Florida Industries UNQUESTIONABLY the industry which first impresses the entirely satisfactory method has as yet been found to can orange visitor to Florida is that centering about citrus fruits. For many juice so that it will retain its original aroma and taste over a years a substantial portion of Florida's agricultural income has period of from six to nine months. Research at this station been derived from citrus fruits, more especially oranges, tanger- indicates that an improved orange juice pack may be obtained ines, and grapefruit- The size and condition of the crop, the by proper deaëration and flash pasteurization with subsequent number engaged in handling it, and the variations in prices for storage at about 60° F. The possibilities of preserving citrus the product have had an important bearing upon the financial juices by electrical methods are also under investigation. structure of the state. The volume of the crop is influenced The production of essential oil from the peel of oranges, grapefrom year to year by fruit, and tangerines, environmental condiand the chemical comtions, but recently has position of these oils b e e n from 20 to 25 are being studied. Remillion boxes as a usual search is in progress thing, with the largest also concerning the use c r o p e v e r produced and possibilities of oil t h a t for t h e season from grapefruit seed. 1 9 3 0 - 3 1 , which apCommercial p r o d u c proximated 35 million tion of orange and boxes. grapefruit concentrates has been generally unT h e u t i l i z a t i o n of successful because of chemicals by this inthe lack of flavor in the dustry i s p r o b a b l y finished product. This greater in proportion problem is under into the volume of outvestigation. The proput than is the case duction of fermented with any other imporbeverages from citrus tant branch of Amerifruits has also had some can agriculture. Ferattention, including the tilizers and spray maproduction of cordials, terials are extensively brandies, and liqueurs, employed through the now that t h e s e a r e period during which again legal. bloom and fruit are to be found on the trees. NAVAL STORES Chemicals a r e u s e d INDUSTRY also in the processes of preparing the fruit The naval stores infor market, being used dustry is one peculiar in the washing, drying, to the s o u t h e a s t e r n and polishing which portion of the United Courtesy, Turnage Studio serve the double purGRAPEFRUIT T R E E I N FRUIT States, and those pose of sanitation and journeying to the St. improved appearance. Notable advance has been made during Petersburg meeting will have an excellent opportunity to see the past few years in the development of efficient chemical "turpentining" in operation. Many trees with large wounds compounds which protect the fruit against decay while it is being on the lower part of the trunk may be noted, and, if there is a distributed and displayed. chance to do so, it will be worth while to stop and examine The Florida Citrus Exchange, now in its twenty-fifth year of successful operation, is the second largest cooperative sales agency in the United States engaged in handling perishable products. It is formed by t h e growers of citrus fruits and the product is sold under trade names. Visitors in Florida may visit packing houses as well as groves where fruit is being picked. Among the most interesting problems connected with the citrus crop are those dealing with marketing, the devising of ways and means for wider distribution both as related to time and area, and the salvaging of values from fruit which for one reason or another is not marketable through the usual channels. In the attempt t o make use of the excess and waste materials, canning and juice preservation have met with material success, and at present much work is being carried on with a view to developing acceptable by-products. The Citrus Products Station of the Bureau of Chemistry and GENERAL VIEW OF STILL SHED Soils at Winter Haven, Fla., is conducting research to find means Showing unloading platform, still, rosin, vats, and barrel pit of utilizing citrus fruits which because of size and color are unsuitable for the markets They are also seeking profitable means of disposal of the waste from canneries and juice factories. No them. In March the trees will have been freshly scarred and the sap will be just beginning to ooze forth. A clay pot or metal pan will be found attached to the tree, just below the wound, and from this the sap is gathered and taken to the turpentine stills, many of which are housed in large wooden sheds, around which many barrels will be seen. Florida has for many years been one of the largest producers of naval stores in the United States, at times furnishing as rnuch as 45 per cent of the total national production. At present, there are about 325 operations with a capitalization of about $15,000,000, working 5000 crops of 10,000 trees each, employing 20,000 people, and producing products worth about $11,000,000 annually. About 80 per cent of the industry is engaged in producing gum turpentine and gum rosin by distillation with water of the resin or gum obtained from longleaf and slash trees, while the other 20 per cent of the industry is engaged in obtaining turpentine and rosin, or pine oil, pitch, tar, and charcoal from wood. I t is estimated that 60 per cent of the production comes from longleaf pine, while the remaining 40 per cent comes from slash pine. Longleaf pine is most abundant and grows on barren sandy Courtesy, U.S.Citrus Products Station soil. Slash pine, not as abundant, is found on more swampy WORK ROOM AT CITRUS PRODUCTS STATION 39
NEWS
40
EDITION
Vol. 12, No. 3
land and along the east greatest application in c o a s t . It is most t h e manufacture of prominent in secondpaint, varnish, oil-growth timber. The c l o t h , and linoleum. trees are scarred or The United States uses "chipped" once a week a b o u t 13 m i l l i o n from March to Novemgallons of tung oil per ber to produce a flow year, practically all of of g u m or oleoresin, w h i c h c o m e s from which is essentially a China. solution of resin acids Tung oil trees were in turpentine. It flows first planted in Florida down over the surface about 25 years ago. of the wound or "face" This tree was cono n t o a g u t t e r or sidered a novelty for " a p r o n " which conseveral years and the ducts it into a clay, determination t o orgalvanized iron, or ganize an i n d u s t r y aluminum cup. The based upon it did not gum is collected or bear fruit until 1923, Courtesy, Pepper Printing Co. "dipped" about once a when the first largeDIPPING G U M month and hauled in s c a l e planting took wooden barrels to a place. At p r e s e n t still, often 10 to 15 miles distant The contents of 300 cups are about 5500 acres of land have been set out with these trees, of needed to fill a barrel. which there are over 500,000 at present. For "stilling," 10 to 15 barrels of gum together with a quantity During the spring the tung oil tree produces its fruit, which is of water are charged into a 25-barrel copper still. As distilla- 2 or 2.5 inches in diameter, spherical in shape, and covered with a tion proceeds, some water is added. When a certain knocking thiols hull or husk, in which are embedded the nuts containing noise is heard on placing the ear near the end of the condenser the oil. The first tung oil plant in this country is located just or worm, the distiller, usually a negro, knows that the operation west of Gainesville, Fla., and utilizes machinery originally is completed. A barrel is used to receive the distillate, turpen- designed for work with other vegetable oils. Practically every tine, and water. The turpentine, separated by gravity, is run operation is mechanical. off into another receiver and then barreled. The rosin which remains in the still is poured into a trough,filtered,run into vats, and dipped into glued stave barrels, where it is allowed to cool further and harden. The barrels when headed are ready for shipment to market to be graded and sold. The gum on distillation yields, by weight, about 20 per cent turpentine and 80 per cent rosin. The yield per crop of 10,000 faces is from 50 to 30 barrels of turpentine and from 160 to 115 barrels of rosin depending on the age of operation. The smaller yield is obtained in the successive seasons. About 200 acres of pine timber are required to furnish a crop of faces. The normal density of trees varies from 20 to 60 per acre. Trees with diameters less than 9 inches cannot be worked profitably. TURPENTINE
CONSUMPTION OP P R I N C I P A L INDUSTRIES U N I T E D S T A T E S , 1930
Gallons 4,089,742 527,838 80.953 70,236 65,556 65,520 27,144 21,776 11,209 10,539 2,754 1,771
Paint and varnish Shoe polish and leather dressing Autos, buggies, wagons Sealing wax and insulation Pharmaceuticals and chemicals Miscellaneous Foundry and foundry supplies Oil and grease Printing ink Soap Linoleum, oilcloth, roofing Paper and paper sizing
IN
THE
%
81.1 10.5 1.6 1.4 1.3 1.3 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.1
ROSIN CONSUMPTION OP PRINCIPAL INDUSTRIES IN THE UNITED STATES, 1930 Barrels 341,327 Paper and paper sizing 37.6 218,967 24.1 Soap 192,878 Varnish 21.2 62,932 Rosin oils, grease, printing inks 7.0 Linoleum, oilcloth, roofing 29,458 3.2 Sealing wax and insulation 26,291 2.9 Foundry and foundry supplies 17,399 1.9 Pharmaceuticals and chemicals 5,246 0.6 Miscellaneous 3,752 0.4 Autos, buggies, wagons 3,523 0.4 Shipyards, etc. 0.3 3,086 Matches and wooden ware 0.3 2,953 Shoe polish and leather dressing 0.1 610 FLORIDA TUNG OIL INDUSTRY In
INDUSTRIAL A N D E N G I N E E R I N G
CHEMISTRY will be found extensive references to the Florida tung oil industry which has as its aim the production of higher quality of tung or Chinawood oil than it is possible under present conditions to secure from China, and also t o produce such oil in ample quantities for domestic requirements [Gardner, IND. ENG. CHEM., 19, 266 (1927);
Courtesy, University of Florida FLORIDA T U N G O I L GROVE
ESSENTIAL OILS
I n addition to citrus essential oils, Florida appears to offer favorable conditions for the commercial production of the grass oils—citronella, lemon grass, palmarosa, and vetiver; the mint oils—peppermint, Japanese peppermint, spearmint, horsemint, pennyroyal, spike lavender, and patchouli; and geranium, cassia, cinnamon, coriander, ylang ylang, and ginger oils. Experiments have indicated that a large number of essential oil plants will grow in Florida and will yield oil in satisfactory amount and quality. The possibility of producing a number of oils, using identical equipment, but at different times during the year, is attractive as it should offer a reduction in costs. This varied production of suitable plants is believed to be possible owing to the wide range of soil, moisture, and climatic conditions to be found in the state and the combination of several different oil crops with the substitution of modern machine methods for primitive hand labor, together with scientific plant breeding to increase oil yield, is thought to offset the advantages enjoyed through lower labor costs in other countries. For data used in this story we are indebted to W. H. Beisler, Silas M. Thronson, and C. B. Pollard. A FEW COPIES of an announcement
24, 687
(1932)]. In China the oil is used for a great variety of purposes and the process is crude. "With us the oil finds its
Courtesy, University of Florida FRUIT OF TUNG O I L TREE
which includes a table of the 1933 international atomic weights of the chemical elements, showing in addition to the name, symbol, and atomic weight, the atomic number and periodic group, are available on request through M. C. K. Jones, 1828 Greenmount Ave., Baltimore, Md.
