The lack of chemical supervision at the works makes statements of 

 yield a little confusing, since wood alcohol and acetate of lime are 

 variable in quality and the number of gallons and pounds may there- 

 fore actually represent products of quite different composition. 



Kiln plants obtain about the following yield per cord of wood : 



Charcoal. . . 45 to 52 bushels. 



Acetate of lime 90 to 150 pounds. 



Wood alcohol, 82 per cent 4 to 6 gallons. 



USE OF PRODUCTS. 



These compounds have a variety of uses, which may be briefly 

 mentioned. Charcoal is used in blast furnaces for the production of 

 pig iron, in copper and sugar refineries, in the production of gun- 

 powder, for fuel, etc. Wood alcohol is sold under a variety of trade 

 names, such as u Columbian spirit" and " colonial spirit." It is most 

 widely used as a solvent in the production of shellacs and var- 

 nishes. It is also used in hat making, in perfumery, in the coal-tar 

 dye industry, in manufacture of formaldehyde, and for mixing with 

 grain alcohol to produce " denatured" or " industrial" alcohol. The 

 acetate of lime is a gray, finely crystalline body, which is used in the 

 manufacture of wood vinegar, acetic acid, many commercial acetates, 

 acetic ether, acetone, and other products. (From the acetone may 

 be produced iodoform and chloroform.) 



A number of receipts for the preparation of denatured alcohol have 

 been recently authorized by Congress and established by the Com- 

 missioner of Internal Revenue, so that denatured alcohol, with its 

 due admixture of wood alcohol, is now a market article. The wood 

 distillation plants now in existence in the United States are able to 

 produce probably 30,000,000 gallons of wood alcohol annually. 



Denatured alcohol is now a competitor of wood alcohol. At present 

 the producers and refiners of wood alcohol are in suspense as regards 

 the extent of the consumption of the product for denaturing purposes. 



STEAM DISTILLATION OF HARDWOOD. 



Several species of hardwood are distilled by steam in order to 

 obtain valuable essential oils. Sweet birch, for example, yields "oil 

 of wintergreen, " an oil used in medicinal preparations. No thorough 

 study has yet been made of this division of the subject, but it is 

 known that a small industry is supported. 



DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION OF YELLOW PINE. 



The destructive distillation of yellow pine is carried on in the 

 Southern States, where the distillation plants are so widely scattered 

 that a statement of the location by States would mean but little. 



The wood generally used is that of longleaf pine, from which tur- 

 pentine and rosin are mainly obtained. At some plants, however, 

 longleaf pine, shortleaf pine, Cuban pine, and others are indiscrimi- 

 nately used, but for the best results longleaf and Cuban pines are 

 selected. The most valuable material is wood rich in resinous con- 

 tents, or "fat," in which lightwood and stumps rank first, wood 

 immediately under the "box faces" next, and slabs and other mill 

 refuse last. Pine sawdust is not used for destructive distillation. 



[Cir. 114] 



