The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1907-10-29
T2&u'& WAS%EA2BoDUGYS VAL.
UhBLE.
Wise Utilization Of Whole Tree Will
Forcstall Shortage in Southern
Yellow Pine.

the longlcaf yellow pine Of the south,
one Of Americas most useful forest
trees will be nearly exhausted.' say
the experts Of the United States For
est Service. If these pine forests are
wiped out one Of the south s import
ant industries will dic-the produc-
ton Of the so-called naval stores.
The lumber Of the Southern yellow
pine brings $l5 to $35 per thousand
feet, its turpcntinc Sc cents per gal
lon, its roSin from 1896 to $6.95 per
2S0 pounds, and its pitch 1925 per
2S0 pounds. All Of these prices are
gradually becoming higher and higher
on account Of the increased demand
and the scarcity of the products. For
mcrly, tWT2ntinc could be purchased
for 30 cents gallon. Now :5G cents
must be paid at Wholesale. and the
consumer Of gallon lots will pay at
times as high as $l.00.
In inc face Of these fast incrcas-
in" prices, people are still found
who say that there is yet an mex
hanSt;blc supply Of yellow pine in
the south, and that all talk about q
famine is unwarrantcd. Such state
mcnts arc not justified by conditions
and the yellow pine numbering indus
try will soon be in the face of a ser
i"uS shortage unless decided changes
arc made in the present methods.
and unless valuable products now 60
in" to waste arc utilized The long
leaf pine is Slnw--rowin~ tree and
does not make timber with anywhere
near the rapidiiy that il is bcin. cut
The Sltuaii"n calls for making the
very best use Of the present supply.
There are at present in til" woods
of the south vast quantities of pine
logs and tall Stumps left as result
ct careless numbering in the past.
This material is rich in Lurpcntine
and could be made to yield from ten
to fifteen gallons Of refined spirits
per cord. Besides this, there is a
great waste at the sawmlls in the
form of slabs, cdgings, and sawdust,
all Of which must have value, bu:
at present is, for the most part, SIM
ply burned to get it out Of the way.
IN fact, not more than 60 per cent of
e tree as it stands in the forest
comes to the market in the form Of
valuable materials.
In the year 1906 the reported cut
of southern yellow pine WAS some -
billion board feet. A conservative es-
innate Of the actual amount Of tur-
pcntlnc alone, to say nothing of wood
fiber and other materials. which
could be produced from the waste
wood Of this one year, would place
the amount at not less than 30 mil
lion gallons. This is surprising fl
gnrc, when it is remembered That it
represents an amount almost equal to
the present annual production Of
gum spirits in this country. If this
product were extracted from the
wood and sold at even the current
price of good wod turpcntinc, the
gross saving would be easily $14,40O,-
600.
Men have realized for some time
that an enormous waste of valuable
substances is going on, and a few
have succeeded in extracting the tur-
pentine and placing on the market a
material of a fairly good quality. In
the majority Of eases. however, the
article has been of an inferior grade,
due generally to the fact that the
technical methods used have been
faulty. As result Of this, wood tur-
pentlnc is at present often considered
AS an adultcrated material, or at best
rs poor substitute for gum spirits.
Ii Is true that in some eases these
opinions are we'll founded, but infer
lor products have put an unnecessary
dampcr on the whole industry.
The Section Of Wood Chemistry OF
the Forest Service has lately been in
vcSti@ating this subject, and some
valuable results have been obtained.
1t has been found that for the recov-
cry Of tnrpentinc from wastewood,
the steam distillation process is far
superior to that of dis;iIling the
wood dcstructivcly. The crude tur-
pentinc is in ali eases more uniform,
and the final refined materials are
MS rub Of better Grade and can de-