[Sca-cooks] Charcoal

[Stefan li Rous]

Johnna Holloway commented:
> Gardens Illustrated for Feb. 2001 did a major
> article on traditional charcoal burning.

Thanks for the referance. I'll have to see if I can find this.

> Large scale charcoal
> production for smeltering helped to deplete the
> hardwood forests of Michigan's UP faster than the
> demand for lumber for housing back in the mid 19th
> century.

You don't have to go to the New World to find this. The smelters
were a major reason for the deforestation of both Britain and parts
of Europe, despite period regulations that said how close together
smelters, and thus charcoal ovens, could be placed.

It was also a major reason for the switch to "sea coal" near the end
of our period and after that mining of the coal itself.

--
THLord  Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas         stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****