16 USES OF COMMERCIAL WOODS OF THE UNITED STATES. 



weakened trunks were broken and fire completed the ruin. At the 

 present time less wasteful methods are employed. The lumber is 

 valuable and less frequently left to burn or decay. Improved meth- 

 ods have been found for extracting the resin. Cups are taking the 

 place of the deep boxing that once was everywhere in use. Under 

 the new system of working the product is better and more abundant, 

 and the trees sustain less injury. In 1908 about 11 per cent of the 

 turpentine Was produced by the cup method. The improved proc- 

 esses continue to grow at a rapid rate. 



A considerable portion of the longleaf pine forests of northern 

 Alabama were denuded years ago to supply charcoal for iron fur- 

 naces in that region. A similar use of the wood has been made 

 wherever sufficient market has existed for charcoal. In some locali- 

 ties refuse wood only is taken, while the rest goes to the lumber 

 operators. 



BY-PRODUCTS. 



Several billion feet of yellow pine pass through dry kilns yearly, 

 and it has been estimated that for every 1,000 feet entering the kiln 

 a gallon of turpentine evaporates and is wasted, or an equivalent of 

 3 or 4 million gallons annually. It is believed that the expulsion of 

 nearly all the turpentine from the wood is practicable, and that 

 little or none of it need be wasted, while the quality of the lumber 

 would be improved. Turpentine and pine oil are now being obtained 

 from longleaf pine mill waste at a number of southern mills by 

 steam distillation. At certain mills the shredded material is after- 

 wards used for manufacturing paper. It is estimated that the waste 

 of longleaf pine is sufficient to supply a quantity of turpentine equal 

 to that now produced in the naval-stores industry. A large number 

 of plants are running on longleaf pine stumps and " fat " logs by the 

 destructive distillation process. The chief products of this process 

 are turpentine, pine oil, pyroligneous acid, charcoal, and tar. In cer- 

 tain extraction processes the turpentine, pine oil, and rosin are ob- 

 tained. The obtaining of such products from longleaf mill waste ap- 

 pears to be on the threshold of rapid increase. 



The long needles of this pine have been used for various purposes. 

 If distilled green, an oil of balsamic odor is obtained, closely re- 

 sembling spirits of turpentine. By the distillation of the wood 

 spirits of turpentine may be obtained, the yield running from 1 to 10 

 gallons per cord. Pine wool is made from pine needles by boiling 

 them in a strong solution of alkali. The resulting fiber is cleaned, 

 carded, and made into fabrics or used in upholstering. 



One of the materials used in manufacturing lilac perfume is terpi- 

 neol made from turpentine. The manufacturers of synthetic cam- 

 phor employ turpentine in the process. Pine oil has its largest use 



