226 FOREST PRODUCTS 



amount of work and an unusually large opportunity for the skilled wood 

 chemist and engineer to develop a satisfactory solution to the many 

 problems. The material collected and made available up to the present 

 time on the industry illustrates what not to do rather than what should be 

 followed. The industry is characterized by a great number of com- 

 mercial failures due to fluctuations in market conditions and mistakes 

 in both chemical and commercial aspects. 



The first improvement in the industry was the introduction of iron 

 retorts to replace the open-air charcoal pit. This improvement made 

 possible the recovery of turpentine, a little of the pine oils, considerable 

 tar oil, creosote oil, pitch and pyroligneous acid in addition to the tar 

 and charcoal which were the only products of the old-fashioned charcoal 

 pits. The quaUty of these products was exceedingly poor and there was 

 but Httle demand for them during the earlier days of the industry. 

 The turpentine was of exceedingly poor quality but could be further 

 refined at some expense. The tar product was in less favor than the 

 product from the kilns and could be marketed only at a rather low price. 

 The market for charcoal was also poor and considerable quantities of it 

 were used to fire the retorts. The gas product was also used directly for 

 fuel. The pitch, if no market existed, was disposed of in accordance 

 with the ingenuity of the producer. It was sold in the solution of tar 

 oils or creosote oils or even sold as tar. The solutions gradually grew to a 

 large number and were marketed as oils, paints, insecticides, disin- 

 fectants, medicinal products, etc., under a large variety of trade names. 



Many improvements have been made in the retort process within 

 the past two or three decades, until at the present time a high grade of 

 turpentine and tars much superior to the kiln tars are produced. 

 Practically the only commercial success has been attained by the manu- 

 facturer who has developed a special ability to market his products, 

 particularly the oils, as specialties under established trade names. This 

 practice tended to decrease the keen competition which heretofore had 

 been very destructive to the successful marketing of the products. The 

 production of acetate of lime from the pyroligneous acid is a still more 

 recent development and was made possible through the increased de- 

 mand for acetones. During the war acetate of lime commanded a price 

 as high as 7 cents per pound and its production was greatly stimulated. 

 After the war, the price, however, dropped to about 2 cents per pound. 



Up to a comparatively recent date it is doubtful whether the greater 

 measure of success is to be attributed to the chemical engineer in charge 

 of the individual plant or the ability of the manufacturer as a business 



