Fortunes in Agriculture 209 



ture, tells how another decidedly Southern industry that of 

 naval stores has aided the war effort and will prove even 

 more important in the future. 



"In the early days," he said, "this industry's principal prod- 

 uct pine pitch was considered indispensable for caulking 

 ships. Today the raw materials are rosin and turpentine al- 

 most entirely. Their derivatives figure prominently in war 

 materials. Thanks to turpentine and a farseeing synthetic 

 chemical industry, we can now get synthetically the camphor 

 we need for smokeless powder, plastics and other require- 

 ments. Our scientists discovered some time ago that American 

 turpentine is rich in pinenes and constitutes excellent raw 

 material for synthetic camphor. Unlike World War I, when 

 Japan was our ally, the supply of natural camphor is now 

 completely shut off." 



No Soap Shortage Ahead 



Dr. Knight continues: 



"The supply of palm and coconut oils from the Pacific 

 Islands is also shut off and fat and oils available for soap stock 

 are steadily decreasing. We need fear no serious soap shortage, 

 however, for we can look to rosin to supplement our soap 

 stock. As this Bureau has shown, rosin is not a filler, but when 

 judiciously used with soap oils it will make good soap. 



"The naval stores industry is not one of the big industries 

 of this country. Nevertheless, some four to five hundred thou- 

 sand people in the pinebelt from North Carolina to Eastern 

 Texas depend on it in whole or part for a living. Today the 

 pine resin, or 'pine gum' as it is called, is still converted into 

 but two raw materials rosin and turpentine. But," he adds, 

 "the natural resin complex, consisting largely of terpenes and 

 diterpene, is, like coal tar, destined to become a source for a 

 host of valuable chemicals chemicals which are not only im- 



