HARDWOOD DISTILLATION 199 



sumption of wood in the industry, due to the economy in plant operation 

 with the advent of the oven in the early nineties. 



Up to 1900 the industry was almost wholly centralized in the state of 

 New York. At that time a few plants were started in Pennsylvania, 

 just over the border from the southern tier of counties in New York. 

 About 1902 to 1906 the industry was further developed in Michigan, 

 where the largest wood distillation plants, some of them utilizing as much 

 as no to 200 cords of wood per day, are now located. Ideal conditions 

 are present for the successful manufacture of wood distillation products 

 in Michigan because of the availability of the raw material in connection 

 with hardwood, saw and planing mills, together with the fact that iron 

 furnaces are maintained in connection with them where the charcoal 

 can be used to the best economical advantage. In addition, the raw 

 material is secured from the waste of sawmills and logging operations, and 

 one of the principal products can be utilized on the ground without exces- 

 sive shipping rates. 



Before 1907 wood alcohol had been bringing from 38 to 40 cents per 

 gallon wholesale for the crude product, that is, the 82 per cent crude 

 alcohol. When the Federal Internal Revenue Department removed 

 the tariff on grain alcohol, which took effect September i, 1907, the 

 price of crude wood alcohol dropped to about 16 cents per gallon and 

 gradually came back to 26 cents. The approximate price in 1916 was 

 45 cents per gallon, and in March, 1917, was 65 cents, a price stimulated 

 largely by the European War conditions. Before the war in 1914, the 

 price was about 25 cents to 28 cents per gallon of crude 82 per cent alcohol. 



PROCESSES OF MANUFACTURE 



Within the past fifty years the developments in the processes of man- 

 ufacture followed in hardwood distillation have been remarkable. The 

 history of the industry represents an evolution from the old wasteful 

 charcoal pits. To recover the condensable gases lost in making charcoal 

 by the old pit process, brick kilns were used. This was a very crude 

 process, but represented a great step in advance. Next came the round 

 iron retorts placed in " batteries " of two each in long bricked-up rows, 

 and within comparatively recent years the steel oven which is a great 

 labor- and time-saving device. The following are brief descriptions of 

 these three processes which followed each other in rapid chronological 

 order : 



