SUMACH FAMILY 



nessee it becomes a tree. The leaves are pinnate, six to 

 twelve inches long, the rachis is wing-margined ; leaflets nine 

 to twenty-one, ovate-lanceolate, acute, margins entire except a 

 few serrate teeth near the apex. The fruit consists of crim- 

 son hairy drupes borne in a dense terminal panicle. The leaves 

 and bark contain much tannin and are collected in large quan- 

 tities in the southern states and used for tanning leather. 



The family Rlins is widely distributed throughout the 

 temperate regions of the world ; more than a hundred species 

 have been distinguished and these are in Africa, Asia, North 

 America, South America, Indian Archipelago, Australia and 

 the Sandwich Islands. Its traces are also abundant in the 

 late eocene and the miocene rocks of Europe, but rare in the 

 arctic tertiary. Many species possess useful pi'operties, and 

 some are of commercial importance. The bark and leaves 

 of all are rich in tannin, and one species, Rhus coriaria of 

 southern Europe, is cultivated expressly for the tannin of its 

 leaves, which, dried and powdered, are used in curing the best 

 qualities of leather. 



The famous lacquer of Japan which has made the cabinet 

 work of the Japanese unequalled for centuries, is produced 

 by a sumach tree which is cultivated expressly for its milky 

 juice. The tree is allowed to reach the age of ten years and 

 then incisions are made on the trunk and large branches, the 

 sap collected, the small branches cut off and soaked in water ; 

 the tree in short is killed for its heart's blood. The yield is 

 surprisingly small, only two or three ounces from a single tree. 

 It seems that the tree cannot be tapped year after year as 

 we tap maple trees, the product of the second year is poor 

 and that of the third year nothing whatever; so the tree is 

 killed outright. 



Cotinus cotiiioides belongs to the Rluis family and is the 

 cultivated Smoke-tree of the gardens. The flowers are very 

 small, purplish, and borne in loose panicles. After calyx and 

 corolla drop, the pedicels lengthen, become hairy and form 

 great feathery bunches, green or dull red, which cover the 

 tree and transform it into a misty, cloudy, billowy mass. 



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