334 
The rapid exhaustion of southern pine may in a few years greatly hamper 
the expansion of the citrus industry. 
The fact that southern Illinois faces a similar situation should, we 
believe, lead men who do not need wet bottomland tracts for farming to 
save these woods, since their growth is rapid and there should always be 
a good market for the faster growing varieties in the form of logs for 
veneer. 
CHARCOAL-MAKING 
PROCESSES AND YIELDS - 
Mr. J. E. Black, Ullin, Illinois, has a battery of six brick kilns, each 
with a capacity of about 60 cords, and about one mile southeast of Olive 
Branch, on the Ilhnois Central Railway, there is a battery of four kilns. 
Cordwood which comes from bottomlands in which the cypress has been 
cut out, costs about $3.00 per cord, delivered at the plant, and the charcoal 
product from it is sold to companies making gunpowder. Almost any 
species of hardwood can be made into charcoal, but we are informed that 
to make the right kind of charcoal for blasting powder a mixture of the 
coals resulting from carbonizing different species must be made. As a 
rule the denser the wood the heavier the coal, charcoal made from cotton- 
wood being about half as heavy as that from ash. For this reason, the 
lighter woods, such as willow and cottonwood, are better adapted to sport- 
ing powders. 
The wood is cut into cordwood lengths and in the best practice is 
allowed to season for a year, either in the woods or at the plant. The 
main reason for this is that the higher water-content of the green wood 
necessitates more fuel for carbonization. Palmer (’14) says that hard- 
wood is distilled in three forms of apparatus: (a) in brick kilns, (b) in 
retorts, and (c) in ovens. The retort is the modern form of apparatus 
because the valuable vapors are saved and condensed to make wood alcohol 
and acetate of lime, and because the wood is drawn into them on steel 
cars, and less work is required for charging and recharging than with 
brick kilns. The kiln type is only economical when the chief product 
desired is charcoal, for which a fair price can be obtained, and in loca- 
tions where wood is fairly cheap and plentiful. 
The brick kiln has a circular base, the entire structure resembling a 
beehive in form. After it has been filled with wood it is lit at the top 
and closed up except for outlet holes near the base which can be opened 
or closed with brick or fire clay to increase or decrease the draft. The 
time required for finishing a kiln depends somewhat upon weather con- 
ditions, but it is usually from 12 to 22 days, including the charging of the 
kiln, the cooling, and the discharging. The yield (Geer ’07) per cord of 
wood from the brick kiln is from 45 to 52 bushels of charcoal, and prices 
