" originated, though he makes no
mention whatever of s'creosote." As
the encyclopedias do not seem to know
anything of WOOD CREOsoTE, take it for
granted that this is something new, and
yet in it's infancy, SO far as its useful ap-
plication is concerned.
DR.. Frank Clark, of Wilmington, an
E. M. and Pm. D. of Columbian Univer-
sity, New York, and young man of re-
markable scientific attanments, defines
creosote thus: 'Ureosote, in the popular
sense, is general name given to certain
oily products obtained from the destruc-
tive distiilation of wood, coal, and other
carbonacious materials. When obtained
from coal tar, it is called dead oil or
coal-tar creosote, and wood creosote oil
when oil aimed from the distillation of
wood. In either case the resulting oil is
an excellent preservative Of wood and
timber treated Herewith, and is known
as creosoted timber
Though excellent for preserving wood,
the coal tar disti1ates were found to be
too costly for general use, and IN the
search for cheaper oil, possessing the
essential properties, our native pine, the
most useful Of all trees, came into play
again, and in it were found heavy creo-
sote oils, which have many Of the special
qualities Of the coal-tar creosote. Both
are highly antiseptic in their nature, be
ing poisonous to insect life; both have a
| pungent oaor intensely disagreeahle. if
not deadly to all such; both contain
thick, heavy oils, which seem to fill
and close the pores of the wood so as to
exclude air and water, the two special
elements which produce decay
It is claimed that timber treated at
these works has been in use at Key West,
Charleston harbor and other places on
the Atlantic Coast for seven years and
still remains intact, while untreated
piles have been destroyed by the ToREDo
in one or two seasons, and that timb Der
treated by them is rendered far more
valuable for the construction of Wharyes,
docks, quays, pires, hldges, trestles,
fences, telegraph huts, wood pavements,
conduits and all sorts of boats and ships.
The company has sent timbers entirely
across the continent to the Pacific Coast;
they have loaded nine large ships for
the Nicaragua Canal; have supplied
northern cities with conduits for the
streets, and are now filling heavy con.
tract for the mining company in Cuba.
| am no scientist and if were your
readers would not be edited by the use
of technical terms; so, as | have beer
much interested in examining the works
one of my sons being employed there,
will, in my own way, seek to describe
the manner in which the cresote is ex
tracted and applied, though am no
sure that / can make myself fully under
stood.
, How the CreosOte Oil is Obtained.
The oil is obtained from the destruc
tive distillation of resinous pine, or wha
is commonly known as FAT LIGHTWOOD
3 This wood is placed in iron cylinders
six feet in diameter and twenty fee
long, two of them cylinders, with tn
masonry enclosing them, constitutin,
what is called RETORT, and each rotor
! contains eight cords Of wood. Thes
= retorts have solid brick foundations
each with four furnaces under it, on
at each of the four ends of the retort
and these are constructed with al
chambers and fues, which, while the
= do not allow the fire to come into actus
= contact with the cylinders, yet envelo
~ them on all sides in fierce heat. Tn
great heat slowly converts the WOO
into gas and carbon. The gas, rlsln
to the top of the cylinder, passes int
- an iron pipe-thence into a still {
g worm, much like that used in the di
- tillation of turpentine; then it is col
;, densed and run off into tanks, thrt
runnings constituting charge. tt
. results are liquids to the astonishir
~ amount of about 225 gallons to tt
S" cord of wood, and are denominate'
:. pyroligunous acid, light, and heavy O.
- The acid remains at the bottom of tt
- tank, while the oils, being lighter run
the top. From this tank the acid
= drawn off by pipes and conveyed to
- = factory, where alcohol is made from
~ - This alcohol can not be used for drin
~ ing purposes, as the cresote taste c;
. - never be entirely destroyed-but it
- said to answer every purpose when ust
o5f in medicines and the mechanic arts.
W W The light and heavy oils are al
- drawn off into different tanks. As t
= oil is still somewhat mixed with acid,
: is afterwards run into a MIXTURE tan
as it is called, where by chemical proce
the oil is separated from the acid a
all foreign substances. The oil is th
stored in large tanks for use. The co
te pany are now running as many as
h retorts which are capable of product
II. an immense amount of oil.
he How the Oil is Applied.
by There are four large iron cylinders
E. 4