The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-03-15
SCRUB PINE FURNISHES
Wood Pulp Material, Says Report from
National Laboratories.

4
Washington, March l5.--The long
neglected and despised scrub or Jersey
pine, growing on the abandoned farms
and cut-over lands of the East, seems
destined at last to have reached its right
I full place as a material of value, accord
ing to the results obtained through re-
cent pulp and paper making tests at the
United States forest service laboratories
in Washington
| While there is a considerable amount
of this wood standing as timber, it has
heretofore been used only in a very
desultory fashion, and then mostly as
fuel. About 100000 acres, or 20 per
cent. OF the wooded areas of Maryland,
and about 10000 acres, or 10 per cent.
of that Of Virginia, is covered with fair
] ly dense stands, while the broad range
OF the tree extends along the Atlantic
seaboard from southern New York to
South Carolina, and back over the Appa
lachians to central Indiana, where its
largest specimens are found.
While a number of mills have used
scrub pine for the manufacture Of soda
pulp and ground wood, no plants have
ever operated the sulphite process. Scrub
pine might have been used to good cd
vantage long ago, but for the fact that
IL did not seem to the practical paper
maker even worthy of trial BY only
slight changes OF the regular cooking
treatment which is ordinarily accorded
pulp wood in the sulphite process, how
ever, it has now yielded q pulp product
which has been fayorably commented
upon by numerous members of the paper
trade as substitute for spruce sulphite
in the manufacture of newspaper.
When forest of scrub pine is ma.
tured, fully stocked stand will yield
thirty to forty cords per acre, when eco
nomically harvested according to the
practical forestry methods. At the pres
emit time there is practically no general
use for the timber, outside of fuel, al
though coarse lumber is made of il
and it is sometimes used for fencing
An evidence Of the low esteem In which
this pine is held il the price which the
Maryland wood brings when delivered
1915 per cord. The wood itself is Of
light yellow color, with white sap
wood. 1t is light in weight, il brittle,
and coarse-g rained. While it IL fairly
durable in contact with the weather. its
weak structural properties efsst any
advantage this might give.
One advantage for paper making which
scrub pine is said to have, 10 the fact
that there Is considerably less loan in
barking it than with ordinary spruce.
The logs are, in general, regular and not
difficult to handle. The weed Yields
quite easily to sulphite treatment
when using an acid cooking liquor slight
w stronger than the ordinary mall
strengths. In treatment the wood re-
ouires from eight 30 eleven hours, while
the maximum steam pressure has not
been over sixty pounds temperature (l50
degrees centigTade) and in some eases
Il was but 81 pounds The unbleached
pulp in those experiments Is of q light
or brownish color, not unlike
that from spruce. of course depending
upon the cooking conditions, which can
be controlled to suit the manufacturer.
The fber is strong and durable and
4 about the same size as that of spruce,
being possibly trile broader. The
Yields obtained by the forest service are
about the same as are obtained from
The woods now in general paper making
use. The amount of screenings is very
low. Scrub pine presents no serious dis
advantages in regard to bleaching. A
good white color is readily brought about.
While some of the cooks require more
bleach than ~ ordinarily practical or
yet by cooking properly the
amount Of bleach required has been
brought down to $50 pounds or go per
,ent bleach per ton Of pulp. By slightly
hanging the conditions of treatment, IL
S believed that still lower percentages
nay be employed while the color pro-
luced remains the best white.
Practical paper makers who have seen
his product are almost unanimous in
tanning it to be a strong, long fibred,
md hard wearing pulp, which seem es-
,cciallv desirable for making bag. news,
nd wrapping papers. Several even went
o far as to say that It would make fine
'ank or ledger papers when properly
iandled, and that this wood gave one
# the best fbers which has been pre-
JARED from pine weed.