HARDWOOD DISTILLATION 193 



because the utilization of this material is considered as salvage. On 

 most of the New York and Pennsylvania operations steep, rocky hill- 

 sides, covered by the desirable hardwoods, are anywhere from one-half 

 mile to several miles from the plant or shipping point. Stumpage on 

 these operations, particularly in Delaware County, which is the center of 

 the industry in New York State, runs about 75 cents per cord. Alto- 

 gether they vary between 25 cents to $1.00 per cord. There is a general 

 tendency for stumpage values to rise. This has been especially true 

 during the past decade. Since the European War broke out, the 

 stumpage values have been inflated to a considerable extent above these 

 figures. 



Cutting and Delivering to the Factory. 



Cutting is done by choppers who, in many sections, look upon getting 

 out the annual cord-wood supply in the winter as a lucrative means of 

 winter emplo)mient. The trees are cut up in 50-in. lengths and hauled 

 on sleds when snow is on the ground or on wagons directly to the acid 

 plant. Hauls up to 8 to 10 miles are fairly frequent. 



For cutting and stacking, the usual figure is about $1.25 to $1.40 per 

 cord. Cutting is usually done by contract and where the wood is favor- 

 ably sized and located for chopping and the ground fairly level^ cutting 

 and stacking can be done as low as $1.00 to $1.10 per cord by experienced 

 choppers. The maximum figure is about $1.50 per cord. The cost of 

 hauhng varies with the distance and the character of the ground and the 

 road over which the load is hauled. One and one-half to two cords are 

 usually considered the maximum load under the most favorable condi- 

 tions. The total cost of wood delivered at the commercial plants is about 

 $4.00 per cord. Estimates obtained from all the New York plants show 

 that the average value of cordwood delivered at the plants in 1916 was 

 $4.06 per cord. The maximum cost was estimated to be $5.00 per cord 

 at one plant. At another plant, the cost was estimated to be $3.25 per 

 cord which was the minimum estimated cost in the State. 



Seasoning and Weights. 



In all cases the wood must be seasoned for at least one year before 

 being used in the ovens or retorts. If used green, the high-moisture con- 

 tent is excessive and too much heat is required to derive the product. 

 At many of the plants it is estimated that before seasoning, the average 

 cord of mixed beech, birch and maple weighs in the neighborhood of 6200 

 lb. After seasoning the average cord weighs about 3800 lb. The wood 

 is used in the process with the bark on. All forms of limb and body wood 



