302 Transactions of the American Institute. 



western is worth only about forty dollars to fifty dollars per ton. A 

 cause of this may also be in bad preparation. The leaves only should 

 be picked, no twigs or limbs. Then the leaves should be dried by 

 sun heat, and so arranged that they can be run under a shelter. They 

 must not be allowed to get wet or damp in process of drying. They 

 should be picked before the berries are fully ripe. This industry has 

 become a very great one in the south, and enabled many persons to 

 make a comfortable living from an article heretofore wasted. The 

 demand is not lessening, but really increasing, and there is room for 

 a much larger production. The morocco manufacturers prefer the 

 article fine-ground and from the leaves only. Thus .made and carry- 

 ing a good per eentage of tannin, seventy-five dollars to ninety dol- 

 lars per ton of 2,000 pounds can certainly be calculated on. 



Professor J. A. Whitney — All the published accounts agree that 

 Sicily sumac comprises not only the leaves, but the small twigs and 

 their bark. As far as concerns the mere value of the material for 

 tanning, the addition of the bark, which has considerable tannic acid, 

 will somewhat add to its value. But it is quite possible that there 

 may be some coloring matter in the bark that would be objectionable 

 in making first-rate morocco leather, and hence dealers and manufac- 

 turers prefer the leaves alone. There is one matter, that of avoiding 

 any wetting or fermentation of the material, that should be pressed 

 upon the attention of sumac-pickers. The virtue of sumac lies in its 

 tannic acid. If we ferment or decompose the material some or all of 

 this is converted into what is known as gallic acid. This has no tan- 

 ning power, and, moreover, exerts an injurious action by opening the 

 pores of the leather, loosening its texture, and of course deteriorating 

 its quality. Adjourned. 



September 26, 1871. 



Nathan C. Ely, Esq., in the chair. 

 Ashes as a Fertilizer. 

 Mr. K. Bennett, Jefferson, "Wis., asked whether it will pay to haul 

 leached ashes half a mile to put on an upland sandy loam, which, in 

 heavy rains, is inclined to wash. 



Mr. H. L. Reade — It will pay to cart them four times the distance. 

 Speaking of ashes, I have here two ears of corn, the product of a 

 single stalk which overgrew fourfold its near neighbors, in conse- 

 quence of being planted where a heap of ashes had lain for three 



