AMERICAN" SUMAC. 7 
per hundred pounds, any active gatherer can make from $2 to $3 
a day, while at $2 per hundred pounds he can earn from $4 to $6 
a day. 
GATHERING AND CURING. 
The general practice followed in gathering is to break or cut (only 
the black can be broken readily) the new-growth stalk just below the 
lowest leaf stem. Sumac never should be allowed to wilt in the sun 
for more than a few hours. It should be hauled to a barn and 
spread on the clean floor in a layer from 1 to 3 feet deep, or on racks 
which permit the circulation of air underneath. The sumac must 
be turned once or twice each day for a week, to aid in the drying 
and to prevent the leaves from molding. The brightest sumac is 
not allowed to wilt in the sun, but is spread at once on racks in 
the barn or under cover. This method aids materially in producing 
sumac of the lightest and best color. 
LOSS IN CURING AND HANDLING. 
Experienced gatherers estimate that 100 pounds of green sumac 
makes only from 40 to 50 pounds of the cured sumac. There is still 
further loss in weight between the time of purchase by the dealer 
and the time of sale, due largely to loss of moisture, still present 
because of incomplete drying, to falling of leaves, and to the re- 
moval of adhering dirt. This loss between the purchase and sale 
by the dealer varies in amount from 5 to 15 pounds, thus making a 
total loss in weight of from 60 to 75 pounds per hundred pounds 
of the original green sumac. 
Eesults of laboratory experiments on the curing of sumac (leaves, 
leaf stems, and stalks), given in Table 3, show losses while curing 
which agree well with those estimated by gatherers. 
Table 3. — Loss of moisture in curing sumac (collected September 28, 1916). 
Species. 
Duration 
of drying. 
Loss of 
moisture. 
Days. 
5 
25 
49 
5 
25 
49 
5 
25 
49 
Per cent. 
50.5 
53.2 
53.6 
63.9 
66.1 
66.6 
55.5 
57.3 
57.8 
White 
Staghorn 
There is reason to believe that the loss in curing on the farm is not 
so great as the loss observed in the bureau's experiments, where the 
sumac dried out very thoroughly. 
