2 BULLETIN" 7 06, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
realization of the possibilities of native sumac. The domestic 
sumac industry is well worth organization and development as a 
means of increasing the present none too plentiful supply of tanning 
materials, of lessening our dependence on foreign countries, and of 
giving the people in the rural districts an additional source of 
income. 
Sumac leaves have long been used in tanning leather and in dye- 
ing fabrics. The value of sumac for tanning depends chiefly upon 
the fact that it yields durable light-colored or white leathers, as a 
consequence of which it is employed largely in the tanning of book- 
binding, glove, and hatband leathers, and for removing darker 
colored tanning materials from the surface of bag, case, and fair 
harness leathers. Sumac-tanned leathers have been found to be 
most durable and suitable for bookbindings and other purposes, 
where the leather must last indefinitely. The greater part of the 
gathered American sumac, however, is used in the dyeing of cotton 
goods. 
The sumac industry in the United States is of direct interest to 
the country people of certain sections. It is largely a rural 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 extract. 
In recent years the quantity of sumac gathered has been 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 and de- 
creases 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. 
While it is true that American sumac, if properly handled, will 
make an excellent substitute for Sicilian sumac, consumers of sumac 
must realize 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 a price commensurate with the labor and the quality 
of the product. 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 on the quantity of sumac gathered in the United States 
are not available. The domestic production of sumac extract, com- 
piled from census reports, is shown in Table 1. Some of this produc- 
