Michael

If the pin-factory that Smith observed was in Fife, Scotland, it is 
more than likely that it was coal-fired and not wood-fired.   While 
there were more forests in Fife then than today (it was mainly 
agricultural with many small workshops and mines), it was also a 
major source of coal from its local fields, which was also exported 
by sea.  Coal mining remained a major industry in Fife into the 
mid-20th century.

There were several iron-nail workshops in Fife in Smith's time.

However, Smith may have observed a French pin factory (1764-66) or, 
perhaps an English one, near London.

For information about Smith and the pin-factory, and a detailed case 
against Smith's assertions in Wealth Of Nations, see Jean Louis 
Pocele (university-reunion, France) in a recent issue of The European 
Journal of the History of Economic Ideas.

Gavin Kennedy