294 ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



The leaves are six or more inches long, lobed, with the 

 broadest end towards the apex. The acorn is seven-eighths 

 of an inch in diameter, in a large scaly cup. The species 

 was originally called Quercus eiirina, and by a corruption 

 of this the name Quercitron was formed, which is used to 

 designate the yellow dye obtained from the bark. The 

 quality of the dye is excellent, and besides can be obtained 

 in immense quantity. For these reasons it has almost 

 entirely superseded the Genisip,, Reseda, and other yellow 

 dyes, formerly used very extensively in Europe. The dye- 

 ing capacity of Quercitron is said to be four times as great 

 as -that of the yellow wood (Maclura), and eight or ten 

 times as great as that of Reseda. The outer bark of the 

 tree is removed, the inner is then ground between mill- 

 stones. The odor is weak, peculiar, but not disagreeable; 

 the taste is bitter. The Quercitron resides mainly in the 

 parenchyraous tissue of the middle and inner bark. The 

 important constituent is Quercitrin, which consists of sul- 

 phur-yellow crystals, soluble in alcohol, scarcely soluble^in 

 water, and not at all soluble in ether. The Quercitron is 

 used both in dyeing and tanning. 



276. The bark of Cinnamomum zeyhnicum, of the Laurel 

 family, is the Cinnamon t)f commerce. The plant is 

 cultivated in India, Ceylon, Sunda Islands, West Indies, 

 and South America. It is a small tree, twenty to thirty 

 feet high, with oblong-lanceolate leaves. The trees are 

 top|)ed, every one or two years, like basket-willows, and thus 

 from the main stem many shoots are produced ; from these 

 the bark is easily removed in the spring, after a rainy period, 

 when the activity of the cells in the cambium zone is 

 greatest. Circular incisions are made at considerable dis- 

 tances from each other, and connected by a longitudinal 



