AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES. i6i 



In lyo and other parts of Shikoku, and also here and there in 

 the district of San-yo-do, on the Inland Sea, but above all in 

 Kiushiu, the tallow-tree is largely cultivated. It often forms an 

 important factor in the landscape here, covering the hillsides, the 

 borders of fields and roads, and the dykes of rivers and canals. 

 It has the habit of apple trees, though by no means reaching an 

 equal strength. As it branches out earlier than the lacquer- 

 tree, it spreads forth a wider crown and does not grow so high, 

 being, as a rule, only 4 to 6m. high. Its primate-leaves are much 

 smaller, but its fruit is larger, heavier, and richer in fat than that 

 of the lacquer-tree. It bears a closer resemblance to the fruit of 

 Rhus sylvestris. 



Production of Sumach- tallow, and its Properties, 



The dry stone-fruit of both the above-mentioned species of 

 sumach is more or less kidney-shaped and, when ripe, of a bright 

 yellowish green colour. In size they resemble small dwarf beans, 

 as the Adzuki {Phaseolus radiatus). Its semi-transparent epi- 

 dermis loosens and falls off easily, as is the case with all Japanese 

 sumachs, especially Rhus vernicifera and R. sylvestris, so that in 

 the case of the latter, for example, the greyish white fat of the 

 mesocarp is visible soon after maturity all over the fruit-clusters. 

 The fat belongs entirely to this middle layer, where it fills out the 

 cells lying here loosely side by side. Between them are hard 

 fibres (intercellular milk-juice passages), which intersect the meso- 

 carp as in the nuts of oil and coco-palms. 



In the case of Rhus vernicifera this middle layer lies loose 

 above the stone or kernel, from which it is easy to separate it. 

 But in the case of the real tallow-tree it adheres tight in spots. 

 This may be the reason why these kernels are first separated 

 in making R6 from the fruit of the lacquer-tree, while with the 

 other sort they are left united with the crushed hull. In the 

 former case separation is effected by stamping in round rice-troughs 

 (Usu), after the stems have been removed. Then the mass is 

 made to fall gradually on mats of rush, by means of a draught of 

 air blown through an elevated sifter. The heavy kernels fall down 

 first and are thrown aside as worthless. The meal from the 

 epidermis and mesocarp is gathered up and heated with steam in 

 hempen sacks, and then quickly subjected to pressure in the wedge- 

 press. This process is repeated with the refuse. 



This is substantially the method which I saw pursued at Mura- 

 kami in Northern Echigo for obtaining tallow from the fruit of the 

 lacquer-tree. I found it precisely analogous in lyo, on Shikoku, 

 where it was applied to the somewhat larger fruit of Rhus succe- 

 danea. The wedge-presses employed here were of the same con- 

 struction, but more carefully worked. In driving in the wedge, 

 the wooden rams were not swung free in men's hands, but were 



II. M 



