658 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



pearance of the turpentine in the 

 grain of the wood. The other 

 sort of wood which is used, after 

 the trees which have been boxed 

 for turpentine have done running, 

 they split off the faces over which 

 the turpentine has run, and of this 

 wood is made what is called green 

 tar, being made from green wood 

 instead of dry. 



When a sufficient quantity of 

 wood is got together, the first step 

 is to fix a stake in the ground, to 

 which they fasten a string, and 

 from the stake, as a centre, they 

 describe a circle on the ground 

 according to the size they wish to 

 have the kiln. They consider 

 that one twenty feet in diameter 

 and fourteen feet high should pro- 

 duce them 200 barrels of tar. 

 They then dig out all the earth a 

 spit deep, shelving inwards within 

 the circle, and sloping to the 

 centre : the earth taken out is 

 thrown up in a bank about one 

 foot and a half high round the 

 edge of the circle. Tiiey next get 

 a pine that will split straight, ofa 

 sufficient length to reach from the 

 centre of the circle some way be- 

 yond the bank : this pine is split 

 through the middle, and both 

 parts are then hollowed out ; after 

 which they are put together, and 

 sunk in such a way, that one end 

 which is placed in the centre of 

 the circle is higher than that end 

 which comes without the bank, 

 ■where a hole is dug in the ground 

 for the tar to run into, and 

 whence the tar is taken up and 

 barrelled as it runs from the kiln. 

 After the kiln is marked out, they 

 bring the wood ready split up, in 

 small billets, rather smaller than 

 are generally used for the fires in 

 England ; and it is then packed as 



close as possible, with the end 

 inwards, sloping towards the mid- 

 dle, and the middle is filled up 

 with small, wood and the knots of 

 trees, which last have more tar in 

 them than any other part of the 

 wood. The kiln is built in such 

 a way, that at twelve or fourteen 

 feet high it will overhang two or 

 three feet, and it appears quite 

 compact and solid. After the 

 whole of the wood is piled on, 

 they get a parcel of small logs, 

 and then place a line of turf, then 

 another line of logs, and so on al- 

 ternately all the way up, and the 

 top they cover with two or three 

 thicknesses of turf. 



After the whole is covered in 

 this way, they take out a turf in 

 ten or a dozen different places 

 round the top, at each of which 

 they light it, and it then burns 

 downwards till the whole of the 

 tar is melted out; and if it burns 

 too fast they stop some of the 

 holes, and if not fast enough they 

 open others, all of which the tar- 

 burner, from practice, is able to 

 judge of. When it begins to run 

 slow, if it is near where charcoal 

 is wanted, they fill up all the 

 holes, and watch it to prevent the 

 fire breaking out any where till 

 the whole is charred. The char- 

 coal is worth 2c?. to 3d. British 

 sterling, per bushel. It will take 

 six or eight days to burn a tar- 

 kiln : in some places they burn it 

 at such a distance from the ship- 

 ping that they have very far to 

 roll it, and even then sell it at 

 from 3s. 6d. to 5s. British sterling, 

 per barrel, sometimes taking the 

 whole out in goods, but never less 

 than half the amount in goods; 

 from all which it will be reason- 

 ably supposed that tar-burning 



