The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1906-02-15
WITCH HAZEL TIME.
SCENES OF ACTIVITY IN CON-
NECTICUT VALLEY.
Story of How the Brush Is Collected
ard Distilled Points of In
terost in the Busl-
ness

Big carts, heavily loaded with brush,
may be- seen slowly muviua alolG The
county roads IN most Oi jha towns
ia lower Middlesex county ai his t.He
Of the year They aru laden wi,h
brush cut FROM species ot the alder
family. which attrt being chopped are
put into still and the resulting prod
luct is witch hazel cNtrac says a re-
cent MiddIetown correspondent of the
Hartford Coutant
The wiich hazel industry dates back
about 10 years. In the early '7O's a
young man from Essex went to New
York with u few barrels of witch ha-
zel lie knew that he had good
thing. aud he had the courage of his
convictions. lie placed one barrel Of
his product with every wholesale drug
gist who would take one. He then
hired statesmen to go out on the streets
and avenues and sell the witch hazel
in small lots. turning the sales over
to the jobbers who had taken his ex-
tract.
There are many kinds of witch ha-
gel, for this product is rather remark
able in that 1t has no standard except
that given by its manufacturer. 1t is
not subject to a chemical test, and the
purchaser must depend for its worth
upon the good faith Of its distiller.
In making alcohol, for instance, a dis
tiller 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 distilation of witch hazel,
however, distiller can take out ~
gallons, 40, or even 20 barrels from a
ton OF brush at one operation. lie
can keep on running the extract until
he gets tired, 1t 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
runnings is but temporary, and there
Is nothing left.
Others there are who instead OF
using the green twigs distill from the
dried bark, because 1t 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 6
iarger proportion Of water than is
called for by the amount of the ma.
terial. and the resulting product is al
aqueous distillation with but slight
traces OF witch hazels characteristic
Jdor.
The witch hazel season does mo-
open until after all their crops hav,
Deen harvested. There is at such ;
time little for the farmers to do, ant
If it were not for this industry 4
might go hard with some of them
they simply hitch their horses to I
big team and, armed with small hatch
cts, drive out into the woods. Tn,
witch hazel grows in hilly and rougl
places and 1t is usually difficult TO ge
10 the spot with heavy team.
On arriving at a good growth Of tn,
bush all hands set to work cutting tn,
brush on near the roots and piling
into the teams. There is no mistakinl
II. for it has a characteristic look ant
pungent but pleasant odor. When
DAD is obtained it is driven to tn
nearst cutting station, where 1t 4
,ut, then macerated and put into tn
still. The price paid for the brush /
about $3.50 to IS a ton.
The brush is very plentiful and easi
ly cut. but it is sometimes hard /,
reach. and the cutting stations ar
often distant, so that the farmers can
not dispose OF large quantities In
day. There is. therefore. not YER
much money In 1t for them, hut 1t ha
its advantages. for II Keeps them an,
their stock busy at time OF he yea
when there Is little else TO be done.