Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-10-30
MAKING TURPENTTNE
AN EXTENSIVE INDUSTRY IN CERTAIN
SOUTHERN STATES.

tuaas Gum OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES and
Keen Eye of the "Rider."
! Dialect writers find 4 fruitful field
among the Tar Heels of the Carolinas.
Alabama and Georgia In the cool
depths of the turpentine woods, with the
gashed trees yielding up their resinous
/ gum, the balny air and the picturesque
hackers, " clippers" and ''scrapers,
with the ever yigilant rider" watch
ing everything, is phase in southern
| life which has long been the delight OF
authors and the pleasure of artists. The
crudity OF the implements and the stills
used in making turpeutine and rosin
| lend additional interest to this old in
dustry, and the gypsyIike habits of the
turpentine makers add to their ragged,
iIliterate charms.
Turpeutine Is the distilled gum Of the
pine trees of North and South Carolina,
Alabama, Georgia and part Of Florida
The season begins when the first spring
sap rises and ends when cold weather
checks the flow of the trees blood In
January or February the hacker,
with his keen bladed AK, begins the
round which ends with the season. He
Is the expert of the woods and knows his
trees and Just how much hacking they
will stand. His task is to cut the
boxes" III which the thick gum of the
wounded tree will collect. a box is
wide incision about six inches deep, a
wedge shaped cut i'll the tree, and he
hacks from 30 to 100 boxes 4 day. The
first boxes are cut near the roots of the
tree, and they are cut as close together
TO the height of 4 mans head as can be
done without killing the pine. The
hacker leaves "A width Of bark between
each box so as TO preserve the vitality OF
the tree. When the trees are leased to
the turpcntinc makers, the terms of the
lease limit the number Of boxes to each
tree, but when IL il desired TO work the
pine TO the fullest extent the gashes are
carried up TO a height OF 20 feet or more.
After the hacker comes the man who
CORNERS" the boxes. This corner" is
a cut IN the top Of the box to guide the
sap into the cavities left for the gum,
and the man who works the crop
goes systematically from box to box,
starting the sap anew with fresh Incl
siOns, working III this way 10, 600 boxes
during the season. The sap or gum fills
the boxes with a clear, sticky, thick
fluid, and this is removed by the dip
per. Scattered through the woods are
barrels in which the clipper" deposits
the gum, which Is then hauled 10 the
still. About quart Of sap is taken from
each box by means of the trowel shaped
scoop used by the dipper, and then the
hacker comes along and starts the flow
afreSh by woundiug the tree again. The
turpentine maker watches his men close
", for the Tar Heels are an easy going
people and require to be urged by the
rider, - who goes through the woods on
horseback examining the crop hurrying
the dippers and hackers and sending the
barrelod gum to the still.
The first or virgin" sap which flows
i'll the spring makes the best rosin, and
the poorest Is the product of the harden
ed gum which Is left on the sides of the
boxes when the sap turns down i'll
the fall. This Is removed by the
"scrapcr, who moves through the
woods with mis- scraping tool, gathering
the leaviugs.
The still is large copper vat hooded
with a close fitting cover III which is a
funnel which i'll turn Is connected with
the worm of the still This worm
runs down into another vat near at
hand, and III this vat the fumes or vapor
OF the heated gum Is distilled into tur-
pcntinc. Fire under the copper vat heats
the gum, and the volatile parts rise to
the funnel, pass into the still and are
condensed by the water in the second
vat into spirits of tGrpentine. The resid-
uum left in the vat Is the rOsin of
commerce, which Is passed through 4
series of Strainers and sleeves to the bar
rcls which are made on the spot. The
turpcntinc, however, cannot be barreled
so easily, for 1t will work through an
ordinary barrel. 1t Is placed III white
pine barrels which have been coated in
side with several coats of strong, hot
glue until the barrel Is impervious to
the subtle fluid.
The trees are worked fer five or six
seasons, and then the turpentine maker
moves 10 another part of the woods He
started III North Carolina, crossed over
to South Carolina and Is still moving
toward the gulf. Forest fires destroy the
pines faster than the hacker does for
the flames sweep over large areas before
they die out. Careful owners of turpen-
tine woods have the pine straw and
fallen underbrush raEed away from their
trees before the season begins, and col
lecting this material in some safe spot
wait for a quiet day when 10 wind will |
cool the wet finger. and then they burn
the rakings-
Negroes are common labOrers of the
woods, but white men are
plentiful. They live in rough shanties
N the woods, with the stables for the
mules and horses near at hand No
work is more healthful than turpentine
for ii is al ont of doors in the
depths Of the balmy, health giving pines, l
free from the malaria Of the swamps |
and from sudden changes of weather.
Chicago Record
Horsepower.