Harvesting Wood

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Wood

Charcoal production involved extensive woodcutting over broad forest areas, often times whole forests were depleted. Wood must be dry before it could be used for charcoal production and iron production. Wood cut in the late autumn and early winter proved to hold the least amount of water. For example, wood cut in April would typically contain 10 to 20 percent more water than wood that was cut in January. Wood cut in December and January was more solid and would dry faster[1]. Dead of decayed wood was of no use for making charcoal[2].

In 1878, 4 cords worth of charcoal proved to provide 1 ton of pig iron [3]. Places like Hopewell Furnace would use a 30 year cutting cycle which meant they had to use way more land so that the cut trees had plenty of time to regrow. Around 200 acres would be cut annually at Hopewell and 147,000 acres or 230 square miles of forest were harvested annually nationwide which led to obvious cases of forest depletion. In response to the depletion, furnaces and their employees because very strong supporters of forestry early on because of their need for forests to continue supplying wood [4]

The kind of wood has a major impact on the quality of charcoal. Denser types of woods were preferred to soft woods as they produced more heat and were less friable[5]. It has been recorded that sometimes a mixture of soft and hard woods would be used to create charcoal[6]. Even the ground condition for the pit plays a role in the carbonization of wood. A perfectly level ground, free from any draft that is dry and solid is optimal charcoal production [7]. It was also important that the wood being harvested was in good condition, this meant no decaying, knotted or defects in the wood[8]. The season in which the wood is gathered and burned is also very important. Charcoal is usually made in the late summer early fall so that the wood from the previous season has time to dry out [9]. Even the condition in which the wood is burning can play a part in the quality of charcoal produced. Things like temperature and wind speed can effect the time it takes for a piece of wood to carbonize [10]. Optimal size for commercial charcoal is about 25 to 80 mm across the grain[11]. Most, if not all species of wood can be carbonized to make charcoal.

Woodcutters

A cord of wood is four foot lengths of wood stacked four feet high and eight feet long. Woodcutters could cut anywhere from a few cords to more than one thousand cords. Many woodcutters were farmers who supplemented their income in the offseason[12]. For example, between 1851-1853 Edwin Gault was paid for 1993.5 cords[13]. One must remember, however, that he may have had helpers whom he then paid. Colliers also became woodcutters during the winter months in order to get a full-years wage[14]. Payments for cutting wood varied greatly due to location and time[15].

Wood cutters comprised a large proportion of the workers at any charcoal iron furnace. At Hopewell Furnace between 1851-1853, 225 persons were paid for any type of work and 116 were paid for cutting cord wood[16]. At Hopewell, on average approximately two cords of wood could be chopped down in a single day[17]. Two and a half cords was the average at Hanging Rock District[18]. It was noted, however, that in the Hanging Rock District there worked "...Reuben Beverly, who was reputed to be the champion chopper of this region and who, it is said, could cut, split and rank eight cords per day indefinitely. His name was as familiar throughout the Hanging Rock field as was that of the lad who cut down the cherry tree"[19]. Crandall also indicated that he personally had "known many expert wood choppers who could chop, split and rank from four to five cords a day"[20].

Woodcutters sometimes delivered the wood to charcoal hearths, called "delivering in the ring". They were paid $1.75 for this wood[21].

Deforestation

Charcoal production created a huge impact on forest depletion. Forest destruction tended to be complete near smelters and furnaces, it was generally localized near the demand for the fuel.[22]. The average annual furnace output was 1000 tons of pig iron. Thus, an average iron plantation furnace would require fuel from 150 acres of woodland per year. [23].The woodland area surrounding the furnace was extremely important to feeding the charcoal furnace. [24]. Because of the consistent use for the furnaces, regeneration and growth were so slow that wood supplies would likely be depleted after a decade or so of woodcutting[25]. The furnaces acknowledged the slow regeneration of wood and as a result many furnaces practiced various forms of conservation and land management as a way of maintaining their source of fuel[26]. Over time iron production became increasingly efficient, ergo more acres of woodland were required to fuel production[27]. Woodlands in the east were typically more plentiful than that in the western United States and they typically took less time to regenerate[28]. Calculations of woodland required for production varied based on factors such as location, furnace productivity (pit or kiln), and forest regeneration[29]. Eastern woodlands typically supplied more wood per acre and regenerated more quickly than their western counterparts[30].

Notes

  1. ↑ Overman 1854, 80
  2. ↑ Overman 1854, 83
  3. ↑ Straka 2010, 60
  4. ↑ Straka 2010, 60
  5. ↑ Straka 2015, 106
  6. ↑ Straka 2014, 106
  7. ↑ Straka 2010, 107
  8. ↑ Straka 2014, 106-107
  9. ↑ Straka 2010, 107
  10. ↑ Straka 2010, 107
  11. ↑ Svedelius 1875
  12. ↑ Walker 1966, 238
  13. ↑ Walker 1966, 238
  14. ↑ Kemper 1941, 10
  15. ↑ Overman 1854, 84
  16. ↑ Walker 1966, 239
  17. ↑ Walker 1966, 239
  18. ↑ Crandall 1906, 20
  19. ↑ Crandall 1906, 20
  20. ↑ Crandall 1906, 20
  21. ↑ Walker 1966, 239
  22. ↑ Straka 2014, 105
  23. ↑ Straka 2014, 105
  24. ↑ Straka 2014, 110
  25. ↑ Straka 2014, 111
  26. ↑ Straka 2014, 106
  27. ↑ Straka 2014, 106
  28. ↑ Straka 2014, 111
  29. ↑ Straka 2014, 110-111
  30. ↑ Straka 2014, 111

References

  • Crandall, Elias. 1906. Reminiscences of the Hanging Rock District (Concluded). The Iron Trade Review, July, 19.
  • Kemper, Jackson. 1941. American Charcoal Making in the Era of the Cold-Blast Furnace. History 14. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior; National Park Service.
  • Svedelius, G. (1875). Hand-Book for Charcoal Burners. New York: John Wiley & Son
  • Walker, Joseph E. 1966. Hopewell Village; a Social and Economic History of an Iron-Making Community. Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press.
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