The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-08-15
AUGUST 10, 1878.

''A
ordinarily performed in December
or January, considering in time
with the first hoeing.
When sumac is left in the field to
dry it is liable to the damage Incl
dent to rain. This, if the leaves
are still fresh and green when the
rain ONE upon them, viii be
slight; it being only necessary, after
the rain, to turn the bundles or so
change their position as to acceler-
ate their drying as much as posi-
bic. But if they have been gath
cred some days, and the Process of
drying be considerably advanced,
the damage in both weight and
quality, will be serious ranging
from twenty-five to fifty per cent.
according to the amount of ram,
and the previous condition OF the
leaves. The amount of damage Is
ALWAYS greatest where the leaves
come I'm contact with the ground.
When they are gathered by strip
ping they should not be put upon
the ground, but should be pressed
into the forks of the branches, in
which position the damage pro-
cceding from rain is greatly dimin-
ishcd.
DRYING.
Sumac gathered by the second
method is usually dried between
the branches It's has just been midi
Gated. Sometimes, however, it is
taken green to the threshing floor.
Ina either case four or five days are
sufficient to dry it tt oroughly.
When it is dried ut the threshing
floor additional expense is incurred
on account of the necessity of STIR
INC it four or five times a day when
it Is brought together in Il thick
mass. The same surface should
not be LIFT exposed to the sun long
enough tC impair the green color of
the leaves, which is an essential
condition to good price. Of these
two methods of dying, the former
is preferable On account of It's
economy and because it is more apt
to secure in the product the quail
ties specially sought in the mar
kets.
Sumac gathered in the usual way
that is, by pruning Is allowed to
dry in the bundles formed as al
ready described, when it is cut.
The leaves in this case, being left
adhering to the branches, will not
dry So quickly, by three or four
days, as those gathered by the
second method. In transporting
sumac from the field to the thresh-
ing floor pains should always be
taken, and especially when it is
dry, to handle it carefully and
guard against waste.
THRESHING.
All the tannin of sumac is con-
tanned in the leaflets, the stems, or
peti0leS, being destitute Of it, and,
consequently. worthless, The OBJ
ject of the threshing of which we
shall now speak is to sever the leaf
lets from the stems. This opera
u0n, whether the sumac has been
gathered by pruning or stripping,
Is performed with the fail, just as
wheat used to be threshed among
Us in the olden time, and, to a large
extent, is still threshed in Italy.
The sumac, being well dried, is
placed i'll rows upon the floor and
beaten until the leaflets are de-
tached from the stems. The leaf
lets will, for the most part, be
broken into small pieces, but the
stems, being tougher, will suffer
less m~utilation; and on this ac-
count the separation of the one
from the other, which is
pllshed at the mills, as will be
hereafter described, is rendered
more easy.
The hottest part of the day is
best for threshing.