370 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October, 
times, from the first of spring until into Novem¬ 
ber. The dipping (shown in fig. 3) is done by 
task work, too, so many barrels or boxes per 
day being a task. Two dippers generally at¬ 
tend one backer. Hacking is the making a 
groove-shaped cut on each side, downward, to 
the centre of the lialf-moon. These grooves 
can be seen in all the cuts. The “hacker” is 
shown in fig. 8. It is used with a downward 
stroke, and has at the lower end of the 
handle a weight of lead or iron, to 
give great impetus to the blow. The 
barrels for filling are placed at inter¬ 
vals through the woods ; the dipper gathers 
his gum in a rude bucket, and empties it 
into the barrels, which, when full, are haul¬ 
ed off. A frequent mode of hauling is seen 
in fig. 1; the same cut shows a primitive 
but cheap mode of “rolling” tar to mar¬ 
ket. Both articles are frequently rafted 
to a seaport between sticks of hewn timber. 
The first year’s operation produces “ vir¬ 
gin dip,” the second “ yellow dip,” the third 
some common yellow dip and scrape; then 
the further product of the trees is all 
“scrape.” The virgin dip is, when careful¬ 
ly gathered, a honey-like gum, of whit¬ 
ish appearance. 
From it are pro¬ 
duced No. 1, 
pale, extra, and 
window glass 
rosins. It yields 8 
about 7 gallons of spirits, and 
not quite 3 | 4 of a barrel of ros¬ 
in to the barrel (280 lbs.). Yel¬ 
low dip yields over 3 | 4 of rosin, 
and about 6 gallons of spirits to 
the 280 lbs. of gum. Scrape 
yields about the same. “Scrape” 
is the gum which gathers on 
the face of the tree or box when 
worked up three, four, or more 
feet. It is a white, cheesy-like 
substance. The operation of 
chipping the box face and 
gathering the scrape is seen 
in figs. 3 and 4. With care a 
very light rosin can be made 
['rom it. The “ round shave,” 
m implement used in chipping, 
is shown in. fig. 9, and the “scraper” in fig. 10. 
The operation of distilling the gum is carried 
on in copper stills of a capacity from ten barrels 
Fig. 9. Fig. 10. 
up to sixty—the ordinary size being twenty and 
thirty barrels. They are bricked up at the 
sides, and the fire strikes directly on the bot¬ 
tom. The top has a large hole for the “ cap,” 
which connects with the worm for condensing 
the spirits, and a small hole through which the 
“stiller” examines the state of his charge, and 
lets in water as it may be needed. The rosin, 
being a residuum, is let off on one side into 
vats, from which it is dipped into barrels to 
cool. The rear of the stills and the rosin vats 
are shown in fig. 5. Probably the largest 
distillery in the country is at Wilmington, N. C. 
The profits of this business depend entirely 
upon the vigor with which it is pushed, and the 
economy with which it is conducted. A store 
usually accompanies, and adds to the profits of 
a country distillery. A task of 10,000 boxes 
may safely be calculated to yield two hundred 
and fifty barrels of virgin or yellow dip in a 
season. If convenient to railroads, cities, or 
towns, the trees, when worked out, are cut into 
cord-wood, quantities of which now find their 
way to New York. In trees deadened by fire, 
stumps of trees cut down when the sap is up, 
and old boxed trees left standing, a peculiar 
transformation of the wood takes place ; all its 
pores become filled with pitchy matter, it in¬ 
creases greatly in weight, and will take fire al¬ 
most as readily as gunpowder. In this state it 
is called “light-wood,” because it is used for 
kindling, and with the poor as a substitute for 
candles or other light. This wood is the source 
of tar. The wood is split into billets 3 or 4 
feet long, and about 3 inches in diameter. To 
form a tar kiln the wood is piled concentrically, 
each layer projecting over the lower a little un¬ 
til a desired hight is reached, this encircled 
with logs, and covered with clods, as shown in 
fig. 6. A kiln yields fifty, one hundred, or 
more barrels of tar, according to its size. Pitch 
is tar boiled down until all its volatile matter is 
driven off. The manufacture of tar is chiefly 
carried on by the poor whites and negroes. It 
is but seldom the object of regular work, be¬ 
ing rather a job for odd times. The kiln burn¬ 
ing is generally a frolic, or was in olden time. 
Few sights have in them more of sombre 
grandeur than a large tar kiln at night. Its 
immense columns of slowly ascending smoke 
are now and then illuminated by the leaping 
forth of a tongue of flame. The wild cries of 
the men in their efforts to cover it quickly 
with earth add to the wildness of the scene. 
A diagram of the construction of a tar kiln is 
given in fig. 7. A is the pit to receive the tar 
which flows through the gutter B, from a hol¬ 
low space C, in the kiln, into which it drips 
from the burning wood. B, strips of light-wood 
laid with their inner ends sloping towards the 
centre. E,E,E, space between the green pine 
logs, A 7 , which inclose the whole. This space is 
tightly packed with turf, and the top of the 
kiln is covered with the same material, ex¬ 
cept at G, G , where the fires are first placed. 
The production of the various products of 
the pine forests is not now so great as before 
the war, and the supply of pines is growing 
each year very visibly less. The Long-leaf Pine 
does not reproduce itself, except after many 
years. Disease and insects have destroyed 
many trees, and all through the Eastern Caro- 
linas can be seen vast tracts of land worked 
out and abandoned, or devastated by the causes 
just stated. Hundreds of thousands of dollars’ 
worth of trees have been thus destroyed. 
The engravings accompanying this article are 
from sketches drawn from life by our special 
artist, Mr. O. O. Burr, of Wilmington, N. C. 
Walks and Talks on the Farm—No. 70. 
One of my neighbors was taking a load of 
wheat to the city this morning and stopped at 
the pump to pour some water on to the wheels 
of his wagon. I told him if he would put pe¬ 
troleum on it would swell up the wood just as 
well as water and would not dry out. I do not 
know how I could get along without petroleum. 
My implements and machines get left out in a 
manner I do not approve, but am incapable at 
present of preventing, and if it was not for pe¬ 
troleum the rain, sun, and air, would warp 
and crack and swell and shrink and ruin them. 
I keep all the woodwork saturated with it, and 
give the iron an occasional touch with it. 
We have not yet found out half its virtues. 
I have received several letters approving of 
my remarks in regard to the necessity of im¬ 
proving our harrows. I am glad so much at¬ 
tention is directed to the subject. Mr. Ball, of 
Rens. Co., N. Y., says he is using a Yeddes har¬ 
row with 30 teeth of 3 | 4 iron, with timber 3 
inches square. He sometimes bends a tooth, 
but not often. He proposes to make a Scotch 
harrow, with bars 2 inches wide by 2 1 1 2 inches 
deep, and 10 inches from centre to centre, with 
six teeth, 10 inches apart,in each bar, of 6 | 8 steel , 
which he thinks will be quite as stiff as s | 4 iron. 
Of course the finer the teeth and the closer to¬ 
gether, the more thoroughly will they pulverize 
the soil, provided the harrow is heavy enough 
to keep them in the soil, and the teeth are not 
so close as to cause the harrow to clog. It is 
not necessary that the teeth should go very 
deep into the soil, for when this is required, a 
cultivator is a much more effective implement. 
Since the general introduction of the drill, we 
seldom use harrows to cover the seed. Its 
principal use is to pulverize the soil more thor¬ 
oughly than it can be done by the plow and 
cultivator. When the sods do not interfere, we 
can make a very fine seed-bed by first plowing, 
then harrowing, then rolling, then cultivating, 
and again harrowing with a finer harrow. But 
of course a good deal depends on the character 
of the land. Some light soils do not require 
half this labor, while the clays frequently re¬ 
quire a good deal more. It is fortunate that 
those soils which require the most labor to 
get them finely pulverized, are the very soils 
most benefited by the operation. Mr. B. asks 
“ How would it do to set the steel teeth slightly 
raking, say one inch in five, and have the harrow 
so as to hitch to either end. Where it would 
answer to have the teeth slanting forward, they 
would cut better than when perpendicular. 
Where there was rubbish that the teeth would 
gather, hitch to the other end.” This plan is 
well worth trying, but some means of keeping 
the teeth from being driven up when they 
strike a hard lump or stone would be required. 
I suppose in less than a dozen years we shall 
do our plowing, cultivating, harrowing, etc., by 
steam, but in the mean time, farmers who keep 
six, eight, or ten horses, want implements that 
can be used with four horses abreast. I am 
tired of seeing a strong, active man walking 
over the clods after a light pair of horses, when 
he could just as easily drive four, and do double 
the work, with no more fatigue to himself. We 
complain a good deal of the high price of labor, 
but do very little towards making it more ef¬ 
fective. Even in the busy season of haying 
and harvest, I know farmers who actually waste 
half their time! Three men will go into the 
