9 



The quantity and value of acetate of lime (gray) and of wood alco- 

 hol exported in recent years are given in the statistical abstracts of 

 the Department of Commerce and Labor as follows: 



Acetate of lime and wood alcohol exported 1898-1906. 



From these figures it appears that the export trade in wood alcohol 

 and acetate of lime, while it fluctuates from year to year, shows a 

 notable increase during the past nine years. 



PROPERTIES OF WOOD AFFECTING YIELD OF PRODUCTS. 



Methyl alcohol, acetates, acetone, charcoal, turpentine, wood oil, 

 and oxalic acid are directly or indirectly obtained on a commercial 

 scale from woods, and the yield is governed largely by the specific 

 gravity, weight per cord, and kind of wood, as well as by the manner 

 in which tlie manufacturing process is conducted. Many other farm 

 products, such as sugar cane, cornstalks, straws, cotton stalks, etc., 

 will yield these products, and it is possible that many other wastes 

 ma}^ in the future be utilized in this way. So far, however, but lit- 

 tle attention has been given to these materials, and for economic 

 reasons they are not commercially employed. 



SPECIFIC GRAVITY AND WEIGHT. 



Different kinds of wood have' different specific gravities, and even 

 samples of the same species differ in this respect. Specific gravity 

 figures are, therefore, of general value only, and can not be consid- 

 ered as strictly applicable to any particular lot of wood. The weight 

 of a cord of wood varies not only with the specific gravity of the wood 

 but also with the way in which it is piled, a closely piled cord 

 weighing, of course, more than a loosely piled one. It has been 

 found that as a rule there is 44 per cent of vacant space in a cord 

 of wood as usually put up, but 56 per cent of the 128 cubic feet being 

 actually wood. These facts undoubtedly account in part for the 

 widely different yields so frequently reported and must be considered 

 carefully in making calculations of yield of products in which wood 

 is usually expressed in cords and not by weight. The specific gravity, 

 weight per cubic foot, and ash of certain American woods, as deter- 



4208 No. 3607 2 



