ON SOME N S.W. TAN-SUBSTANCES. 187 



R. glabra grows 2 to 12 feet high, and is considered the most 

 valuable of the American species. It extends from Canada to 

 •Georgia and Louisiana. (Torrey and Asa Gray.) 



Tannic Acid. 



Per cent. Authority. 



Winchester Va. U.S.A. 23-56 Dept. of Agric. U.S.A. 

 Georgetown DC. U.S.A. 16-50 



Rhus copallina, Linn. (Dwarf or Black Sumach) North America. 

 •Grows 1 to 7 feet high. Convenient for cultivation under some 

 •circumstances, on account of its small size. It ranks next in value 

 to R. glabra of the American species. 



Tannic Acid. 

 Per cent. Authority. 



Winchester, Va. U.S.A. 16-99 Dept. of Agric. U.S.A. 



RJius Cotinus, Linn. (Venetian Sumach or Smoke Tree). Besides 

 the use in Europe, in the Himalaya the twigs are used for basket 

 making, and the bark and leaves for tanning. Tannic acid — 

 Virginia, U.S.A., 24*08 per cent. 



Rhus typhina, Linn. (Staghorn Sumach). Flowers and fruits 

 used to sharpen vinegar, hence its name of " Vinegar Tree." Grows 

 10 to 30 feet high. Extends from Canada to South Carolina and 

 Louisiana. (Flora 1ST. Amer., Torrey & Gray.) 



Tannic Acid. 



Per cent. Authority. 



Georgetown DC. U.S.A. 16-18 Dept. of Agric. U.S.A. 



Rhus pentaphylla (Tezera Sumach). Used by the Arabs of 

 Algeria for making morocco leather. 



RJius toxicodendron (Poison Sumach or Poison Oak or Ivy of 

 North America). An extract prepared from the leaves is used in 

 some cutaneous disorders. 



Full particulars (which are more or less applicable to all the 

 species) in regard to the culture and harvesting of Sumach will be 

 found in the Special Report of the Department of Agriculture, 

 ■(U.S.A.) alluded to above. The European species have hitherto 

 failed in those parts of the United States were attempts have been 

 made to acclimatise them, owing to the severity of the winters, 

 but in the more genial climate of New South Wales this difficulty 

 would not obtain. Rich soil is not a sine qua non ; in fact it is 

 perhaps a drawback. " To grow Sumach to perfection requires a 

 soil of only medium fertility ; it is found that a very luxuriant 

 growth is produced at the expense of the tanning principle ; an 

 exposure to sun on a southern slope is also favourable to an increase 



