VOLATILE OIL PLANTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 37 



cultivated. The extent of the production of tlie oils is much less, 

 chiefly because of the more or less scattered condition of these plants, 

 and therefore the difficulty of gathering them in large quantities. 

 Usually these wild aromatic plants are distributed over wide areas 

 confused largely with other volatile or nonvolatile species, thus caus- 

 ing the rapid collection of the plants to be seriously hindered. For 

 this reason, probably, together with lack of interest in the cultiva- 

 tion of the wild plants, the production of their oils has been largely 

 restricted. 



SASSAFRAS. 



A specific example of an important uncultivated plant which yields 

 a volatile oil of considerable value is the sassafras tree. Sassafras 

 oil was one of the first volatile oils distilled in America, The range 

 of the tree is from Florida, where it was originally discovered, to 

 Virginia and Pennsylvania, and even as far north as Xew York and 

 the New England States. It is quite abundant in the South-Central 

 States, especially Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas. The produc- 

 tion of this oil attained commercial significance early in the last 

 century, and it is distilled extensively at present in Kentucky, Ten- 

 nessee, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia; also to a less extent 

 in Ohio, Indiana, and New York. 



Although the distillation of this very fragrant oil, which is ob- 

 tained principally from the bark of the root of the sassafras tree 

 {Sassafras officmalis), has assumed a strong commercial aspect, the 

 tree has not been grown, strictly speaking, for oil purposes. No 

 doubt the great abundance and the ready accessibility of the trees 

 OTowinsf wild are the causes of the noncultivation of this tree for 

 commercial purposes. The leaves and branches of the tree are 

 faintly aromatic, but are not used as a source of the oil. The root 

 bark and wood, which contain from 1 to 8 per cent of volatile oil, 

 form the crude source of supply. The oil is distilled by the ordinary 

 method of steam distillation, the wood and bark of the root being 

 previousl}' coarsely comminuted to admit of better extraction. 



WINTERGREEN AND SWEET BIRCH. 



The distillation of the oils of wintergreen and sweet birch is a 

 further example of wild aromatic plants furnishing oils in sufficient 

 quantities to supply the trade. Both wintergreen {Ganlfheria pro- 

 cumbcns) and sweet birch {Betula lenta) occur largely from the New 

 England States and North-Central States to Georgia, Florida, and 

 Alabama. The distillation of these oils dates back nearly as far as 

 that of the oil of sassafras and has developed until the industry at 

 present is of some significance. Wintergreen and sweet birch are 

 entirely unrelated plants, yet the oils produced from them by dis- 



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