Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1906-05-25
WITCH HAZEL SEASON.
lected and Distilled in the Con-
necticut Valley.

Big carts, heavily loaded with brush.
may be seen slowly moving along the
country roads in most Of the towns in
lower AiddleseX county at this time of
the year. They are laden with brush cut
from species of the alder family, which
after being chopped are put into still.
and the resulting product is witch hazel
eXtratt.
The witch hazel industry dates back
about thirty-fve years. In the early '10s
young man from Essex went to New
York with few barrels of witch hazel.
He knew that he had a good thing. and
he had the courage of his convictions.
He placed one barrel of his produce with
every wholesale druggist who would
take one. He then hired statesmen to go
out on the streets and evenues and sell
the witch hazel in small lots, turning the
sales over to the jobbers who had taken
his extract.
There are many kinds of witch hazel,
for this product is rather remarkable in
that it has no standard except that given
by its manufacturer. 1t is not subject to
:. chemical test, and the purchaser C.nst
depend for its worth upon the good faith
OF its dlStlller. In making alcohol. for
instance, a distilier obtains but four gal
Ions of proof spirit from bushel OF
corn, though he keeps his still working
until the crack of doom.
In the distillation of witch hazel. how
ever, distiller can take out twenty gal
Ions. forty, or even twenty barrels from
ton Of brush at one operation. He can
keep on running the extract until the
gets tired; it is all witch hazel. but, as a
matter of fact, the first gallon is the
strongest, the second is a little weaker,
and so on until the odOr in running is but
temporary, and there is nothing left.
Others there are who, instead OF using
the green twigs, distill from the dried
bark. because it is so much cheaper and
can be made any time in the year. But
the product so obtained has not the fine,
pungent odor obtained from young twigs.
Some also use a larger proportion OF
water than is called for by the amount
of the material, and the resulting product
is an aqueous distillation with but
slight traces of witch hazefs character
istic Odor.
The witch hazel season does not open
until after all their crops have been har-
vested. There is at such a time little for
the farmers to do, and if it were not for
this industry it might go hard with some
of them. They simply hitch their horses
to a big team and, armed with small
hatchets, drive out into the woods. The
witch hazel grows in hilly and rough
places and it is usually difficult to get to
the spot with heavy team.
On arriving at good growth OF the
bush all hands set 10 work cutting the
brush off near the roots and piling it iE+t>
the teams. There is no mistaking it, for
it has a characteristic look, and pungent
but pleasant odor. When load is OBJ
tanned it is driven to the nearest cutting
station. where it is cut, then macerated
and put into the still. The price paid
for the brush is about $3.50 to So a ton.
The brush is very plentiful and easily
cut, but it is sometimes hard to reach,
and the cutting stations are often dis
tant. so that the farmers cannot dispose
of large quantities in day. There is,
therefore, not very much money in it
for them, but it has it's advantages, for
it keeps them and their stock busy at a
time of the year when there is little else
to be CONGRATULATIONS cor Hartford
Courant.