PINE WOOL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9047, 7 May 1888, Page 6

PINE WOOL.

Tub fibre of the leaves of Pinus Laricio (Corsican pine) has been long utilised for felting and stuffing purposes. Flannel has also been made of it, which has had some reputation as a remedy for rheumatism. But in America, of late years, a new industry has arisen in connection with pine wool made from the swamp or long-leaved pine, known also as the turpentine producing pine. This pine wool is converted into matting and carpets, and it has been stated as a probability that it may in time force cocoa and jute matting out of the market. A company has been established in North Carolina for the exclusivepurposeof carrying on this industry. The company has secured some two or three thousand acres of well-wooded Country, efficient mills having been erected to carry on the new business. The following is an interesting account of the process of treating the leaves and utilising the fibre :—"The green pine straw, or leaves gathered in the surrounding forests, is brought to the mills, where the company purchase it at 15 cents per 1001b. r After having been weighed, the straw is carried into a shed, and is spread upon the floor to be cleaned, and to prevent its becoming heated. An elevator takes the material to the second floor of the building, where it is placed in two iron cylinders set up on end and surrounded by steam-pipes. These extractors are 10 feet deep and about 4 feet wide. In these the pine leaves are thoroughly strained, the vapour going through pipes into an ordinary distillery worm in an adjoining house. Here it is condensed. The result is pine-leaf oil, the yield being about half a gallon of oil to one ton of straw. The oil is a valuable product, and is destined to take an important part in Pharmacopoeia. It i 3 very highly antiseptic, possesses the advantage of being useful as well for internal as for external application, and is valuable for many surgical and medicinal purposes. The liquid which is condensed from the vapour with the oil is useful for various purposes in the manufacture of other fabrics. After the oil has been, extracted, the pine straw, which has now become a beautiful black, is placed in six large iron vats, 7 feet wide, 8 feet long, and 5 feet deep, and with a capacity for holding from 30001b to 40001b each. It is here mixed with water aticL alkali, and thoroughly boiled, the being necessary to remove the silica which forms the outside covering of the leaf. This is a very difficult operation, requiring great skill and care. The silica which is removed is useful for tanning and other purposes. Duing all these processess the pine the straw is soaked for forty-eight hours, more, and it is then ready for the machinery for cutting up the leaves. For this purpose the straw is taken from the vats, and while still damp is first put into a 'rubber,' as it is called, which is a machine into which the straw is put in on one side, and from which it comes out on the other a pure fibre of a rich dark brown colour, and of soft texture. During all these processes it has been kept saturated with water, but it is next taken to the wringing and breaking machine, where the water is squeezed out, and the curling process is begun. It is then carried to the carding machine, through which it passes, and hence to the drying machine, where every particle of moisture is evaporated, and thence to the press, where it is put up in bales ready for market. Each bale weighs '2251b., and they are shipped in carloads of 50 bales. As an idea of the extent of this trade, is stated that the stock of fibre kept up amounts to 1000 bales. The mill employs about 30 operatives, - and is run by a 50-horse power engine. In the carpet factory the appliances and machinery are similar to those in use in establishments of like nature, the machinery being adapted to the spinning and weaving of this particular fibre. After passing it through a carder and cleaner all the impurities are removed, and the fibre now first assumes the appearance of yarn. It is next wound upon spools, after which it is passed to the spin ning-frame, and finally to the twister, where two, three, or four strands are twisted into one, after which it is ready for the loom. To make coloured carpets, the yarn is either dyed or bleached, the yarn being wound into hanks for the purpose. The carpets are made up into rolls, and in various patterns. The natural colour of the pine straw yarn is a rich dark brown, which when bleached becomes a creamy-yellow. Stripes of blue, red, green, and yellow are woven into the patterns. The matting is made to imitate the finer grades of cocoa matting so perfectly that were it not for the aromatic odour, which is described as a special quality of the pine carpet, an expert would find it difficult to toll one from the other. These mats are said to have a groat many recommendations, such as warmth, durability, disinfectant or antiseptic properties, and, in consequence of the odour emitted, useful in pulmonary, asthmatic, and catarrhal complaints. They aro cheap non-conductors of sound, and are impervious to all insocts." Thus has an industry been commenced in America that utilises pine loaves gatherod in the forests, giving employment to a considerable number of people, and turning out an article of great use and durability. And as the industry is only in its infancy, doubtless it will gradually expand, and, in course of time, become one of largo dimensions. Aukicola.