The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1909-03-15
.SCRDB PINE
FOR WOOD:|PUlL.P

LONG NEGLECTED JERSEY PINE
At LAST DESTINED TO SERVE
;l. GOOD PURPOSE.
WASHINGTON, March 1.-THE
long neglected and desptsed scrub or
Jersey pine. growing on the abandoned
farms and cut-over lands OF the East.
seems destined at last to have, reach
cd, its lishtful place as a material of
value. according to the results obtains
( cd taro.gh recent pulp and paper
making tests at the United States For
est Service laboratories in Washing.
ton.
while there Is q. considerable
amount Of this wood standing as tim
her, It has heretofore been used only
10 d very desultory fashion, and then
mostly ns fuel. About 100000 acres,
or 30 per cent. Of the wooded area Of
Maryland. and about 1900 acres, or
10 per cent. OF that Of Virginia. Is GOV.
cred With fairly dense stands, while
the broad range Of the tree extends
along The Atlantic seaboard from
southern New York To Soum Carolina,
and back over the Appalachians to
central Indiana where Its largest spec:
linens are, found.
While q number Of mills have used
scrub pine for tho manufacture Of
soda pulp and groina wood, no plants
have ever operated the sulphite pro.
cess. Scrub pine might have been
used to good advantage long ago, but
for the fact that Il did not seem to
the practical paper maker even wor.
thy OF trial. BY only slight changes
OF the regular cooking treatment which
is ordinarily accorded pulp wood In
the sulphite recess, however. II has
now yielded a pulp product which
has been favorably commended upon
by numerous members Of the paper
trade 'hs a substitute for spruce sui
phite In the manufacture OF newspa.
per.
When a forest OF scrub pine is ma
tnred. = fully stocked stand will yield
thirty to forty cords per acre, when
economically harvested according to
the practical forestry methods. At the
present time there Is practically no
general use for the timber. outside
OF fuel, although a coarse lumber Is
made Of It and It is sometimes used
for fencing, An evidence OF the low
| esteem IN which this line Is held Is
the prise which the Maryland wood
, brings when delivered-s5.T5 per cord.
The wood Itself Is Of a Night yellow
color, with n white sap wood. It is
light in weight. is brittle. and coarse
grained. while It iB fairly durable in
contact with the weather, It's weak
structural properties Offset any ad.
vantage this might give.
One advantage Tor paper making
which scrub line Is snid to have, Is
the fact that there Ia considerably>less
loss in barking It than with ordinary
spruce. The logs arc, in general, res
ular nnl not difficult to handle. The
wood yields quite easily to a ,srlphfte
treatment when using en- acid cooking
liquor slightly stronger than the or
nary mill strength. In treatment the
wood requires from eight To eleven
hours, while Vhe maximum steam pres
sure has not been over sixty pounds
temperature ESQ degrees centlgrade)
and In some cases It was but 81
pounds. The unbleached pulp in these
exeriments Is OF n light grayish or
brownlsth color, not mike that from
spruce, II course depending upon the
cooking conditions. which can be con.
trolled to suit the manufacture.
Tie fiber is ','.ong and durnble
and Ia about the same sl2e as that Of
spruce, being possibly a tribe broad.
or. The Yields obtained by the For.
est Service are abolt the same as are
obtained from the woods now in gen.
eral use. The amount Of screenings
Is very low. Scrub pine presents no
. serious disadvantages in regard to
bleaching. ALgood white color Is read.
lily brought about. While some OF the
cooks require more bleach than is or.
-=. ..| I#|.| ..##.. aH. #. #".
dinarily practical or economical, yet
by cooking properly the amount OF
bleach required has been brought
down t, go pounds or 81 per cent.
bleach per ton Of pulp. BY sight?
changing the conditions Of treatment,
It Is believed that still lover percent;
ages mny be employed while tho color
produced remains tic hest white.
Practical p%arcr.nakcrs who haro
seen this product arc almost nnan!-
nous In claiming It to be q strong,
!; long-flbercd. and hnrd wearing pulp,
/ which goGms cSDnciAlly desirable for