The herald., 1896-04-16
THE CULTURE OF CANAIGRE
A New aud Highly Profitable Field for
Capital .i. r's
The Plant nost Acceptable Substitute for
Tanning Barks-S,me Details Of Its
Cultivation What II Sells For


Tanning Barks-S,ms Details Of Its
Cuitivation-Wha It Sells For
In the rainless regions of the south
west the Mexicans have for centuries
been tanning hides with the roots of a
sour dock or wild rhubarb, Rumex hy-
menosepalus. called by the early mis-
sionaries sour cana, cana agria,"
and which was finally pronounced
cah-na-ger and spelled canaigre.
With the advent of the Anglo-Saxon
and the railway, the plant was utilized
iii the local tanneries, and recently
stock companies have been organized
to gather. slice and sun-dry large
quantities of the roots of the wild plant,
and many carloads have been prepared
and shipped to American and European
tanneries. A canaigre tanning extract
is also made, which is very similar to
the gambler tanning extract. derived
from the leaves and young twigs of an
East Indian tree. The United States
imports gambler to the extent of a mill
lion and a half of dollars annually, and
also sends abroad for hemlock bark
and other tanning materials to the
value of a million dollars more. The
worlds yearly crop of gambler is valued
at ten million dollars, and nearly all
of it is shipped from India to Great
Britain. and is thence exported to the
other European nations and to Amer
lea, being wholesaled at from four to
five cents per pound. Canaigre finds Its
strongest competitor in gambler, as the
tanning properties of the two substan.
Ces are very similar.
Leather acquires from canaigre a
clearer. brighter orange color than from
any other tanning material. The use
80
er yellow tint to the leather, and it is
the very best material for retaining
poorly tanned hides. The great value of
canaigre lies in the fact that 1t tans
quickly. colors deeply and seems to
give strength to the soft, durable. I'm
pervious leather which is very tough
and pliable. 1t is adapted to the tan
ming OF fancy feathers, uppers. saddlery
and the finer kinds of sole leather. as the
product is of a pleasing color and
neither shrinks nor swells. AS it is the
first to act on the hide, small amount
Of canaigre, used with pine or other
barks, causes the latter to tan the
more rapidly and uniformly.
Hence there is an increasing demand
for this new American tanning mater
ial. Canaigre Is a dock-like plant or
rhubarb. growing dur
ing the moister weather Of the south
western fall and winter. and throwing
up a seed stalk three feet high. bear
ing pink flowers, which change to pur-
pie. The valuable part Is the tuberous
roots. which resemble cluster of sweet
potatoes. These tubers are the perma-
nent part of the plant. making their
which kills all Of the plant above
ground. The roots continue to grow
and increase in tannin for years. The
tannic acid in the green root increases
from per cent in the voting root to 10
per cent in the old. The tannin insthe
air dried root varies from ID per cent
in the young root to So per cent in the
old The leaves and stems contain r.
per cent Of tannin when green and
per cent when dry. -year-old tubers.
when air-dried, are about one-fourth
tannin.
A moist, sandy soil is preferred by
canaigre, but it also grows on the
mesas and other high land. So many
OF the wild roots have already been
gathered that the supply Of canaigre
within a profitable distance Of the rail-
way is already limited The plant, how
ever. bears cultivation we'll and the ex
pertinent stations at Tucson, Ariz, and
at Las Cruces, New, Mexico, have test
ed various methods of it's culture and
irrigation. The soil is prepared as
1t would be for potatoes or other root
crops, DS1IB InellONeu do uecpiy oS
possible. AS the crop does not grow
during the summer it is best planted in
the falk though complete seasons
growth is not gained thereby, as the
spring-planted canaigre will make
some growth before becoming dormant
for the summer The plant produces
as little mature seed as the common po-
tato does. and the delicate seedlings are
much more tender than rhubarb seed
lings. Hence canaigre is propagated
from tubers, as the common potato Is.
with this advantage, that the seed tu-
Der for the canaigre crop does not de-
cay or die. but increases its content of
the valuable tannin, so that the ton
of whole tubels needed to plant an
acre is of itself a profitable investment.
Though the roots may be cut very small
for seed, there is thus little advantage
i'll such treatment. Canaigre is so
tenacious of life that the tubers in the
ground will not die from neglect or
drouth, but it's yield increases in pro-
portion to the amount of Iiiinfall moist
ure, or irrigation the wedding and the
cultivation it receives during the fall
and spring. The treatment and cost
per acre is about the same as for po-
tatoes, though it should have an extra
fall irrigation, which the potatoes do
not. of course, get
The canafgre crop may be harvested
at any time, though the largestYield is
obtained when dormant in summer, and
the greatest amount of tannin just after
1t begins to sprout in the fall. The Gull
tivated roots are dug with any plow or
machine that will harvest potatoes. AS
large heaps, or carloads, of the green
roots will heat and spoil from the fer
mentation, the roots are spread out in
a thin layer to dry in the air and sun
shine, or when thus spread are covered
with earth to keep them plump. The tu-
bers Withstand drouth and desert con-
ditions so long that it is almost neces-'
sary to slice them in order to air-dry
them thoroughly. The roots will keep
best as they grow in the ground, and
should remain there until the crop is to
be marketed and the field replanted. AS
the bunch of cultivated tubers makes
nearly all it's growth the first year. the
crop needs no attention during succeed
ing years IL left undug. while the pre-
cious tannic acid increases from 25 per
cent in the dried one-year-o old roots to
80 per cent in the two-year- and
the third year may even reach 35 per
cent, and the valuable coloring matter
increases even faster with age. The cul-
tivation of canaigre is at present much
hampered by the necessary cost Of rail-
way transportation to the distant tanz
neries, but it seems probable that by
a diffusion process similar to that used
with the sugar beet. an extract will soon
be profitably obtained from either fresh
to three-fourths of pure tannic acid.
thus saving at least one-third of the
freight. Dried canaigre root commands
$65 per ton in the Austrian tannerier,
and its intrinsic merits for tanning are
only beginning to be appreciated. The