run is tliirty-six or forty-ciglit liours. or 

 longer. 



Charcoal nhich is to be sold is cooled in 

 the retort, and that which is to be used for 

 fuel is drawn hot and sj>rayed with water 

 to prevent fire. The gas is allowed to 

 run to waste or is burned under the retorts 

 and boilers. 



The pyroligneous acid from hardwoods 

 contains the most valuable products, but that 

 from pine, which has a strong odor and a 

 reddish-brown color, is of such different com- 

 position that very little is done with it. 

 The yield from a cord of pine wood is, 

 according to the most widely accepted figures, 

 not more than 3 gallons of 82 per cent wood 

 alcohol and about 70 pounds of browu acetate 

 of lime. The extraction of wood alcohol from 

 pine wood is not at present on a commercial 

 basis, and at the majority of plants the 

 pyroligneous acid runs to waste. 



The crude turpentine is a dark red oil 

 with the bad odor associated with products 

 of destructive distillation. After proper 

 fractional distillation, it yields for market 

 a nearly colorless turpentine, which has a 

 ■ listinctivc odor. 



The tar is sometimes refined far enough to 

 produce a good quality of retort tar and 

 to yield oils which, with the heavy distillates 

 from the crude turpentine, make disinfect- 

 ants, wood creosote, and a number of market 

 articles. 



The refining processes, which are largely 

 secret are not the same at all plants, while 

 the products sold are far from uniform. 



Since few plants operate under the same 

 conditions, and since a number of products 

 may be obtained from the tar and crude 

 turpentine, it is difficult to estimate the 

 amount of products obtained from yellow 

 pine. Moreover, the wood itself varies widely 

 in resinous content. Heavy, rich "light- 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



wood'" contains the largosf quantities ot 

 turpentine and other oils, whereas other 

 kinds of "lightwood" may yield but little. 

 Sa|)wood yields the least. The following 

 table shows as nearly as practicable the 

 ordinary yields per cord of wood obtained 

 in practice by the destructive process; 



Iti'lini'd turpentine, gallons 7 to 12 



Total oils, luiludhiK tar 50 to 75 



'i'ar 40 to GO 



Charcoal, bushels 25 to 35 



The turpentine is used as a second grade, 

 inferior to gum turpentine. There are no 

 recognized grades of destructively distilled 

 turpentine, and the composition of the tur- 

 pentine from different plants is not uniform. 

 Formerly it was poorly refined; it is now 

 made practically colorless. In the refining, 

 certain hea\'y oils are obtained, which, when 

 combined with similar hea^'3' oils from the tar, 

 are made into "pine oils," used as disin- 

 fectants, paint dryers, wood preservatives, 

 etc. One of the uses for the tar is cable 

 coating. The uses of the acetate of lime, 

 in this ease "brown acetate," have already 

 been mentioned. The charcoal is burned at 

 the plant or sold for fuel. The pyroligneous 

 acid in its crude form is occasionally sold, 

 although most of it goes to waste. 



Several causes have led to many failures 

 among plants of this kind. One of these 

 was bad management. Men engaged in the 

 business, without training or a knowledge of 

 the market, expected an immediate demand 

 for the products. Another cause was the use 

 of inferior retorts, which in many cases were 

 made of thin steel and so were quickly 

 burned out. A third was lack of persever- 

 ance when difficulties arose. 



At the present time the market is badly 

 overstocked with wood distillate products, and 

 prices are ranging so low that new wood dis- 

 tillation ventures offer nothing of an en- 

 couraging financial character. 



25 



NeWs Miscellany. 



Indiana Hardwood Meeting. 



On the afternoon of January 16 the Indiana 

 Hardwood Lumbermen's Association will con- 

 vene at the Grand hotel, Indianapolis. Prob- 

 ably no lumber association in the country more 

 thoroughly enjoys its meetings than does this 

 one. and the gatherings are always characterized 

 by such good fellowship and sincerity that they 

 Invariably attract many visitors from outside 

 markets as well as lumbermen from far and 

 near who owe their abundant knowledge of the 

 )>asiness, and ■«ven their success, to early train- 

 ing received in the good old state of Indiana. 



The coming meeting is the regular annual 

 session. Election of officers and much other 

 important business will come up. At the close 

 of the session the usual banquet will be served 

 to members and visitors. 



On the day preceding, January 15, a sort of 

 "love feast" will take place at the Ciaypool 

 Hotel, when a supper will be given by the 

 Betall Lumt>er Dealers' Assoc'iation of Indiana, 

 the Central Association of Lumber, Sash and 

 Door Salesmen, the Indiana Hardwood Lumber- 

 men's Association, Uoo-Uoo, and the mill sup- 

 ply interests, to which mcmbcrB and friends of 

 these organizations will be invited. The com- 

 mittee having this affair in charge consists of 



L. G. Buddenbaum, H. C. Scearce, R. Griffin. 

 Alexander Hamilton, Charles Baniaby, George 

 Mass and N. A. Gladding, representing the above 

 interests respectively. The committee will meet 

 to complete art-angements on December 17, and 

 the joint affair will doubtless prove a very en- 

 joyable one. 



Meeting Board of Managers N. H. L. A. 



The board of managers of the National Hard- 

 wood Lumber Association held a meeting at the 

 association offices in the Uector building De- 

 cember 3 and 4, at which were present O. O. 

 Agler, C. E. Lloyd, Jr., and Sam E. Barr, re- 

 spectively first, second and third vice presidents ; 

 Frank F. Fish, secretary ; Gardner I. Jones, W. 

 A. lionsack. Earl Palmer, C. II. Barnaby, C. F. 

 Sweet, O. E. Yeager, G. J. Landeck, Theodore 

 Fathauer, George W. Stoncman and F. A. Dig- 

 gins, directors. 



A large amount of routine business was trans- 

 acted. After a thorough discussion of the vari- 

 ous phases of the matter, the secretary was In- 

 structed by resolution to advise all the licensed 

 inspectors of the association to apply the rules 

 adopted at the Atlantic City meeting last spring, 

 effective December 1, to all inspection and re- 



Inspection of lumber passing through their 

 hands after thU date save In Instances where 

 evidence of contract was present siiowiug that 

 sales had been made previous to December 1, 

 and under the old rules— when they shall In- 

 spect in accordance with original agreement. 



The treasurer's report showed that all debt* 

 of the association are paid, ond that it has a 

 larger baianco In bank than before In two 

 years. 



The secretary was authorized to Increase the 

 force of salaried inspectors, which now numbers 

 nlneleen ; It has been found necessary to add 

 three or four more. 



Building Operations for Novemuer. 



According to expectations, building operations 

 during the past mouth have suffered a consid- 

 erable decrease, as compared with November, 

 I'JOG. Official reports from forty-seven cities 

 throughout the country, received by the Amer- 

 ican Contractor, Chicago, and tabulated, show a 

 loss in the aggregate of 29 per cent. Fifteen 

 cities scored a gain from 1 to 05 per cent, while 

 thirty-two show a loss from 10 to OS per cent. 

 Building construction is generally considered the 

 most sensitive of ail financial undertakings ; 

 hence this decline may be taken as the most 

 serious retrenchment in any industrial line. 

 Plans in great numbers are ready and waiting 

 for a subsidence of the flnancial "flurry, " when 

 it is confldently expected that building will as- 

 sume its normal course. 



-November, 



City — I'joi. cost. 



Atlanta 37-1. 3SS 



Baltimore UU,940 



Birmingham 14U,40S 



luiffalo 820. 000 



Cbicngo 2.L"0S.loU 



Cincinnati 521,332 



Cleveland S70,31S 



Dallas 12S,«24 



Davenport 14,900 



Denver 345,335 



Detroit 1,408.450 



Dulutb 56,055 



Kvansvillc 37,071 



Grand Rapids 13U.387 



Harrisburg 2ti.S75 



Hartford 70.940 



Indianapolis 1(H,255 



Kansas Clt.v 591.2S0 



Louisville 55,458 



Los Angeles S46.780 



Milwaukee 1.119,887 



Minneapolis 615,315 



.Memphis 311.704 



.Mobile 30,401 



Xew Orleans 151.741 



New York— 



Manhattan 3.ca7,29U 



Brooklyn 2,312,725 



Bronx 1,455,755 



New York 7.465. "70 



Umaha 391,765 



rblladelpbia 1,159,025 



Patcrsoa 90.747 



Pittsburg S13,001 



Beading 32.275 



Rochester S44.2GU 



Scranton 214.513 



Spokane 171.575 



St. Louis 789,186 



St. Paul 083,300 



Seattle 453.023 



South Bend 33.000 



Syracuse 233,730 



Salt Lake Cliy... 79.400 



Tacoma 100,250 



Trenton 50,131 



Washington 300,783 



Worcester 134.340 



Total 25,110.«M) 



:!:..424.422 



