The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1907-10-29
T&&u 8 WASTfA?noDUGH# VhL.
UhDLE.
Wise Utilization of Whole Ty2e Will
Forcstall Shortage in Southern
Yellow Pine.

Yellow Pine.
"In fifteen or twenty years, at the
present rate Of cutting, the supply. of
the longlcaf yellow pine Of the south,
one Of Americas most useful forest
trees will be nearly exhaustcd,' say
the experts Of the United States For
est Service. If these pine forests arc
wiped out one of the south s import
ant industries will die-the produc-
tion Of the so-callcd naval stores.
The lumber Of the Southern yellow
pine brings $l5 to $35 per thousand
feet, its turpentinc Sc cents per gal
lon, its roSin from $4.35 to $G.95 per
$50 pounds, and lis pitch 1925 Per
$50 pounds. All Of these prices are
gradually becoming higher and higher
on account of the increased demand
and the scarcity Of the products. For
mcrlv, turpantinc could be purchased
for 30 cents a gallon. Now rs cents
must be paid at Wholesale, and the
consumer Of gallon lots will pay at
times as high as 81 90
In the face Of these fast inrrcas-
ing prices, phplc are still found
who say that there is yet an mex
hanSt;blc supply Of yellow pine in
he south. and That all talk about a
famine Is unwarrantcd. Such state
mcnts are not justified by conditions
and the yellow pine numbering indus
, try will soon be in the face Of ser
i"u$ shortage unless decided changes
ar" made III the present methods,
and unless valuable products now 60
in" to waste are utilized. The long
leaf pine is y Slnw-~rowing tree and
docs not make timber with anywhere
near the rapidiiy that ii is being cut.
The Sltuati"n calls for making the
very best use of the present supply.
There are at present in the woods
OF the south vast quantities of pine
logs and tall stumps left as result
OF careless numbering in the past.
This material is rich in Lurpcntinc
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 sawmills in the
form Of slabs, cdgings, and sawdust,
all of which must have a 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
the 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-
pcntmc 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 80 mil
lion gallons. This is surprising fl
CURE, 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 turpcntine, the
gross saving would be easily $14,4OO,-
000
Men have realized for some time
that an enormous waste of valuable
substances is going on, aud a few
have succeeded in extracting the tur-
pentine and placing on the market
material of 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 a result Of this, wood tur-
pcntlnc is at present often considered
as an adultcrated material, or at best
as poor substitute for gum spirits.
1t IS true that in some eases these
opinions are well founded, but infer
ior products have put an unnecessary
dampcr on the whole industry
The Section Of Wood Chemistry Of
the Forest Service has lately been in
vestigating this subject, and some
valuable results have hpnn ohf o;nod