HARDWOOD RECORD 



27 



~..[.\ I. lit !.■< :il-.. 



useil to iimko a later 



product. T li o 



heavier thin tar oil 



next separateil is 



used extensively in 



ui e d ic i n a 1 work, 



making salves, ce- 



rates, linamenta- 



iici'ous applications 



tor stock diseases. 



i>tc. -V coars^er fir 



tar rcsnlts from 



this still that is ail 



iniralily adapteil to 



tarring ropes, ship- 

 handlers' uses, etc. 

 I'he fir pitch from 



this still is the 



finest grade of pitcli 



obtainable and is 



used for caulking. 



roofing, etc. Being 



quite stiflf, yet elas- 

 tic, it excels any 



other pitch known 



for caulking seams 



iTi boats. It will 

 10] slightly with a 



-rain and yet will not soften under ordinary temperatures. It has a 



MTV glossy refractory surface and is tasteless. 



I'nder the trade name "fir oil" the light oil and tar oil pre 



viouly mentioned are combined and make practically a non 



weathering .nedium for paints. \ further concentration and com 



bination is sold under the name "orwood" for shingle stains 



and contains some fir creosote. It is much used in Cali 



fornia where the bungalows are sheathed entirely with shingles 



The heaviest oil obtained from this still is "firoleum," which 



- rich in creosote and is u?od on the coast in a creosoting process 



iur wood paving blocks. Being more fluid than the usual creo- 

 soting products on the market, it penetrates the wood cells much 



more readilv and furnishes a longer wearing surface. 



THE LAST riiODITT OF WOOD DISTILLATIOX. 

 FUEL FOR FITSXACE TO 



The last product 

 of the process in 

 this still is pyro- 

 ligneous acid. This 

 is the ordinary 

 pyroligneous acid 

 but with a fir odor. 

 It is a strong dis- 

 infectant and is 

 used on poultry ex- 

 tensively on the 

 i-oa<it. It h.is no 

 cffeit whatever on 

 the fowl, but kills 

 the vermin on them 

 and in the coops. 

 It is used in a con- 

 centrated form un- 

 der the trade name 

 ' ' orwood fruit 

 spray, ' ' and with- 

 out injuring the 

 bark, kills moss, 

 San Jose scale, and 

 insects. 



The remainder 

 left back in the re- 

 tort is, of course, 

 charcoal, a very ex- 

 cellent grade, and the pieces look like ebony replicas of their former 

 .selves — the spring and suinmerwood of the annual ring is as distinct 

 as formerly, knots and saw marks are all preserved. At the time the 

 writer visited the plant, it was about one hundred carloads oversold 

 in California, where it went to the chicken ranchers, who grind it and 

 mix it with chicken feed to make the hens lay. The final product of 

 this nature is the dust of charcoal which is used in filters and by 

 wholesale manufacturing druggists. 



It is hoped that this description of the products of destructive 

 wood distillation will iutcrest others, who may engage in a lessen- 

 ing of our tremendous wood waste — waste that is raw material 

 for some very valuable distillates — waste that could be had 

 almost for the asking, waste that may make some one wealthy. 



ITS RA.NOE OF TREES EXTENDS FROM 

 FEED FOR FOWL 



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Sane Forest Fire Protection 



Editor's Note 



Tht' loUowing report was read li.v .1. S. llickok. chief warden of the Forest P'iro rrotective Deijartuii^nt of the 

 Michigan Hardwood Manufacturers" Assochit'ion. before that bod.v at its regular quarterly meeting at Detroit, on 

 Oct. 22. It is herewith presented in the belief that it offers suggestions of inflnite value in the furiuation of a 

 definite forest protective policy, and in the further belief that protection against forest fires is coming to be real- 

 ized to a greater degree each year as one of the most necessary provisions in connection with modern logging opera- 

 tions involving vast investments in high-priced stumpage. 



In re|iorting on our second year's work of protecting the remain- 

 ing forests of lower Michigan against forest fires, I am pleased to 

 say that whatever success we have attained in controlling fires, thus 

 limiting the possibility of tremendous loss, is largely accounted for by 

 the painstaking and careful work of your wardens and the co-opera- 

 tion of the j)Cople and the press within the fire zone. 



When this department was organizeil, a little less than two years 

 ago, we entered a field of endeavor wholly untried in this locality. 

 We set out determined to win in the battle against fire and the great 

 havoc of fire damage from which the upper part of lower ilichigan 

 had suffered for so many years. We were advised by many thai, 

 the elimination of disastrous forest fires could not be accomplished, 

 that fires had swejit the country for generations and would continue 

 to do so for years to come. At the very out.set we encountered the 

 careless use of fire in a large degree and ignorance of the law al- 

 most beyond belief. Fires had be<-ome so prevalent during the 

 summer months that a season without them would have been marve- 



lous, indeed. With the elimination of carelessness, the chief cause, 

 resulting in the .safety to residents of the forest area, it is reason- 

 able to expect a keen interest in the "no forest fire" idea and we 

 may anticipate that before many years, destructive fires will become 

 a condition of the past, remaining only as a matter of history. 



In our report of one year ago, our records showed an exceedingly 

 small loss to members of this association during that year and, while 

 it becomes necessary to report a somewhat heavier loss this year, at 

 the same time we realize that we have passed through a season, the 

 possibilities of which were very favorable for heavy losses had not 

 prompt action been taken during critical periods. The season of 

 1912 was notable for an excessive amount of rainfall, the dry weather 

 being of short duration and devoid of high winds. 



The fire season of 191.'! was characterized by a dry and healed at- 

 mosphere accompanied by winds of great velocity, these conditions 

 continuing for periods of from two to three weeks. Although the 

 slash and forest lands were extremely dry and at times maiiy fires 



