Pottaskeframställning och tjärbränning i Femsjö socken från år 1700 till 1900

Sammanfattning: Femsjö is a small parish situated in Hylte municipality, Växjö diocese. The parish has a total area of 8230 ha of which 5000 ha are covered with forest. There have not been any large industries in the parish offering work opportunities for the inhabitants, so they have had to generate income from their land and the forest. Instead of going to the bank to get a bank loan the people of Femsjö parish went out in to the forest and harvested trees for timber and extra cash revenue. Production of pine tar and potash were two other ways that the residents of Femsjö parish could earn extra money for the household in order to keep starvation away. Pine tar has been a commercial product for centuries. Moreover, pine tar has through long period been an important export commodity and part of the Swedish economy. From today's point of view production of pine tar was often a waste of timber. It is calculated that one needed 15 large trees in order to make one barrel of tar. The production of tar in Femsjö parish was accomplished by placing pine timber with high amount of resin in a long trench dug into a slope. On top of the timber one placed spruce twigs and on top of the spruce twigs soil was shovelled to seal out air. The pine timber was then lit, and the timber was left to release its tar in to a barrel at the bottom of the trench. Pot ash is the ash one get when beech or other hardwoods with high amounts of potassium carbonate are burned. Pot ash was used for many purposes such as glass, soap and washing powder production. The fabrication of potash was a major reason why beech decreased in Halland. Today pot ash is manufactured chemically, thus beech forests have more or less recovered.