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Tar production began in forest—identifying trees or stumps with high resin content, harvesting them at optimal time, preparing material for processing.
The Pine Species:
Not all pines were equally suitable—some species produced abundant resin, others minimal amounts. The Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) was particularly valued in Scandinavia—naturally high resin content, wide distribution, adequate size. Other species might be used where available but pine’s properties made it standard choice.
The resin content varied within species based on growing conditions—trees stressed by poor soil, harsh climate, disease often produced more resin as defensive response. The irony was that unhealthy forests sometimes produced better tar than healthy ones, that trees’ suffering increased their value for specific purpose even while reducing their quality for timber.
The Stumps:
After trees were felled for lumber, stumps remained—substantial mass of wood still containing resin, difficult to remove, occupying land that could have been cleared for agriculture. The stumps were valuable tar source—extracting them served dual purpose of clearing land while providing raw material. The extraction required labor—digging around stump, cutting roots, breaking or pulling stump free, transporting to processing site.
The stumps were particularly resin-rich—trees’ defensive responses concentrated in roots and lower trunk, resin accumulated there over years, stumps that had weathered for years became even more concentrated as less-resinous wood decayed while resinous portions resisted decomposition.
The Roots:
Pine roots extending underground were premium tar material—high resin concentration, relatively easy to extract from loose forest soil, valuable enough to justify labor of digging and collecting. The root-gathering was often winter work—when agricultural demands were low, when ground was frozen making excavation different but not necessarily harder, when tar-burning could provide income during otherwise unproductive season.
The Lightwood:
“Lightwood” or “fatwood”—resin-saturated wood from dead trees or damaged sections—was particularly valuable. The wood was so resin-rich it would burn like candle, creating flame from the resin itself. Collecting lightwood meant searching forest for appropriate pieces, recognizing them by weight (heavier than normal wood due to resin), cutting them free, stockpiling for processing.
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