HARVESTING TANBARK 



463 



WEIGHT OF HEMLOCK BARK PER SQUARE FOOT 



Bark is shipped to tanneries and stored in sheds or in the 

 open in well constructed piles in order to prevent the bark from 

 becoming moist, otherwise it becomes moldy and the tannin 

 leaches out. As tannin is more readily extracted from dry bark 

 than from green it is usually seasoned for a year or more. 



CHESTNUT OAK 



Peeling operations are conducted from the middle of April 

 until the middle of June or the first of July. The general plan 

 of peeling and hauling bark is the same as for hemlock. Many 

 small operations are conducted and the bark sold f.o.b. car by 

 the owner to tannery agents. The ruling price in Virginia and 

 West Virginia during the summer of 191 1 was $8.50 per cord 

 on the car. 



The average cost per cord of harvesting chestnut oak bark 

 in the Appalachians is as follows : ^ 



Cutting, peeling, and curing, per cord $i . 25-1 .50 



Carrying and sledding, per cord .90-1 .45 



Sleds and sledding roads, per cord .15- .30 



Total $2.30-3.25 



Tanbark from the headwaters of the Potomac river in West 

 Virginia in 191 1 was delivered at Edinburg, Virginia, 16 miles 

 distant, at approximately the following cost per cord: 



Stumpage $0.50 to 0.75 



Cutting, peeling, and bringing to the wagon road 1.50 



Wagon haul, 16 miles 4.00 



Loading on car 0.35 



Total 56. 60 



^From Logging, Lumbering, or Forest Utilization, by C. A. Schenck. 



