Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1909-01-02
GOVERNMENT STU DIES
NAVAL STORES

The lnitc1 States government mas
for the past fly" months been max
ing inv, stigations &C the timber sup
plv as j: is related TO III" naval
stores Industry of the southern
States A special apprC rrialon was
made by the last Congress to carry
on this work Fer some time those
interested in the turpcntlne industry
have felt t!.n need OF accurate data
regarding, the supply Of timber still!
Available fer The production o. ur-
.. ntiEp. The degree Of Injury sus-
tanned b. the lonsleaf pin" durinS
the process Of beedinfg fer resin has
always been a subject of contention
between the lumbc-m"n. en- the one
hand. and the turv"nrn" operators
on the other. and a SPECIAL effort was
made to ascertain reliable facts bear
ing upon this phase of the ln'tsti-
cation. Statistics Of production are
also in Process of compilation. The
nrc.cnt methods OF obtaining resin
from the tree and especially the OK
tent Of use and the practlcablllty OF
the new cup system Of collecting
gum have come under careful study.
In order that the best possible re-
suits might +" obia}ned all parts
OF the naval stores producing region
were visited the best informed opera
;,,.n nhCrrIH-
tons were made in regions OF vary
inc conditions. The data collected
in The ,urpentin" investigation are
now being brought together. in re-
port which will later be published.
Some of the points brought on: arc
as follows:
The new cup system Of gathering
the gum whereby the Injurious mole
or box" cut ia the tree TO eaten
the gum has been replac, by cup
hung on the tree have generally
proved bo,h practical and profitable.
and are everywhere gaining in fav-
Or
As compared with the old and eE-
cecdingly Injurious box system
,, these new methods unquestfonably
lessen the injury done to the timber
and IenCthen the average liz" OF the
tree after bleeding. This increase
in efficiency is due 10 the fact that
thu cup system renders the tree less
susceptible to damage by subsequent
fires.
The United States Forest Service
men who made the investigation
found the field 0: The turpentlne
operators is moving westward. As
the available timber in the Older
sections OF the eastern states be-
comes exhausted the operator moves
further west in search of new
fields.
Finally. the available supply OF
tu7pertine timber in the. United
States is likely to be exhausted with
in the next fifteen wears TO the eX-
ten; that the tu.pentine Industry as
related to the production from living
trees will be seriously curtai]cd.
while a large falling OF Of produc
lion will probably occur within tea
years. This condition viii! he sur
prise to many who have held thai
large area Of fine pine timber in the
states OF Mississippi. Louisiana. and
Texas will come nnder production
ard thus tend TO Offset the falling
Fl in the East. Il HIS been found,
however. that he corGi 'oDs d fer in
these states As the timbcrlands arc
held in bodies Of considerable extent
by large companies who will not al
low their timber to be bled. TheiI
experience in turpc?tiniHg leads
them 10 the view that 'ne damage
d ne to the timber more than Offset
the additional revenue and has cans
cd them TO become antasonis;ic to
any advance looking toward the tap
ping OF their ;imE"t For this rea-
souS IN" naval stores Industry vii
pr badly never becom" the factor III
these states thu: il has on the AIlanL
IS Coast