T A R 



5-1 



I A 1! 



without flame, a in making charcoal. During this com 

 bustion the tar exudes; ami a cast-iron pan hfiiiir nt th 

 bottom ol the 1'iiiuifl, with a spout \\iiuli project* thruuirl 

 thf >uli' Hi thr hank, barrels an- placed lifiu-uth tlii gpou 

 to collect the tliml H.I it comes away. An fust as thf bar 

 n Is arc filled, they an- Imnged anil insult- ready tor ex 

 [inflation.' From this <lf niitiiiti.' he adds. it will IK. 

 fMilfiit that the mode ol' obtaining tiir is by a kind of dit- 

 tillation i* i- ilnrimtum ; the turpentine, melted bv tin. 

 fire, mixing with the MI p and juices of thf fir, while ti 

 wood itself, becoming charred, is converted into charcoal. 

 The procesH of tar-making in Sweden, north of the ll.iih 

 mini (rulf. has been more recently described in l,aing' 

 'Tour in Sweden.' in which work it is stated that fir-tree 

 which are stunted in growth, or from their situation im 

 suitable for the saw-mill, arc prepared tor thiit purpose- by 

 peeling off the bark to the height of one or two fathom* 

 up the stem. This is done by degree*, so that the trei 

 may not decay and dry up at once, but may remain foi 

 ti\f or six years in a vegetative slate, alive, but no 1 

 growing. The sap, thus checked in its circulation, makes 

 the wood licher in tar, so that, when cut down, the tree is 

 almost entirely converted into the substance from vvhicl 

 tar is distilled. The roots, rotten stubs, and .-corchci 

 trunks of trees felled in clearing land, are all applied to 

 the purpose of producing tar. It is slated, in the last 

 mentioned work, that the state of the weather during tin 

 process of burning or distilling greatly affects the amount 

 of produce. The labour required to convey the tar from 

 the forests to the rivers is often very irreat ; and not un- 

 frcquently the barrels are committed to the stream in 

 (udiT to pass rapids or falls. 



In some parts of France and Switzerland tar - 

 in a kind of oven or kiln, built of stone or brick, in tlu 

 form of an egg, with its smaller end downwards. These 

 kilns are sometimes as much a.s ten feet deep and sixfict 

 in diameter: and they are provided with a gun-barrel or 

 lube at the lower eiid'to conduct, the tar. as it is made, to 

 U placed to receive it. The wood is cut into billets, 

 and freed from its bark; and the kiln is rilled with bundles 

 of billets, chips being inserted to fill up the interstices. A 

 layer of chips is also placed at the top of the kiln, which, 

 when charged, is covered over with flat stones, so arranged 

 as to form a kind of vaulted chimney. Fire is applied to 

 the dry chips at the lop, through a'n opening left in the 

 centre, and, a* soon as the pile is fairly lighted, the chim- 

 ney is closed in with a large stone, and wet earth is heaped 

 upon the top i>f the kiln until the escape of smoke is effec- 

 tually prevented. It is however necessary occasionally to 

 h the lire by the admission of a little air throuirh 

 holes in the sides of the kiln. The avcraire product of tar 

 ted to be from ten to twelve per cent, of the weight 

 of the charge: but the red wood and the knots furnish 

 about one-fourth of their weight of tar. Hy this plan 

 the wood is chaired more equally, and the tar is ( .f 

 superior quality. A Me quantity of lamp-black 



collects upon the stones which form the roof and chimney 

 of the kiln, and this is removed after each operation. l'io- 

 bably a still better plan would be to distil the wood in 



milar to those used in the manul'ac' 



coal-ir;us : but any such apparatus is unsuitable for the wild 

 loret districts in which tar is principally made. 



The great importance of lar and pitch its naval 

 enabled the Tar Companv i.in ITOM, to put Eng- 



land ' able inconvenience, by refusing to supply 



their own price, in such quan- 

 M thc\ miirht i i in Swedish shipping. This 



circumstance induced parliament to offer bounties for the 

 mipoitation of these and other naval stores from the 

 Uiitish colonies in North America, a measure which pro- 

 duced highly beneficial results. It wnscomp. 

 period that the annual consumption of ' >r'and 



pitch in (treat Hritain and Ireland was about 1(H>" 

 and that of other Kuropcan countries about "XKKI lasts, of 

 wlurli iour-filllis was tar; and it was stated that 1 



: :d,-<l the chief supply, considerable 

 in Norway and inmusia. Probably 

 this estimate was much too small ; for And. 

 that in 173O the quantity of tar annually shipped from 

 Archangel ill Russia was computed to be 4<),lHKi 

 The Amei: i independence, by interrupt ing the 



trade between Knu'l.ind and North America, revived the 

 funnel- difficult) respecting the supply of lar, and led to 



the establishment of the manufacture ol tar liom p- 

 an object which hail : attempted. If 



.;,'!! chemist, w!i ,,ut (he time of Char, 



is supposed to have 1 Mo piopose the makinir of 



coal-tar; and it wan made :mpn, 



of l.icifc, and in other parts ,tr dis- 



tilled in a kind , ! the 



Philosophical Tiaiisactious' vol. \i\.. \>.7>\l . wh: 

 published in May, 1(>!7. contains . 



making of pitch, tar. and oil out of a blackish stone in 

 Shropshire, communicated bv Mr. Martin i 

 of it.' The mineral used is described as a blackish ; 

 rock, lung over the sliiita of coal, in Jirosclcy. Hcntlv , 

 I'itchford. .Vc. ; and the bituminous part was separated by 

 breaking the rock to powder, and boihnir it with 

 About the year ITT'-I, in consequence, as before slated, ol 

 the American war, some lamp-black in,. ,-rs at 



lln-tol turned their attention to the manufacture 

 from pit-coal; and in 17NI. Lord Dundonald, a nobleman 

 distinguished for his scientific pursuits, obtained a 



for improvement* upon the pioecss pievumsly fol. 



Mr. Pitt, of 1'endeford. near \Volverhanipton. in a lellei 

 addressed to the Socictv of Arts, in 17UO, on the snbj 

 converting the smoke of .steam-engine furnaces into tar. 

 alludes to three establishment* at liradlcy. Tipton, and 

 Dudley Wood, erected bv Lord Dundonald and the gentle- 

 men associated with him : ai:d stales that the ! 

 then carried on with succc > tar-work- 



Pitt.-are erected in the \ieinityof large iron and coal 

 works: the iron-masters furnish the tar-works with raw- 

 coal gruti*, and receive in icturii the cokes piv 

 by suc'h coal ; and the proprietors of the - have 



the smoke only for their labour and int. :|iital.' 



'l'r<inii<irtiiin\ nf Ihr Xm-ii-nj tif Art*. vol. iv.. p. l:t2.) The 



-s adopted at these works is fully detailed 1 

 Pitt. The manufacture ol coal-tar has not proved so im 

 |)ortant as was at one time anticipated, although for somi 

 inn-poses it is deemed superior to that made from 

 The author of the article 'Navy.' in the > 



''i/iffi/iii Britun/iiea, considers tar I 

 be an important resource in case of Kn--l. 

 pelled to revert to her own resources f, 

 and observes that for painting or tarring 

 of ever)' kind, it, is said to stand exposure to the weather 

 better than the common tnr. He also refers to the pitch- 

 lake of Trinidad [TRINIDAD] as a source whence an almos' 

 inexhaustible supply of mineral pitch and tar miirht be 

 obtained. Tar is produced in large quantities in the ma- 

 nufacture of coal-:ras : but in some districts its value i> 

 considered so trifling that il is mixed with the fuel bv 

 which the retorts are heated. It is usual! 1 from 



the iras by condensation ; but the introduction of a quiin- 

 titv of brushwood into the condenser, so as to form a me- 

 chanical interruption to the passage of the L r as. is found 

 'rcat!) lo a-sisl the operation. 



The import duty upon tar has bei n for 

 12v. per last,* if from liritish possessions, and l.'i.v. n 

 Ibreign countries: but under the ne.v taritt'of Sir Hoberi 



!s;-J . i; i, re-peetively (></. and 2v. (if/. ])er last. The 

 jiiantitv ini]iorted in the five years from iKCi to IsU'.l. was 

 ii'.ii-j-j lasts, or about 1'J.l'Jt lasts per annum : of which 

 ")S.l(Hi lasts, or ll.li'JI lasts annually, were entered for 

 ionic consumption. During this period the duty amounted 

 o ! l,tr.U/.. or upon an avei:iL r , B804/. per annum. Ofthe 



quantity Russia funiisheil about .~>0.1.V> lasts: the 

 Sweden. i!>7 la-ts : Denmark. 

 I.'&X) lasts: and Norway. Ills' lasts; |)H. remainder ' 



up of small quantities from Germany. Prussia. 

 Pitch is extensively manufactured in (ireai Hritain. \et 

 he quantity imported in IS;M is stated, by M'Culloeh. lo 

 lave been about 10.7">2 <-vvt. The' duty is la/, per cwt., 

 f from foreign countries, and 0</. if from Uiitish p, 



or. under the new tariff, i'xl. and b/. per cwt. re- 

 pi-e!i 



Dr. K.' D. Clarke's Tnir < . pp. 



i"il, i")2; Laimr's '/',,// //; Sirnl,;i in 1S.-(M, p. 17(i : M-,, 



il's Allllillx "f f'nmilir/-: ; ; M'Crlli, ,,,, n j 



TAUA. [SniKHn.] 

 TAKAIU.c MA.] 



TAKAI. [HiM.is.vN. p. -217.] 



* A lost i iwchr li ''< < '-i>.tnm-IIoHsc regula- 



lnuolmorlli'ti Oiiity uiwgttllm and half. 



