Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-25
WITCH HAZEL SEASON.
How the Brush Is Collected and Distill
ed In Connecticut Valley.

S0 Ia SOuueCC1Cut tatIey.
From the Hartford Courant.
Big carts, heavily loaded with brush, may
be seen slowly moving along the country
roads in most of the towns In lower Middle
sex county at this time of the year. They
are laden with brush. cut from a species
OF the alder family, which after being chop
ped are put into a still, and the resulting
product is witch hazel extract
The witch hazel industry dates back about
thirty-five years. In the early '7os a young
man from Essex went to New York with a
few barrels OF witch hazel He knew that
he had a good thing. and he had the conr-
age of his convictions. He placed one bar
rel of his product with every wholesale
druggist who would take one. He then
hired salesemen to go out on the streets
and avenues and sell the witch hatel in
small lots. turning the sales over to the job
bers who had taken his extract
There are many kinds of witch hazel, for
this product is rather remarkable in that
1t has no standard except that given by its
manufacturer. 1t is not subject to chemi-
cal test, and the purchaser must depend
for its worth upon the good faith Of Its
distiller In making alcohol. for instance a
dfstiller obtains but four gallons of proof
spirit from a bushel OF corn though he
keeps his still working until the crack of
doom.
In the distillation of witch hazel how
ever. distiiler can take out twenty gal
Ions, forty. or even twenty barrels from a
ton OF brush at one operation. He can
keep on running the extract until he get,
tired 1t is all witch hazel, but, as a mat
ter of fact the first gallon Is the strongest,
the second is little weaker. and so on
until the odor in runnings Is but tempo
rary and there Is nothing left.
Others there are who, instead of using
the green twigs, distfll from the dried bark,
because 1T is so much cheaper and can be
! MADE any time In the year. But the prod
uct SO obtained has not the fine. pungent
odor obtained from young twigs. Some also
called for by the amount OF material and
the resulting product Is an aqueous distfI-
lation with but slight traces of witch hazel
characteristic odor
the witch hazel season does not open
until after all their crops have been har-
vested There is at such time little for
the farmers to do. and IL It were not for
tbs industry 1t might go hard with some of
them. They simply hitch their horses to a
Dig team and, armed with small ha tchets
drive out into the woods The witch hazel
grows in billy and rough places and 1t Is
usually difficult to get to the spot with a
heavy team.
On arriving at good growth Of the bush
all hands set to work cutting the brush off
near the roots and pfling 1t into the teams.
There IS no nlistaking 1t, for II has a char
acteriStic look and pungent but plea ga MT
oGor When load is obtained it is driven
10 the nearest cutting station, where it is
cut then macerated and put into the still.
Ine price paid for the brush Is about 81 so
to 50 ton
The brush is very plentiful and easlly cut
oi. IL Is sometimes hard to reach, and the
cutting stations are often distant, so that
the farmers cannot dispose of large ouan-
titles in a day. There is, therefore. not very
much money In it for them. but 1t has its
auVantages, Tor 1t keeps them and their
stock busy at time of the year when there
is little else to be done