Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-11-27


We printed yesterday the letter of
Farmer" a correspondent in a nearby
county, in which he says:
your valuable paper is always so
keenly alive to all that is and may be to
the profit of our people, that I am con-
strained to ask for information when
may be Of value to many. Can you give
any information as to the uses and value
OF the sassafras plant? 1t certainly Is
used incidentally; also, as a flavoring exI
tract. and a valuable oil is extracted
from the bark This plant or shrub,
abounds ell over South Carolina, and
would be very glad to receive any infor-
nation which you may be able TO give US
concerning its market value"
We regret to have TO say that we are
not able to give our correspondent all the
information he wants, and we shall have,
therefore, TO pass his inquiry on for the
attention of some OF our associates OF
the press, and some one of our pharma-
ceutlcal friends.
All that we know of the plant relates
10 its "uses"-the first point of the in
quiry. 1t is very highly esteemed In
Georgia and North Carolina, and in the
upper part Of this State, we believe, as
substitute for the tea plant Of the East
the tea made from the bark of the root
of the "red" variety being a most popu-
lar beverage at q certain season OF the
year on account of It's aromatic flavor
and supposed or assured qualities as n
"blood purifier" Everybody in those
parts drinks It, we believe, for awhile in
the early spring, or II may be in the fall
or winter. when the sap is in the
ground" both as a matter Of policy and
as a matter Of luxury. Why it is not
used all the year round in lieu Of foreign
tea and coffee, we do not know. The aro-
matte essence extracted by the chemists
art Is also largely employed in the same
regions for flavoring candy. of the famil-
lar barbers-pole stripe, and Is more or
less in favor with the young gallants as
an ingredient OF toilet soap and hair-oil
To what extent II Is used for this last
purpose we cannot say, but our corre-
spondent can get exact information on
all the points noted, we are sure, by
applying 10 the editors of any of tho
Georgia and North Carolina papers-no-
tably those Of Savannah, Augusta, At
lanta, Macon, and Charlotte-and TO our
contemporaries in Columbia and Green
vile. They are personally familiar with
the subject and, no doubt, will take
ity of their large observation and expe-
rience.
As to the market value" Of the plant,
and how to cultivate and handle II to
the best advantage for commercial pur-
poses we repeat that we are not we'll In
formed and must depend on some Of our
horticultural and pharmaceutical experts
for the due enlightenment OF our corre-
spondent and the many" OF our people
on whose behalf his inquiries have been
presented. 1t is certainly true, as he says
that "the shrub abounds all over South
Carolina" as IL grows in nearly every
part Of the State without cultivation or
attention, and fairly oyerruns every "old
field" in a few years. What could be
done with such plant, by careful cult
walton, we need not try 10 estimate, bus
It could certainly be made to produce an
enormous crop OF roots, or root bark, 10
the acre, and If this product has a consid-
cradle market value,' the crop would be
well worth the attention OF any and all
our farmers who are casting about for
new products for the employment OF their
land and labor. We take IL that the
value OF the plant is determined wholly
by the price of the extract and essential
oil to be derived from It; the demand for
these products, and the cost and profit OF
their manufacture. Whether they can be
manufactured by simple means that could
be provided and employed in any small
community, or whether they require an
elaborate outfit. or whether they could
now be manufactured in one Of the large
drug establishments in the State, we do
not know. We leave these questions TO be
answered by some one who is prepared
TO answer them. and who will do so in
the public interest We have the raw ma
terial by the ton already. and can produce
1t by the thousand tons IL desired. The
only point TO be settled is whether we can
manufacture II at home, or sell IL any,
where at a fair profit.
Another correspondent, by the way.
made similar inquiries, a few DAYS ago.
with regard to the market value OF tho
peppermint plant which. he said. grows
wild in this State; needs no cultivation
and yields three crops a year" We buy
a great deal OF the essence Of the plant.
he added, and mot drop OF II is made
I'm the State. but all has to be imported. :"
The possibilities OF this medicinal plant as
a money crop" and OF any others which
can be probably produced and manufac-
tured In the State. may we'll be consid-
cred in connection with those OF the
sassafras plant. We shall be glad to re-
ceive and publish authoritative informa-
ton with regard TO all or any OF them for
the Information OF our farmers and home
gardeners generally. IL IL very certain
that We could grow and manufacture.
with good profit. many things which we
have neglected or scorned heretofore. II
is high time that we should begin TO
mako the most OF every such possible In
dustry seeing that our former nearly
sole dependence. the cotton plant. appears
Ia DO practically aus gssSisA -