Re: [ATM] Gugolz pitch

[Dominic-Luc Webb <dlwebb@canit.se>]

It is sometimes indicated in history books that once upon a time,
Sweden was a major pitch exporter in the World. It was
produced in very large quantities for ship building to seal
wood. That practice disappeared long ago, and the pitch industry
seems to have died. I once located a single picture of how it was
harvested.

Basically, there was a hollow made in the side of a small hill and
logs were stacked and tilted about 20 degrees. Beneath the lower
end, there was a bucket that would presumably collect the pitch that
would run down the length of the log. I think it took a pretty long
time, perhaps a few months or more.

There is a pretty large timber industry in the USA. I would think
someone over there has investigated this. There are some massive
trees there. I cannot imagine how much pitch they produce.

I can say tapping a pipe into conifers has not been very effective.

Dominic-Luc Webb

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