Hi John, hi mining-historians,
John Colby wrote:
> ...
> One of the pressures is charcoal making. Is
> there/was there at anytime in history, a preferred tree species for
> making charcoal?
maybe the following information about the iron-industry in the
Siegerland area (Germany) is of interest for you.
The information is taken from the book "Hauberg und Eisen
ISBN 3-921375-26-6 by Ranke, Korff".
Apologize for the propably somehow 'rough' translation :-)
In the Siegen area ironstone has been mined since Roman time.
The people developed the so called "Haubergswirtschaft", a
system to get carcoal for iron-smelting and a variety of
"by-products".
The main species used there was oak tree with the advantage,
that the bark could be used to produce tan used in leather
tanneries.
The cycle went as follows:
The trees were cut in the age of about 18 years and the
bark was 'peeled' off in order to produce the tan.
The wood - of course - was used to make the charcoal
and in smaller quntities for house heating.
The next step was to burn remaining small wood particles
and to remove the grass and the roots in order to get an
even surface. The ashes were spread around and gave a
good fertilizer. Then rye has been sewed on the so
prepared ground, which was a good material for roofing.
After harvesting the rye, the area was kept as it was,
so, that young trees could redevelop.
After two more years the area could be used for
grazing by sheep and later on by cows. Tha latter ones
did not only supply meat but also the skin for leather
making.
The system stopped working after the invention of
ironmaking with coke and after alternative sources
for making tan had been found.
The authors of the book did not mention other tree
species than oak, but I am not sure, if only oak tree
heas been used.
Greeting
Harald
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