Evening star., 1919-01-05

way that they are able to milk the
same tree for many years. Indeed,
one tree in France is said to have
given sap for zoo years, while mere
five or six years is the limit for pront-
able operation. The French plant
orchards of pine trees as pure tur-
pentine proposition. They Know Jusi
when the trees should be tapped, ana
they make narrow gashes IN such
way that they do not greatly in1ure
the tree. They also bleach the sap
in shallow pans In the sun, ana pro
duce thereby a better product from
the same kind of gum. The French
met hod is slow and laborious ana our
chemists are now experimenting TO
get better bleaching, They are aiso
trying TO distill the turpentine Will
out the use of direct heat by using
a vacuum and steam, but so far 'hese
methods are not in general use
X
The Brunswick plant I have re-
ferred to manufactures wood pup
of the refuse fiber after the turpen-
tine and rosin have been taken out,
and it proposes to erect a paper mill
to further use this material. This may
form an important factor in our pa
per market in these days when wood
pulp costs so much. 1t is estimated
that 5000 pounds of rich, fat pine
stumps will yield about 5000 pounds
of wood fiber. This fiber is free of
rosin, and Is in just the condition
required to make wood pulp. 1t will
make about half as much pulp as the
weight of the fiber. So far most of
the factories making turpentine have
not gone to the expense of wood
pulp annex and but few attempts have
%I&o sfn
stuff will not make news print pa
per because it usually contains more
or less charcoal or burned wood and
is likely to have bark In it, 1t will.
however, make good grade OF
wrapping paper
In addition to the saving of the
turpentne, rosin and oil from this
dead wood is also the profit that ac-
crues from clearing of the ground
for the farmers. There are millions
of acres of cutover land in the south
that would be of value Just now IL
they were ready for the plow. About
Brunswick contracts have been made
with the owners Of such lands by
which the turpentine makers take out
all the stumps and roots. dead trees
and logs and live trees as well, IL
the man will permit. free Of charge.
There is no cost for stump pullers,
labor or dynamite. The only pay
the turpentne makers get is the
material they take out ana maui away
to the railroad.
In clearing land in this way the
work is done by large force OF men
who work in three gangs. The first
gang bores holes in the stumps be-
low the level of the ground. They
use drills operated by an electric
current generated by means Of a
gasoline engine on a wagon. The
electricity is carried to the drillers
by means Of long lines of copper
wire. The second gang follows the
drillers and inserts sticks of dynamite
or blasting powder into the holes. 1t
also puts in the fuses and lights
them. Following the explosions the
third gang comes along and gathers
up the splintered pieces of stumps
and roots which have been thrown
high into the air and scattered
around.
In this way thousands of acres of
land have been cleared and put into
cultivation and within the next few
years hundreds OF thousands of acres
more will be fitted for the plow free
Of charge to the owners Nowhere
else in the United States is the land
being cleared Of stumps in this way,
and at the same time at profit to the
. men doing the clearing.
FRANK Ct. CARPENTER.