The St. Mary banner., 1906-12-01
PRODUCTS FROM The PINES.
NORTH CARCLlNA'S GREAT IN
UuSTRY AS A BRITISH
AGENT SEES IT.
Supplying the Market With Rosen,
Turpentine, Tar Pitch, Spirits Of
Turpentine and Other By-Products
-"EIeeding" the Pine Forests.

pehline industry in the United States,
Mr.. Bell, British commercial agent,
says the gathering OF rosin in tne
United States dates back to the time
Of the early settlers OF that part or
the country va:cl is nov North Car
oina Fro ere the industry H.
extended, and IS now carried on III
all regions where the long leaf pine
is found in Sufficient abundance, and
more especially in the South Atlantic
and Eastern Gulf states. In addition
to the rosin and turpentine, the in
dustry includes the manufacture Of
tar and pitch. the distilation Of spir-
its Of tGrpCntine ard other by-pro-
ducts. The process, in brief, is as
follows: i'le trees are tapped and
the sap allowed to now into recepta-
cies prepared for the purpose. This
cap is distilled, and spirits OF tIrpen-
tine and rosin are obtained. Tar is
obtained by the destructive distilla-
ton OF the wood itself, and oil Of
rosin, OIL Of tar, common pitch, brew
tra t!tcA, etc, are obtained by r.
distillation or combination Of the
above named products.
2osin is obtained chiefly from the
long leaf pine Of which there was
formerly an unh"oken forest extend
ing from Southern Virginia through
the South Atlantic and Gulf states to
Eastern Texas. More than one-ha,f
Of the original forest. however. has
been exhausted, and there has been
little or no renewal. For number
of years the seat OF the naval stores
industry continued near the forests
Of North Carolina at a later period,
and within recent years, owing to the
increased demand for spirits of tur-
pentine and rosin having caused
large growth of the industry, tt dis
tricts have been very much t~5end-
ed, and now the centre is in Florida.
and reaches into Alabama, MississiD-
pi and Louisiana. The Southern
States abound in sandy soils suitahl"
for the growing of pines. These
tracts were at one time covered with
what were supposed to be boundiess
forests. Though there are still large
areas which have been untouched, the
greater portion of the primevai for
ests have had their best timber re-
moved. Forest fires and the opera
Aions OF the turpentine gatherers have
greatly damaged the remainder. I'm
der the present methods OF cutting
the trees it is merely question OF
comparatively short time before the
supply will be exhausted. It has been
at last realized that the timber sup
plies are not unlimited. and it is alb
solutely necessary that there should
be some modification OF the present
treatment If continued reproduction
is to be insured instead Of the COM
plete exhaustion which threatens to |
despoil the magnificent forest re-
sources
AS bleeding pine trees for the |
purpose OF extracting turpentine and |
rosin has been regarded as injurious |
70 the timber. the Agricultural De- |
partment undertook special inves- |
tigation involving mechanical tests;
physical and chemical analyses were
made OF the wood OF bled and unbled
trees from the same locality. These
results proved conclusively. first. that
bled timber is rs strong as unbled il
of the same weight; second, that the
weight and snrinkage Of the wood
are not Affected by the bleeding:
third. that bled trees contain practi-
cally neither more nor less rosin
than unbled trees, the loss Of rosin
referring only to the sapwood. and
therefore the durability is not affect
ed by the bleeding process. This re-
suit was entirely satisfactory. as pre-
viOIsly many architects and large
consumers, such as railway compan-
les, refused to employ bled timber.
to the United States GEN.
,us returns for 1900, tue area Occu-
pied by pure pine forests In the
Southern States was at that date ap-
1Co.0GO,000 acres. The
lverage stand in timber on this area
vas estimated as not far from 5000
eet to the acre. giving total stand
4 SOC, 0,OOO,O 100000 feet. The cut in
hat year was S,523OO0,0O0 feet. or /,
early per cent. Of the estimated
tand. There would therefore appear
D be sufficient yellow pine to last /.
Dr. thirty-three years. without ALLOW
1g for increase in the rate of en-
lmption or anything for growth in =.
ne interval
The resinous product OF the long- y
.af pine furnishes the bulk Of thu
Nv material for the production OF :
avail stores, which consist of resin, ~
lrpentine, pine tar and common
Itch. In addition to the above pro- {