28 
BULLETIN 1061, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
pected in working thick stands of young timber before thinning or 
clearing up the land. 
On the Florida National Forest the longleaf pine of all ages and 
sizes, 10 inches and over in diameter, in a certain contract yielded 
a virgin working of 96,000 pounds of gum per crop, which gave 48 
The production of turpentine and rosin has shown 
a marked downward trend for some 15 years. This 
is due chiefly to the exhaustion of virgin timber. 
The very wasteful and destructive methods generally 
employed with both old timber and second growth 
have always meant a total production much below^ 
what w T ould be possible under a more conservative 
system. If the rate of decrease continues, within the 
next decade or so the United States w T ill lose its com- 
manding position in the w r orld's market and may in 
time be unable to supply its domestic requirements. 
barrels of spirits and 134 barrels of rosin. This was an average yield 
of 9.6 pounds per face, of which 8.3 pounds were dip and 1.3 pounds 
scrape. The timber as a rule is old and very slow growing, but was 
worked conservatively. 
Table 13. — Yield of gum in pounds during the first two seasons from 1-cup 
longleaf trees and during the first three seasons for 2-cup trees' 1 
Diameter 
of tree 
(breast 
high) 
Yield of gum during 
season 
One-cup 
trees (first 
or second 
year) 
Two-cup 
trees (first, 
second, or 
third year) 2 
Inches 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
Pounds 
4.0 
5.5 
7.0 
8.5 
10.0 
11.5 
13.0 
Pounds 
15.0 
17.0 
19.5 
1 Based upon measurements and observations of careful working in southeast Georgia by Dr. Austin 
Cary, logging engineer, Forest Service. 
2 The yield from 2-cup trees is slightly greater the first year but holds up well during the succeeding 
years; in good working it averages about 50 per cent greater yield than 1-cup trees. 
UNPROFITABLE TURPENTINE PRACTICES 5 
Working small -sized trees. — The figures given in Table 13 refer 
to young longleaf pine timber in southern Georgia, and show the 
weight of gum in cups ready for the first dip after six streaks. The 
5 The discussion is based upon studies and recommendations by Austin Cary. logging 
♦engineer of the Forest Service. See also> " New Method of Turpentine Orcharding.'' 
Forest Service Bulletin 40. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Government 
Printing Office, Washington, D. C Price, 10 cents. 
