CULTURE OF SUMACH. 
239 
crossed directly or indirectly from Mr. Hewer’s 
flock. They ffave stronger constitutions, more 
wool, a better mixture of fat and lean, and the ad¬ 
vantage of early maturity. The last sale I was 
at, which was in 1840, I purchased nineteen, 
which I brought to this country. They averaged 
me $110 each. Several were sold from sixty to 
ninety guineas; and I saw one hundred and fifty 
guineas offered for one sheep ! It was the general 
opinion that a better sheep was never seen for 
size, symmetry, quality of flesh, and weight of 
wool. When I say this, I do not make any com¬ 
parison with the South-Downs, for I think Mr. 
Jonas Webb has made as rapid improvement in 
that breed, and deserves as much credit. I think 
two such breeders ought to be valued as highly 
as men can be; they are a nation’s prop. They 
are men who have done their duty. All that is 
required in this country is a few such breeders; 
if they possessed the true spirit , trifles would not 
stop them, “ depression ” would not check their 
enterprise; the more they became engaged in it, 
the greater would be their pleasure, delight, and 
profit; but now, some get tired of it because they 
do not study it , and allow their stock to degener¬ 
ate from had management. This climate is equal 
to any in the world; it only wants care and judg¬ 
ment to produce the best animals. 
Breeders of stock stir up your courage and your 
judgment , and then you will do your duty; do not 
give up before you have learned your business— 
then is the proper time to pursue it for your own 
good, and that of the country. 
William H. Sotham. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
CULTURE OF SUMACH. 
There are three species of sumach used in dye¬ 
ing—the Rhus Glabrum, the Rhus Coriaria, and 
the Rhus Cotinus. The first (Rhus Glabrum) is 
the common sumach of North America, such as is 
generally used by our country dyers, and to a lim¬ 
ited extent by our morocco tanners. The annual 
peduncles with their leaves are gathered, dried, 
and are generally used without grinding. I have 
never known or heard of any regular manufacture 
of this article since I have been in the country, and 
I shall now offer some observations which I hope 
may draw the attention of our southern planters 
to the advantage of cultivating it for the market. 
“ Of all astringents, sumach bears the greatest 
resemblance to galls. The precipitate, however, 
produced in solutions of iron by an infusion of it, 
is less in quantity than what is obtained by an 
equal weight of galls; so that in most cases it 
may be substituted for galls, the price of which is 
considerable, provided we proportionally increase 
its quantity.” 
It is well known to botanists that the most as¬ 
tringent vegetables, or those containing the largest 
portion of gallic acid, are brought from warm cli¬ 
mates ; and the following facts will prove that the 
quality of sumach also depends on the warmth of 
the climate in which it grows. The sumach 
grown in Europe is the Rhus Coriaria. That 
which is grown in the north of Europe, and im¬ 
ported from Trieste, is inferior to our own, except¬ 
ing a small portion grown in the Tyrol, and even 
this portion is not superior to the best American ; 
whereas, that grown in Sicily, Syria, Palestine, 
Spain, and Portugal, where it is cultivated with 
great care, is found by experience to be vastly su¬ 
perior to that from Trieste, and will sell for nearly 
three times as much. A similar difference is ob¬ 
servable in the sumach gro wn in our own country. 
That from the southern side of New Jersey is su¬ 
perior to that obtained from the state of New 
York, and that from Virginia is superior to the 
New Jersey; and I have no doubt that the same 
plant raised in our southern states, Florida for in¬ 
stance, dried with proper care, and fine ground, 
would be nearly or quite equal to the best import¬ 
ed. 
Sumach should be cut or gathered in clear 
weather, and should be so spread on a floor as to 
dry rapidly; for if only a small part should fer¬ 
ment, the whole mass will be seriously injured in 
its marketable value. It should be fine ground 
when dry, and packed in bags containing about 
one hundred and sixty pounds each, net weight. 
No rain or dew should be permitted to fall on it 
after cutting, for even the damp from the hold of 
a ship will injure its quality greatly. 
The Rhus Coriaria is a much smaller shrub 
than the Glabrum, the leaves are nearly three 
times as long, and the annual stalk much smaller. 
Of this sumach, from ten to fifteen thousand tons 
are annually imported for the use of our manufac¬ 
turers. The importation into this country is most¬ 
ly from Sicily. Should the Glabrum be found in¬ 
ferior*, the Coriaria could be substituted for it. 
I am informed that sumach will not re-produce 
from the seed, and if this be true, there would be 
some difficulty in introducing the articles to any 
extent, excepting by some slow persevering pro¬ 
cess ; as it would have to be extended by layers. 
It is said to be hybridous, in which case some 
plants brought from Sicily, and planted close to 
our Glabrum, would enable the seed of both to 
reproduce, and in this way might be extended at 
pleasure. 
The price of Sicily sumach has varied in our 
market from forty-two dollars per ton, to one hun¬ 
dred and twenty, within the last eighteen years. 
So that if our southern planters could supply the 
home market they would realize more than one 
million of dollars per annum on the present de¬ 
mand, and as this will annually increase, it is 
more than probable that in twenty years the con¬ 
sumption will double. 
The following is the botanical description of this 
plant. Coriaria—elm-leaved sumach—leaves pen- 
nate, leaflets oval, bluntly serrated, downy be¬ 
neath ; their common stalk winged in the upper 
part; flowering in July, and retaining its dense, 
branched, ample, upright clusters, of deep red, 
rough, coriaceous berries, even till winter, after 
the leaves are fallen. The tree is of a dwarf, 
bushy habit, with spreading, ascending, round 
downy branches, of a soft spongy texture. Leaves 
from eight inches to a foot long, of about five pair 
of leaflets, with an odd one; paler, downy, and 
veiny beneath. Flowers greenish, each with a 
