THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 107 



at the height of the blooming season of some particularly 

 abundant honey plant, and may well vary with the locality 

 and even with the flora of the region. As would be expected, 

 a rainfall somewhat above the average is favorable to the pro- 

 duction of honey, since it not only promotes the growth of 

 the plant but supplies moisture for the nectar as well. In dry 

 seasons, even good honey-producers yield little or no nectar. 



Sassafras Once More. — Our old friend, the sassafras, 

 is up for a change of name, although it has had rather more 

 than its share of change in recent years. For a century or 

 more the name of the plant stood unchallenged as Sassafras 

 officinale, but when the friends of the "American Code" got 

 busy, the highly tautological Sassafras sassafras was substi- 

 tuted. Then the adherents of the Vienna Code stood out for 

 a new name and the plant became Sassafras variifolinm. This 

 was regarded as the really and truly correct name of the plant 

 and it now stands thus in all up-to-date manuals, but somebody 

 has recently discovered that the specific name, variifolinm, has 

 been incorrectly applied, and the name automatically becomes 

 Sassafras officinale again. Let us hope that the name-tinkers 

 derived some benefit from this cycle of changes ; it is not 

 apparent that anybody else got anything out of it except trouble. 



Sumach for Tanning. — Nearly all plants contain a cer- 

 tain amount of tannin but the tanning industry can use only 

 those species which produce this substance in quantity and in 

 easily obtainable form. Up to the present, the chief sources 

 of tannin have been the barks of different trees. In the United 

 States, oak, hemlock and chestnut barks are most frequently 

 used. The roots of canaigre (Rnmcx hymenosepalus) , a plant 

 related to the sorrel and rhubarb, contain much tannin and 

 also are used to a limited extent. In Europe the leaves of a 

 species of sumach (Rims coriaria) are used for tanning certain 

 fine leathers used in gloves and the like, and this material is 

 imported into the United States in some quantity, though 



