Who does not know of the tarred rigging which once meant so much to the rope-maker? Its very odor seemed to cling to the pages of seafaring books. Its use naturally declined with the development of steam power, yet how few people, perhaps, realize that tarred goods for quite different purposes form an important though incidental branch of the rope business today! Lathyarn--to mention but one class--is consumed annually by the lumber industry in quantities that would surprise many persons. Today’s buyers, furthermore, need goods of high quality just as did the old-time sea captains, and in the manufacture of such goods the tar itself is an important factor. Pine tar--the kind best suited for cordage--comes from various members of the pine-tree family, and is secured by a distillation process. The principal producing sections are northern Europe and the south-eastern United States--the yellow, long leaf or Georgia pine, which ranks first in this country for tar-making, growing in a territory about one hundred and twenty-five miles wide along the coast from North Carolina to Texas. [Illustration: HOW PINE TAR IS MADE IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC STATES 1. BUILDING THE KILN 2. STARTING FIRE 3. RAKING BACK COALS 4. TAR COMING FROM KILN 5. DIPPING AND BARRELING 6. WORKING AROUND KILN 7. AFTER HARD DAY AND NIGHT 8. TAR-MAKERS AT HOME 9. BURNING COMPLETED ] Of the two methods for extracting the tar--the old kiln and the modern retort processes--the second yields the greater supply, largely because of the more systematic manner in which the industry is carried on. As yet, however, no way has been perfected for obtaining by this newer method a tar that measures up to Plymouth Cordage Company standards, and for this reason we have continued to use the kiln-made article only. Tar-kiln burning is conducted so far out in the country and in such a desultory fashion that few people have the opportunity to become acquainted with the process. A brief description may, therefore, be of interest. Only dead wood is used, as the green tree does not yield the quality or quantity of tar necessary to make the work profitable. Among the tar-makers the material is known as fat lightwood, possibly from the fact that it ignites easily and burns rapidly. In weight and color it is anything but a light wood. The wood is cut into convenient lengths and then laid up, with the ground as a floor, to form a pile about twenty-five feet long by five high and tapering in width from eight to five feet. The soil, if soft or sandy, is first covered with clay to lessen the loss of tar, and the pile is usually built on a slope so that the liquid will flow toward the pipe which serves as an outlet.