The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-09-10

| til they overlook all the surroundinE
 trees before they branch out at all
 The virgin forests that have been worked twenty years will produce 2
 fresh growth of pines suitable for all | the purposes of the distiiler. After the
 sap has turned down the hacked sur
 face of the turpentine trees is ief,
 crusted with gum. and the "scraper
 must go around and scrape it on. for it
 all can be utilized. though this las,
 product of the season will yield only
 Its proportion of turpentine. The rosin 1t makes is not ft for anything unless | to make the fires so much needed about | the still When the barrels full of the product of trees are carried to the still
 they are emptied into deep copper val
 and their contents subjected to the
 mysterious power of heat.
 The top of the vat or boiler Is fitted
 with n cap. rendering 1t air-tight. but
 a sort of funnel connects it with a worm" which runs down into anoth-
 CT large tub or vat. It Is the spirit. the life. the essence of the living pine which thus ascends in the form of va.
 DOT through the top of the boiling vat. and, instead of escaping Into the outer
 air. Is arrested and induced to go down | again into the second vat. where men
 may capture 1t. There. floating on the
 toy of the watery fluid. which the cool ing vapor has now become. Is the
 spirits of turpentine." to be seen dis
 tinctly separate from the water all about 1t, in the proportion of two- thirds water and one-third spirit. It Is then ready to. be barreled up for
 market Now a new difficulty presents itslf. This spirit or essence Is so In. stinct with life that an ordinary vessel cannot contain 1t. It will find its way out In spite of all ordinary precautions such as serve to encase other liquids. Extra strong barrels of white northern pine must be pressed into service to hold this unruly treasure, and two and even three coatings of the best glue to be procured must line the inside of each barrel before the turpentine can be trusted to It's keeping. Quarts of glue, heated, are poured into the walt ing barrels, run round so that every portion of the inside may be touched, and then the residue poured out again, not to be used until the first coat Is thoroughly dry.
 The contents of the vat from which the turpentine has been distilled Is rosin. This is discharged into a great sitter or strainer, from which 1t falls into a yet finer separator. passing again through third, during which process 1t has lost all the coarser in- gradients which composed 1t, and Is ready to be slowed away in barrels for shipment-barrels, the slaves of which are fashioned right on the spot, and do not have to be imported like those used
 for the more delicate and precious tur- pentine. This resin or rosin Is most
 useful in the ordinary demands of life.
 The musician draws a piece of rosin across the bow of his instrument. An oil made from it is prized by painters and used for lubricating machinery, etc., and no kind of soap, from the deli cately perfumed, dainty toilet article, to the indifferent commodity passing under that name, prepared by the old "maumers' on the plantation, Is com plete without its due proportion of rosin; not to mention the important part the various products of the bill play in the building, rigging and sail ing of a ship. Tar is commonly made l in the south by simply. arranging an earthly covering over fat lightwood and contriving the heat from within in such a manner that the drops of fat infiammable substance will exude through this other covering. Lamp black is made from the boards in which they bury their dead, crude tar for making cotton bales, boxes, etc., and the negroes use it for staining into sol emn blackness the homemade collins, made of odd pieces of boards in which they bury their dead. A land owner renting his land to the distillers usual ly charges about ten dollars per one hundred trees for each season, accord ing to the number of boxes he allows cut in each tree. It takes about twen- ty-f1ve barrels of turpentine. A hacker
 usually is paid about twenty dollars per month, the dipper and other neces-
 sary hands much less.
 | Men who make turpentine distilling | business, and their only business, move about from one territory to an-
 other, owing to the location in which they can secure trees, and the transito-
 ry existence seems to have a somewhat l demoralizing effect on their employees who have earned, whether they deserve it or not, hard name through the country generally. Rude shanties are
 built for the workmen and their fami-
 lies, and moderately comfortable sta
 bles are erected for the mules and horses that must be taken care of al
 any cost. A level country, without any
 swamps, nor yet diversified with hills l is considered the most promising fol l turpentine workers. With them, as
 with farmers, stock raisers, etc., the
 seasons mean good or bad fortune, ac' cording to the. amount of rain, drouth
 etc., as both the quantity and quality o1
 their production Is affected by weath.
 CT. Riding at night through crop o1
 trees in process of working, the white
 slab-like surfaces gleam through thu
 darkness. like 50 many tombstones
 and the air Ia fragrant with the breatf
 of the pines that are yielding up theil
 life for the benefit of mankind.
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