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Show i WHENCE CHARCOAL COMES. fc Doit It Is Mada Flguroa of tlia Cost aad , the l'rotlls. ' Ti.cro is probably not ono person In jj a thousand, even hero in Delaware, says ' a letter from Georgetown (Del.) lo the Philadelphia Ledger, who hns an idea . of the extent of tho charcoal business $ in Sussex county, of which this place h is tho county town. Within tho last 3' llftcon or twenty years tho industry I Iiuj bcou steadily increasing until tho I rovenuo from burned wood amounts to 1 at least $100,000 yearly. To a certain J, charcoal-burning has taken tho place of pcacli-growtug. Tho Aiilurc of tho j crops was kconly felt by the small ': fnrmors and thoso who depended upon ' them. Charcoal camo to the rescue. A man who wishes to burn coal fnr commercial uses goes about it in several different ways, according to circumstances. Somo buy timber land outright; others buy merely tlio timber "lumpus." which means Hint they give so much for tho trees as they stand; still othors buy tho timber by tho cord, i estimated after it is cut and piled. The prices of timbor vary, according to cii"' I cumstances. from 10 to 40 cents a cord. Much of thoprolit of the business lies in buying the timber to advantage. .If a man is hard pressed for money lie U will dispose of Ills timber for what ho H ran get. Then the quality of tho tim- 1 bor and its proximity to a shipping I point nro takeu into consideration. K After tho wood is cut and piled in H cords preparations aro m.-ulc for- burn- R ing. First a ttako about teu feet high (1 Is driven in the ground, aud around n that tho wood is piled iu a circle, the H pieces being stood ou ond. When the circle is about ten feet high and about (fT twenty feet iu diameter ut tho base, the ,J wholo pile, which contains onywhero '. from ten to twenty cords, is covered . with pluo shatters, which nro tho fallen leaves or needles of tho pine tree. On tun of thoso "shots," as tho burners U call them, is placed a thick coat of 9 earth, packed hard; then tho center U stake is pulled out and liro dropped '1 in the hole thus left. Whon tho lire is M stnl ted the Opening nt tho top Is closed 1 anil tho work of burning begins 'nt 3 once. It takes from two to three wpcki H to burn a pllo of charcoal proporly. aud, like burulug bricks, tho utmost caro is necessary. The pile Is watched day and night, tho burner living in : sheds built in tho woods ami boarding themselves. Air or draught holes aro mado In thn burning pile, ami by the smoke which comes from these holes tho burnor judges of tho progress of his work. Holes nro stopped up-ami now onus mado ns the color of the smoko changes. I.iko burner of brick, the burners of charcoal become experts. ex-perts. The great danger is iu getting too much lire, thus reducing tho wood to ashes Instead of charring it. After tho wood is drawn it istakon to tho ucarcst railroad station and stored in sheds to protect it from tho weather. Charcoal that becomes water- ' soaked fetches a low prlco, ns it Is said fi that it uover dries. Tho Now York dealers como direct hero und mako thoir contracts. Tho prlco paid varies as to quality ami tho quantity of coal in tho market. Tho coal, which is used in tho arts for refining purposes, etc., is shipped in cars of throe sizes. Tho largest, or Jumbo cars, hold 1,!100 bushels; tho next slzo hold 1,000 bushels, and tho next 780 bushels. Iu busy times two trains a day aro sont on tho way to Now York. For a gonl quality of coal tho burner receives about '$100 for n Jumbo car, the Now York buyer paying the freight of l'J -'i conts a 100 pounds. Tho next slzo cars fetclu $75,, and tho smallest slzo $C5, which ' is' equal to 7 1-2 couts and 8 cents 'a ' bushel. Of course theso prices ,vnry up und down, anil recently a burnor complained that ho had received1 "but (20 for a carload of 1,000 bushels, which cost him $29 to burn. Tho probablli-' ties aro that tho man who boI1 ut ' that ruto was hard up anil wanted to get . somo cash, or else his coal was of poor a quality. JL Thn l ,.enso attending tho getting m of coal ready for market is nliont as H follows, the'ratcs given being by ths B cord: Cost of wood, 26 cents; cutting, M -40 cents; teaming to placo of buruing, B S cents; "wheeling," which means p piling tho wood for burning, 20 conts; f "blacking," tho torra for puttlug on. R the firo stiattors and earth, 10 cents; attending to the burning. 25 cents; draw Ing tho coal when burned, 25 conts; j hauling to shipping point, 33 1-2 cents; A stowing in cars, 13 1-2 conts. This ? makos the cost per cord, or 33 1-3 bushels, lo got ready for tho market, 11.06 2-3. The calculations nro generally gener-ally mado on a basis of thrco cords, or 100 bushels. At this rate the cost to tho burner is almost 6 cents a bushel. Ho receives 7 1-2 'cents for the best quality, which leaves a small margin of 1 1-2 cents a bushel for investment, bad bills, etc. Of courio this estimate B of cost will vary up or down, accord- . g ing to tho business skill of the burnor. ' One burner alonn shipped last year I'l 200 Jumbo cnr-loads to Now York, or 1 1 2G0.000 bushels. The total shipments i f last year wcro about 1,600.000 bushels, I nearly all of which was consumed in - Now York. It was only nfter tho greatest persuasion that tho New York Q buyers agrocd to take the charcoal by i rail instead of by boat, but now ouo of H tho largest burners, who has available M charcoal timber noar tho waterway, U can not provall upon the buy or to re- w volve his product by water. U |
