486 
AN  ESSAY  ON  SASSAFRAS  OFFICINALE. 
red  oil.  It  yields  very  abundantly,  but  not  more  than  brittle 
roots  of  a  yellow  color. 
Nevertheless,  Mr.  Hart,  who  distils  all  kinds  of  roots,  gets 
only  clear  oil,  which  he  attributes  to  using  a  lead  worm,  and  not 
a  copper  one. 
He  further  states  that  the  woody  part  of  the  stump  above 
ground,  and  the  roots  that  become  uncovered  by  soil,  produce 
an  oil  of  less  specific  gravity  than  the  deeper  roots,  and  that  it 
generally  passes  off  with  the  water. 
I  have  not  been  able  to  get  at  the  true  meaning  of  these 
statements,  owing  to  want  of  time  to  make  further  inquiry  for 
explanation,  but  suppose  that  the  red  oil  is  produced  from  roots 
of  old  stumps  yet  containing  the  bark,  whilst  the  white  comes 
from  the  young  woody  parts  alone,  and  the  yellow  from  older 
recent  roots.  The  sassafrid  or  red  coloring  matter  of  the  bark 
does  not  communicate  any  color  to  the  oil,  even  at  the  boiling 
temperature.  Mr.  J.  J.  Thomson,  of  Baltimore,  (see  his  Report 
on  the  Drug  Market,  Proceed.  A.  P.  Assoc.,  1864,  page  202), 
alluding  to  this  variation  in  the  color  of  the  oil,  says  : — "  The  color 
of  the  oil  grades  from  white  (colorless)  to  red ;  but  this  pecu- 
liarity does  not  affect  the  quality.  The  distillers  say  the  color 
arises  from  two  kinds  of  roots  used  in  distilling,  and  that  the 
color  of  the  oil  varies  with  the  proportion  used.  They  make  no 
effort  to  separate  the  varieties,  as  the  quantity  of  yield  is  about 
the  same."  I  cannot  reconcile  these  statements,  and  leave  the 
question  involved  for  future  inquiry ;  repeating,  however,  that 
I  believe  the  red  roots  are  from  old  stumps,  as  I  have  seen  roots 
several  years  old  that  were  strongly  odorous  of  sassafras,  and 
of  a  deep  red  color. 
Having  obtained  the  roots  and  transported  them  to  the  place 
of  manufacture,  those  intended  to  be  barked  are  scraped  with 
any  dull  instrument  to  remove  the  dead,  spongy  epidermis, 
which  is  darker-colored  than  the  underlayers,  and  contains  much 
grit  even  after  washing.  The  true  bark  is  then  removed  in  short 
shavings  with  a  drawing  knife,  avoiding,  as  much  as  possible,  the 
removal  of  any  of  the  woody  portion.  The  care  with  which  this 
simple  operation  is  executed  materially  affects  the  commercial 
value  of  the  bark.    Mr.  Thomsen  says  that  of  30,000  pounds 
