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Tapping the Pines: The Naval Stores Industry in the American South

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Robert Outland III tackles a subject that until now, had only been covered in "fits and starts." The gum naval stores industry of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal states spanned more than 200 years. Yet today, it is little known by those outside the now fading generation that witnessed its last years of backwoods prominence. Outland does an outstanding job of explaining production methods and uses of naval stores. Also, the many times wretched life of the turpentine worker is discussed at length. Often a stepchild in discussions of the South's great timber industry, naval stores finally get a fair, thorough treatment by a worthy historian.

Tapping the Pines is a well-written, comprehensive history of the gum naval stores industry of the South, from its origins in the colonial period to its death following World War II. The book covers all the bases--scientific, human, and economic. You stand to learn, for example, how the southern pine forests came to be, how naval stores were derived from them, who did the work (slaves, "convicts," and peons, in the main), where the industry spread and why, how the government helped and hindered the industry, and what led to its demise.