248 OX THE BEST KIXDS OF WOOD FOB CHABCOAL, 



volatile constituents will hare been expelled from the wood, leav- 

 ing abotit 250 bushels of good charcoal. 



The measuring and picking must now be proceeded with : one 

 man with a shovel begins at the outskirts of the kiln to remove 

 what remains of the turf, as it generally gets well charred with 

 the intense heat. Another man with an iron rake draws out 

 carefully the outer circle of the charcoal, and spreads it on the 

 ground a short distance back, after which both men take their 

 shovels, and with the pulverised turf and sand cover up the 

 exposed portion of the kiln . This process is necessary to cool the 

 charcoal. The exposed charcoal is now minutely examined, and 

 all doubtful pieces thrown aside. Any sparks of fire that may be 

 detected amongst the rest are quenched with a few drops of water : 

 that, however, is a rare occurrence. In order to insure the safety 

 of the charcoal and the comfort of those -who may use it. it is 

 absolutely necessary that every bit of it should pass through the 

 hands of the men, who must be competent as well as trustworthy. 

 The rest of the kiln has to be treated in a similar way, uncover- 

 ing so much of it at a time, then drawing out the cooled charcoal, 

 then covering up again until the whole is safely stored ; if the 

 weather is favourable, this cooling process ought never to be 

 hurried. This plan is perfectly safe and practicable, and has been 

 carried out for more than fifty years at Dalkeith, the charcoal 

 giving general satisfaction. 



But this year we have given it up, for the following reasons : 

 In the first place, it is killing work for the men. In this 

 variable climate, they have frequently to contend with rain and 

 wind — the former drowns the fire, the latter makes it burn too 

 strong. They are constantly harassed by the thought that at 

 any moment it may burst out and reduce their work to ashes. 

 TTith this anxiety pressing on a man's mind he cannot sleep, 

 and it is a common experience that when he lies down to take 

 a short nap, his sleep does him no good. The result is that in 

 three months a strong man is often brought to the verge of 

 physical prostration. Another reason is, it has to be done 

 in summer, when the days are longest ; and this is also the 

 oakq>eeling season, when men can be ill spared. Thirdly, it 

 entails great waste of material. Every kiln takes a heaped load 

 of turf to cover it, very little of which can be used a second 

 time. Then, for every ton of charcoal produced, there is a loss 

 of two tons of wood, which either disappears in combustion or 



