The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-12-06

the rosin and turpentine used in the
world, and we ship naval stores by the
thousands of barrels to the different
countries of Europe and Asia. l walked
out on the wharves here this afternoon
and watched ocean steamers being
loaded with barrels of this material to
be carried to Germany. Rosin is large
Iy used for making soap. 1t goes into
many different manufactures, and it
greases the fiddle bows of millions. In
the neighborhood of 200, 900 barrels of
rosin and about 10000 barrels of tur-
pentine will be shipped from here this
year, and about five times these
amounts will probably be marketed at
Savannah.
VISIT TO A TURPENTINE FARM
But let us visit turpentine farm.
There are hundreds of them within a
few hours ride of Brunswick. Each
farm consists of thousands of pine
trees, and as you look at 1T you notice
that the trees have chopped and
SCARED places, running to about the
height Of your waist. AS you come
closer you see that at the foot of each
SCARED place a hole or box has been
cut in the tree, and that the gum or
sap is oozing out of the SCARED places
and running down into this box. The
scars or places where the bark and
wood are cut off are about a foot wide
and from eighteen to thirty-six inches
long Some trees have several Scared
places upon them, with a box at the
foot of each The size of turpentine
farm is known by the number Of the
boxes. Ten thousand five hundred
boxes make what is known as crop,
but there are farms here which have
millions of boxes, and upon which hun
dreds of employees are kept busy cut
ting the trees and scraping and gath
ering the gum. The employees are ne
groes. many Of whom have been i'm
ported from North and South Car
olina They are worked under
oyerseers. They labor in gangs,
going rapidly through the forests
and chopping out the boxes.
Their axes are not so wide and about
twice as long as the ordinary ak used
for wood chopping. Two men always
work together, and one must be right
handed man and the other a left hand
ed When the box is finished it is deep
enough to hold the sap. which 1t Is
thought the tree will supply. If the
tree is small, only pint box is made;
if large, a box big enough to hold d
quart is cut This work is done in Oc-
tober and November, or even later In
the winter In the spring, when the
sap begins to move in the trees, the
negroes go about with scrapers and
gouge out ridges or scars in the wood
above the boxes. The sap begins al
once to flow out, and crystal drops
form upon the wood and drip down
into the box. Every few days the box
gets full, and a man comes along with
a scoop and scoops out the liquid, which
is almost as thick as mOlaSSes. lie
carries a box. or keg with him, and
pours the sap into this as he goes from
tree to tree. When his keg Is full he
empties it into a barrel. and the barrel
later on is carried off to the distillery
The trees must be gashed again and
again during the summer, and from
time to time the negroes go through
the farm and scrape down such of the
sap as has crystalized above the boxes
At the close of the season. or a little
later, another set Of gaShes are made
above the old ones to furnish the crop
for the next year The sap for the Sec
ond year is not so white or Transparent.
as that of the first. 1t grows darker
from year to year, and after six years
It is so dark that it is not valuable
and the tree is then about ready to die
The lumber men tell me that the trees
are good for lumber after the turpen-
tine has been taken from them, but
find that there is a diversity of opinion
on this subject.
In. some cases the trees are rented
to the turpentine farmer, who pays
about 5000 per crop. and in Others the
land is bought outright and the lumber