lie FinilMlMnn
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VOL. IV., NO. 3.
PINEIIUliST, X. C, NOV. 23, 1900.
1'ltICE THIiEE CENTS
WHAT IS AGE1
Age is only Youth increased
In all that makes for life.
Age is only Soul released
From doubt's polemic strife.
Age is only Mind's "I know"
'Gainst thought's uutried belief,
Age is Spirit's even glow
In face of joy or grief,
Age is Friendship's bond secure
Against all loss or pain
Soul to soul allegiance pure,
Without the thought of gain.
Age is Life's calm, utmost reach
Out toward perfection's bound
Tow'ring beacon, there to teach
Where lies eternal ground. Ex.
PRODUCT OF THE PINE.
Interesting Description of the Manu
facture of Turpentine and llosln.
.Man' of the long-leaf pines that now
stand in our woods present a queer
appearance to the stranger from the
North, the trees having been utilized for
obtaining turpentine one of the main
staples of the old North State. The
naval stores of North Carolina formed at
one time a very important item in the
reports of the export statistician, and if
at present that source of revenue is
greatly reduced, the turpentine distiller
and lumberman have themselves to blame
for the reckless abuse of one of the linest
and most useful trees the United States
calls its own. However that be now, the
way turpentine is produced is interesting
enough to be followed up somewhat in
detail, the more so as there are quite a
number of abandoned stills in the neigh
borhood of Pinehurst. One is about a
thousand yards below the nursery,
another will be passed on the way to
McKenzie's mill-pond, and several others
are as easily reached and quite as easily
found, as large piles of rosin indicate
their former locations.
The long-leaf pine, pinus amtraUs, Mil
ler, is u specific Southern tree, the terri
tory of which extends from southeastern
Virginia to Florida, and through the Gulf
States to Louisiana and Texas. It is
rarely found 150 miles beyond the sea
coast. It grows from sixty to ninety feet
tall, with a trunk from two to four feet
in diameter, and prefers sandy loams
where it forms enormous forests, almost
to the exclusion of any other tree besides
the oak. The manufacture of turpentine
dates back to the oldest settlers, who
made quite an income by tapping the
trees, By 1768 a very profitable industry
was established by the production of the
naval stores that is, turpentine, spirits
of turpentine, tar, pitcli and rosin, most
of which were sent to England. The
introduction of the copper still in 1844
led to a largely increased yield of volatile
oil, and more stills were established at
the seaports.
Then the manufacturers of India rub
ber goods called for great quantities of
spirits of turpentine, the consequence of
which was the extension of the turpen
tine orcharding to the south and west of
its original limit. The civil war made a
radical end to all production of turpentine
in the South for a time, and the turpen
tine stillers of France and other countries
tried to supply the demand, at prices five
or six times their usual range. After the
war the industry was taken up again,
but not so extensively as formally, yet
the reports of 1891 show exports of rosin
and turpentine to an aggregate value of
over 18,000,000.
The methods of extracting the turpen
tine vary in the different countries. Here
the trees are "chipped'" that is, chips
are cut through the bark into the wood
on the side of a tree, and at the lower end
a small hole called a "box" is cut to
catch the sap. The value of the pine as
a timber tree is not enchanced by the
in fires of enormous extent, and more
forest trees are sacrificed by those con
flagrations than by the boxing or any
other cause.
In early spring, when the sap begins
to flow, the work of chipping is started.
The surface of the tree above the box is
laid bare according to certain rules, about
one inch deep. During the time from
March to October or even November this
chipping is repeated as often as the tur
pentine ceases to flow freely and the
height of the chipped part is increased
about two inches every time. The accum
ulated rosin in the boxes is removed to
a barrel by a dipper of peculiar shape. In
a virgin orchard about seven dips are
made that will yield about forty barrels
of dip, or soft turpentine, each time, for
Wm 'Mp 1 mm
PATH IX THE PINE GKOVE.
chipping, but the tree itself is exhausted
before its time and sacrificed to an earthly
death.
To employ a still to good profit a tur
pentine orchard usually consists of about
4,000 acres. Such an area is divided into
sections of . about 10,000 "boxes" each.
The work begins in the earlier part of
the winter, with the cutting of the boxes.
They are cut eight to twelve inches above
the base of the tree and about seven
inches deep, slanting from the outside to
the interior of the trunk, and have a capac
ity of about three pints. After that the
oround is laid bare around the tree for a
distance of three feet all combustible
matter is raked together and burned, to
avoid danger of the tree catching fire
during the turpentine operations. But
just this practice of burning and the easy
going way it is done very often results
every 10,000 boxes. During the dog-days
of July and August most turpentine is
gathered. The crude rosin that sticks to
the tree is scraped off the chip with a
narrow keen-edged scraper attached to a
long wooden handle. It is called scrape
or hard turpentine. The "virgin dip,"
as the dipping of a first season is termed,
always commands highest prices. A
barrel of dip (240 lbs.) yields six and
one-half gallons of spirits of turpentine,
while a barrel of scrape brings only three
gallons. During the following years the
number of dips is steadily decreased to
only three dippings in the fourth year.
After that time the orchard is usually
delivered into the teeth of the omnivorous
saw mill.
The distillation of spirits of turpentine
demands the greatest of care to avoid
Iare losses. The still has to be heated
beyond the melting point of crude tur
pentine, and a very fine stream of luke
warm water is conducted from the top of
the condensing tub into the still, and
allowed to continue until the end of the
process. The end is indicated by a pecul
iar noise of the boiling contents of he
still. The skill of the operator is now
shown in the regulation of the water
stream. After the process of distillation
of the spirits of turpentine is finished
and the fire is removed, the contents of
the still are drawn off by a tap at the
bottom. This molten rosin is strained
through wire-cloth and then through
coarse cotton-cloth into a large trough,
from which the barrels are filled. Such
a barrel contains 280 lbs. It is a tedious
process throughout, and the compensa
tion is no longer high enough to induce
many people to go into this business.
The long-leaf pine is a restorer of
health and vigor as is no other tree, and
many an invalid enjoys his life once
more after breathing the ozone of our
pines.
Long live the pine!
Otto Katzenstein. ,
The Plneliurst t iwlno.
The Casino is located in the centre of
the village and is of a neat style of archi
tecture. Here are located the reading
rooms, well supplied with the latest and
most popular magazines, and the leading
daily papers of Boston, New Y'ork, Phil
adelphia and Washington are on file. A
large parlor at the right of the hall is
used mostly by the lady guests, where
they meet and exchange the society news
of the village. Up stairs beside the read
ing room is a large smoking room,
located in the front of the house over the
hall. This is really one of the pleasant
est rooms in the village. The large
dining room to the left of the hall has a
very homelike and cozy look. A large
fireplace in which the fat pine logs are
burned serves to add much to the cheer
ful appearance in the evening. This
house is heated throughout by steam and
lighted by electricity. Mr. and Mrs. F.
II. McAlpine, of Alton Bay, N. II., have
charge of this house again this season.
The cook and table girls are from the
North and the guest may be assured of
good service and well cooked food.
While meals alone are served at the
Casino good apartments may be secured
at either the Waldheim or the Cedars.
The Waldheim is in charge of Mrs. F. II.
Carpenter. This cottage has eight good
bedrooms, a few still remaining unengaged.
The Cedars is a larger house contain
ing twenty rooms. On the first floor to
the left of the entrance is a large double
parlor for the use of the guests. At the
left are two very pleasant sunny rooms.
The chambers on the two upper floors
are all very pleasant rooms, several
receiving the sun all day, others part of
the day. These rooms are all well
furnished, heated by steam and have