The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1900-01-17
What is Sassafras Good For P

This 10 . question that was asked
the other day by . correspondent of
The News and Courier. and the Savan
nah News makes the following an
swer:
The correspondent. if he 10 q native
Of the south. has probably been famil
isr with the plant oil his life No
doubt he has drank sassasfras tea
hundreds Of times, smacked his lips
over ID and asked for more Never.
theless he knows no more of it than
that sassafrss 10 shrub or tree, the
roots, branches and leaves of which
have q rather strong, pungent, aro.
matic aud rather sweetisth taste, and
that tea Is sometimes made of the
bark OF the roots Familiarity With
the sasssfras has made il uniuteresi.
ing nobody in the south pays q
great deal of attention to il. 1t
grove almost everywhere. and es :.
pecislly likes the soils OF old fields
and hedge rows 1t grows wild.
TO suggest to the Georgian or South
Carolinian that sssssfras be cultivated
would be laughed ct.
Nevertheless the sassafrss plant 10
foil Of virture from t., lowest point
OF the tsp root to the crown Of its
foliage Bark. leaves, wood, pi.b,
the roots contain valuable proper
ties The leaves are heavily charg
ed with . mucilsginous juice which
may be made to serve every purpose
Of gum arabic The pith also is q
gum producer in even larger degree
than the leaves. An investigator
says that . few inches of sssssfras
pith put into glass of cold water
will In few minutes make a glass
full Of mucilsge. During the civil
war. 10 some parts of 'he south.
sssesfrss leaves were employed to
furnish the thickeniug for soup; and
il was very pslatable and heaIlhful
thicken,ng. too During that time,
also, sassaffas tea was largely used
90 substitute for coffee and the ordi.
nary tee Of commerce. The ssssafrss
infusion. however. 10 q more health
tul beverage than either tea or coffee.
Il has positive alternative properties.
aud as q blood remedy il should be
ranked along with ssrssparilia. /: is
also . diuretic and soporiic !; it ia
good for the kidneys. and to produce
Precipitation. 1t is valuable in cases
Of colds and fevers. Oil of the sas
safrss. according to the medical
authority, "is used in the treatment
Of cutaneous diseases. rheumatism
gout. etc." II is commonly used in
connection with other drugs 1t has
been stated that 10 Q great msuy Of
the magic" proprietary linimen n,s
which ere 30 popular, at rs and SO
cents a bottle. ore made of spirits ol
turpentine. costing about 3v cents q
gallon. and . little oil of sasssfras,
aud that great many of the "discov.
Se SN'Sct ouo VIC u60, WHICH
cost 81 q bottle, have 40 their base
On infusion Of sssssfrss. We recog.
nize the virtues Of the sassafras and
turpentine after some body thousapd
miles awsy has mixed them and given
them . catchy name /; but we dom,
care much about them in thei,
natural state. Flavoring extracts are
also made from ssssafras, and there
10 no more delightful aud refreshing
beverage than sssssfras beer on hoI
day The mucilsge from the pith
Of the ssssafrss is said to be an ex
oellent remedy for sore eyes, OF
Tor almost any irritation and sore tis
sue As a gsrgle for sore throat
sasssfras tea, with alum, has q re
nognized standing in every rural
housewives cupboard Still, mos,
people are unfamiliar with the sossa
fras. for the reason that it 10 90 com
mon