2 BULLETIN 706, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
bindings and other purposes, where the leather must last indefinitely. 
The greater part of the gathered American sumac, however, is used 
for dyeing cotton goods. 
The sumac industry in the United States is of direct interest to 
the country people of certain sections. It is largely a farm industry, 
since the sumac is harvested and cured by the country people, and 
is sold through country dealers for grinding or for the manufacture 
of sumac extract. * 
In recent years the quantity of sumac harvested has been rela- 
tively much smaller than formerly. Cheaper materials for making 
light-colored leathers are in use, while the demands of dyers have 
not been large. American sumac, owing to careless gathering and 
curing, yields a darker-colored leather than the sumac imported from 
Sicily, and, since sumac is used for tanning light-colored leathers, 
this quality renders the American product less desirable for this pur- 
pose and decreases the demand for it. Another reason for the small 
amount collected is that the gatherers often earned less than could 
be made at other kinds of work. 
Investigations with a view to the betterment of the conditions of 
collection and the improvement of the quality of American sumac 
indicate that the reestablishment of the sumac industry in this 
country on a firmer basis is entirely possible, and is especially desir- 
able at this time, when the importation of Sicilian sumac is restricted 
by difficulties of transportation. 
American sumac, if properly handled, will make an excellent sub- 
stitute for Sicilian sumac. Consumers of sumac must realize, however, 
that the first step necessary for the production of a high-grade sumac 
similar to the foreign article is proper gathering and proper curing, 
which can be accomplished only by offering as an incentive to the 
country people a price commensurate with the quality. The better 
the sumac the better should be the price. In this way mutual benefit 
will be gained, and much will be done toward materially developing 
the domestic sumac industry. 
Statistics probably do not indicate accurately the quantity of 
sumac gathered in the United States, because careful records are not 
kept by gatherers and dealers of the amounts collected and used. 
The figures for domestic production given in Table 1 were compiled 
from the Census reports, and the figures for the imports on the 
reports on commerce and navigation of the United States, issued by 
the U. S. Department of Commerce. 
Table 1. — Production of sumac in the United States. 
Year. 
Sumac extract. 
Ground sumac. 
Quantity. 
Value. 
Quantity. 
Value. 
1899 
1904 
1909 
Pounds. 
3,349,742 
4,093,619 
3,148,790 
4,512,361 
$103,085 
95,958 
107, 4. r 6 
12.), 631 
Pounds. 
9,284,000 
5,061,333 
$114,660 
65, ISO 
1914 
