Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1905-01-10
DISTILLED WITCH HAZEL.
GROWTH OF INDUSTRY IN RIVER
TOWNS OF CONNECTICUT.

So Great is the Demand for the Heal
ing Brush That 1t Has Beer Large
Iy Cut Off in Many Places-shipped
to Every Part of the Civilized World
Few persons who use witch hazel
extract for the many purposes to
which it is put are aware of the way
in which it is manufactured. 1t has
Tor ars been used as an Ingredient
for toilet and shaving soaps, and ow-
ing to its great healing properties ii
is many times called golden treasure.
The name witch hazel, or wien hazel,
known by the Latin name of Ham
amelis ViTginiana, came from the
early settlers from England, where
witch hazel, of wych hazel, is the
name applied to an elm which grows
in considerable quantity. The leaves
OF this shrub or small tree resemble
those of the hazel, and its wood is
often used to make the chests of boxes
for provisions, formerly called wyches.
The American hazel is found in
damp woods from Canada to Louis
lana. 1t is a shrub with long and
plant branch, which sometimes reach
the height of twenty feet, but usually,
not over ten feet The flowers, from
buds formed during the summer, open
just as the leaves are falling in Oc-
tober and November. It's yellow pet
allied flowers poisoning at this time
of year give it strange appearance,
which together with its healing prop
critics helped to fasten upon it the
name witch hazel. The fruit, which
is a two-seeded capsule, natures the
following summer:
The wood is white and close and
the bark and leaves contain large
amount of tannin. The trunks are
usually twisted, and owing to the
spotted bark, slatish and white, the
shrub is known, throughout New Eng
land at least, as spotted alder. The
small branches are often used as di-
vining rods in locating water, so great
is the faith put in the shrub. Some
times it grows 10 be as thick through
at the butt as a mans arm, but US
ually it is from one to five inches
in diameter, and this is the size de-
sired by the witch hazel distillers.
While witch hazel is found general
ly throughout Connecticut, it grows
much more thickly in some places
than others; for instance, Simsbudy
Is rich in this shrub, and in parts
of Litchfield County it abounds. 1t is
also found in goodly quantities along
the valley of the Connecticut and on
the hill towns nearby. So great has
been the demand for brush that 1t
has been largely cut of in many
places in Middlesex County, especial
ly along the river towns, and the
manufacturers are reaching back to
the country towns beyond to secure
their supply. 1t usually takes from
three to five years for a new crop to
grow.
Essex is really the home of the
witch hazel distilleries, for there it
has been distilled for many years, and
also in neighboring villages. Essex
is the home of the largest distiller,
or one of the largest distillers, in
America, e. E. Dickinson, having
made his money chiefly in the witch
hazel business. His father, the Rev.
Thomas Dickinson, distilled, in a
small way, witch hazel and black
birch, the latter for OIL.
Today the extract is shipped to
every part of the civilized world and it
is as well known in Cape Town as
in Paris. The business increased with
such rapidity that Others branched out
into the trade. but Dickinson being
in the lead continued on, while others
dropped to the rear. However, few
continued and there are othe plants
scattered along the connecticut River
towns in Chester, Higganum and Had
dam, as well as in other parts of the
country.
About five gallons of alcohol to
every barrel of extract is used. The
securing of the brush has proved a
profitable business for the farmers,
as it is gathered in the fall and win
ter AS high as $500 pounds have
been carried at one load. The brush
delivered brings $3.50 ton Where
it is purchased standing the price va
ries as to conditions in gathering, etc.,
from so cents to 81 per ton. Its yield
can be imagined when it is known
that about eight tons have been cut
from sixteen acres. 1t is easy to cut,
and, being lett in piles, is gathered
up, openings being left for the wagons
to come hroueh-Hartford Courant.