428 [Assembly 



lemons, grapes, and olives, as well as other productions of Sicily. 

 Their wages in Sicily are from twenty-five to thirty-three cents a 

 day and find themselves^ it should perhaps be half a dollar a day 

 in the United States. Their passage to the United States would be 

 about $25, or a little over; or perhaps our government would 

 deem it of importance enough to give them a passage either in a 

 mercliant or a United States vessel. They could take with them 

 all kinds of Sicilian wheat and other grains, and sumach plants. 

 I can always obtain in the proper season — say December and Jan- 

 uary — 20,000 if required; cost, a trifle. If the lemon and orange 

 trees were introduced — say into Florida, they would stand the 

 cold much better than those already introduced from Cuba, which 

 are not of a hardy kind. I can obtain all that can be wanted for 

 an introduction, and Sicilians to cultivate the trees. The exports 

 of sumach to the United States last year, were 65,000 bags. Le- 

 mons and oranges, 350,000 boxes from Sicily; more than three- 

 fourths from this port. Such is the trade in these articles alone, 

 besides large quantities of other productions. If I can serve you 

 or my country in any way beneficially, it will give me great 

 pleasure to do so. 



The soil of Sicily generally is a limestone formation — a reddish 

 soil, which I think corresponds with the land in Maryland, Vir- 

 ginia, North and South Carolina,- and the States west of those 

 named. In Sicily, sumach is cultivated in the valleys or level 

 grounds, or on the sides of the mountains ; it requires no rain 

 for two months before harvesting it. The soil of Sicily is so fer- 

 tile, that I do not think they manure the ground at all for sumach. 



We suppose that the reason of the superiority of Sicilian su- 

 mach over that of other countries, lies in the mode of cultivating 

 it. All the leaves are the productions of the young sprouts, that 

 spring up from the stump every year. Being so young, the leaves 

 are full of life when cut, and have not decayed, like those of old 

 trees. This, with a dry climate in the latter part of the season, 

 and the soil suiting the plant, gives it the reputation it has all 

 over Europe and America. 



I am, dear sir, your obedient servant, 



JOHN M. MANTON. 

 W. D. Porter, Esq., U. S. N., Washington. 



