ii6 FOREST UTILIZATION 



from long and narrow faces. The scar invites 

 red rot, badly checking the value of the timber. 

 The output in ten years is, per acre, 73 lbs. of 

 crude spruce rosin, 

 (c) Fir has rosin ducts only in the bark. Blisters or 

 bubbles of the bark filled with rosin yield the so- 

 called "Canada balsam" and "Strassburg tur- 

 pentine," collected in tin cans. The blisters are 

 opened with the rim of the can. 



§ XLI. VANILLIN. 



Vanillin, a substitute for vanilla, which has caused the price of bean 

 vanilla to decline rapidly and permanently, is obtained from spruce (fresh 

 cut) by removing the bark and collecting the sap either with sponges or 

 broad-bladed knives. The sap is then boiled, strained and condensed in 

 the vacuum pan to one-fifth of its former volume. 



In the cooling room, crystals of coniferine are formed from the syrup. 

 Coniferine, when treated with potassium bichromate and sulphuric acid, 

 is oxydized into vanillin. The syrup obtained as a by-product is distilled 

 and used in the manufacture of alcoholic beverages. 



Eighty gallons of sap yield one gallon of coniferine. 



§ XLII. BEECHNUT -OIL. 



Mast years of beech occur,, according to climate, every 3 to 8 years. 

 The nuts are gradually dried, slightly roasted, peeled and cleaned of 

 shells; then either ground, applying moderate heat, or pounded in mills 

 by stampers. The oil oozing out is strained and placed in a cool room 

 (in earthenware vessels), where the clean oil forms a top layer to be 

 poured off gradually. 



The residue is pressed into cakes and used as feed for stock. 



Two hundred pounds of dry beechnuts yield 5 quarts of oil. 



§ XLIIL PINE LEAF HAIR. 



Pine leaf hair, or curled pine straw, is used as a substitute for wool 

 and cotton in upholstering, carpets etc. The stuff is mothproof. 



Three hundred to 400 pounds of needles yield 100 pounds of wool. 



The price is $3 to $12 a cwt, according to the quality. 



A by-product is known as pine needle extract, used by the perfumer. 



The process of manufacture consists of: 



Drying the freshly cut needles; steaming; fermentation; crushing 

 • and disfibreing in pounding mills; repeated washing of the feltlike mass • 

 loosening on sets of oscillating sieves ; drying and bleaching. The product 

 has a greenish or yellowish color. It is called "pine hair" in North 

 Carolina, where the industry, now extinct, promised a successful career 

 twenty years ago. 



