180 FOREST PRODUCTS 



the still head and the consequent fire hazard, which must be carefully 

 watched in all still operations. 



After charging, the fire is started underneath the still. In the case 

 of " scrape," several pails of water are added. The process of distilla- 

 tion requires about 2 to 2\ hours. The operator or " stiller " watches 

 his charge very closely and he can gauge the distillation by the sounds 

 emitted from the still and by the relative proportions of water and tur- 

 pentine in the distillate. When needed, additional quantities of water 

 are run into the still, especially when distilling old dip and scrape. 

 The operator can determine the end of the distilling process by the 

 small proportion of turpentine in the distillate. It is never attempted 

 to remove all of the turpentine because a better grade of rosin is secured 

 in this way. The fire is then put out and the residue is skimmed to 

 remove the waste and foreign material such as chips, bark, needles, etc., 

 which collect on the surface. Sometimes skimming is done during the 

 distilling process. 



After skimming, the hot residue is allowed to run out an aperture 

 at the base of the still and through a short pipe and a set of three or four 

 screens into a large metal vat. The screens are placed, one above the 

 other and are of 6- to 8-, 14-, 32- and 6o-in. mesh from top to bottom. 

 A piece of cotton cloth is generally placed on top of the lowest screen. 



After cooling in the vat for a period up to an hour, depending upon its 

 temperature, it is dipped out into slack barrels which hold about 450 Ib. 

 Upon cooling, it hardens in about twenty to twenty-five hours into rosin 

 and is ready for shipment to market. Rosin is graded according to its 

 color. Virgin dip yields the lightest colored and best rosin, called "W. W." 

 or " water white," whereas the scrape yields the darkest and least valua- 

 ble rosin. The following are the grades of rosin, in order of quality: 

 WW, WG, N, M, K, I, H,G, F, E, D, B. 



As the distillate comes from the copper condenser or worm, it is col- 

 lected in a barrel, the turpentine rising by gravity to the top. Near the 

 top a spout permits the turpentine to run off into a second barrel, from 

 which it is dipped into barrels of 50 gal. capacity and shipped to market. 



Savannah is the great naval stores market in this country, both for 

 domestic and foreign consumption. Owing to the large foreign trade 

 developed and its proximity to the Georgia and Carolina turpentine 

 orchards, it has for a long time held a pre-eminent position and Savannah 

 quotations are recognized as the standard in the industry. 



The Savannah Board of Trade has been very active in developing 

 the industry along proper lines. As a result of some dispute and to 



