488 
AN  ESSAY  ON  SASSAFRAS  OFFICINALE. 
times  measures  eight  inches  in  diameter,  and  the  bark  is  often 
partially  stripped  off."  "  The  wood  is  dirty  grayish-yellow,  light, 
porous,  and  it  possesses  the  same  odor  and  taste  as  the  bark, 
but  more  feebly." 
With  these  preliminary  statements  in  view,  diligent  inquiry 
was  made  in  Philadelphia  in  regard  to  the  commerce  of  sassa- 
fras root  wood,  and  I  could  find  no  traces  of  it  among  our  drug- 
gists, nor  had  they  any  knowledge  of  the  root  wood  being  ex- 
ported. Knowing  Baltimore  to  be  a  mart  for  the  bark  and  oil, 
I  applied  to  Mr.  J.  J.  Thomsen,  Druggist,  of  that  city,  who 
kindly  took  some  pains  to  get  at  the  truth,  which  he  gives  as 
follows  : — "  Sassafras  root  is  brought  to  Baltimore  from  within 
a  circuit  of  three  hundred  miles,  of  which  Baltimore  is  the  cen- 
tre. The  root  is  the  only  part  used,  and  any  portion  of  the  tree 
below  the  soil  is  esteemed  merchantable.  The  roots  are  ex- 
tracted from  the  ground  by  the  use  of  levers,  and,  as  obtained 
in  this  manner,  are  brought  to  market  with  the  wood  and  bark 
untouched,  and  portions  of  the  soil  clinging  to  them.  If  ex- 
posed long  to  the  sun  and  rain,  much  of  this  impurity  is  washed 
from  the  roots,  and  in  this  respect  the  roots  vary  in  value. 
The  branch  roots  vary  from  half  an  inch  to  six  inches  in 
diameter,  emanating  from  a  crown  or  stump  varying  from 
ten  to  fifteen  inches,  and  sometimes,  though  rarely,  as  much 
as  two  feet  in  diameter.  It  is  not  customary  among  the 
collectors  to  keep  them  protected  from  the  weather,  or  to  wash 
them.  When  purchased  in  this  form  by  the  shippers,  the  roots 
are  generally  placed  under  cover,  where  they  lose  very  much  in 
weight  by  drying.  They  are  then  cut  into  pieces  as  straight  as 
possible,  and  formed  so  as  to  fill  in  between  barrels,  casks  and 
hogsheads  when  shipped  to  Europe. 
"  One  or  two  parcels  have  been  cut  up,  similarly  to  dye 
woods,  before  exportation,  but  it  did  not  prove  profitable,  and  is 
discontinued.  Sassafras  bark  is  not  exported  from  here  to  foreign 
parts, but  is  sent  largely  to  New  York  and  the  Western  States." 
It  is  quite  possible  that  some  roots  may  enter  foreign  com- 
merce via  New  York,  but  we  have  no  knowledge  of  it.  It  is 
curious  that  this  contribution  to  foreign  commerce  should  have 
been  so  long  unnoticed  by  American  writers  on  Materia  Medica. 
