Norwich bulletin., 1918-12-11
MONEY IN AMERICAN suMAc.

1 On uncultivated lands in a large part of the United States slunac grows wild, and is especially abundant and inaccessible east of the Mississippi l River, from Maine to Central Georgia i and Mississippi. Plentiful stands are found on cutover land in old fields, | in pastures, on mountain sides, in waste places, and on the edges of 1 swanps in the Appalachian region. l Immense quantities of this valuable l tanning and dyeing material, which i costs nothing to raise, remain ln- gathered in this country every year, 1 while vegetable tanning materials to ! the value of more than S5,000000 are l imported annually. If the sumac in dustry were well organized, the large quantities of this native tanning and | dyeing material now wasted and as a 1 substitute for other dyes could be utilized in making leather wherever check the rising cost of similar tan ming and dyeing materials, to lessen our dependence on foreign countries, ad to give the country people in cer- l tain sections an additional cource of employment.
 1 Sumac has long been used in the ! tanning Of leather and in dyeing fab rics. Its value for tanning de- | bends chiefly upon the fact that it 1 yields durable, light-colored or white ! feathers, and. consequently, it is used 1 largely in the tanning of bookbind- ing, glove and hat band feathers, and i for removing darker -colored tanning
 materials from the. surface of bag case and fair harness feathers. Su- mac tanned feathers have been found to be most durable and suitable for Ibookbindings and other purposes, i where the leather must last indefinite ly. The greater part of the gathered American sumac, however, is used for dyeing cotton goods.
 i The sumac industry in the United
 States is of direct interest to the country people of certain sections. II is largely a farm industry, since the
 sumac is harvested and cured by the country people and is sold through country dealers for grinding or for the manufacture of sumac ex- tract. Tn recent years the quantity oi
 sumac harvested has been relatively l cheaper materials are in use, while
 the demands of dyes have not beer
 large. American sumac, owing tc
 careless gathering and curing, yields
 a darker-colored leather than the
 sumac imported from Sicily, and, since
 suTnac is used for tanning light-col-
 ored feathers, this quality renders the
 American product less desirable fol
 this purpose and decreases the demand
 for it.
 Investigation by specialists of the Department of Agriculture with 2
 view to the beterment of the condi-
 tions of collection and he improve
 ment Of the quality of American | sumac indicate that the re-eSta bliSh.
 ment of the sumac industry in thi!
 country on firTner basis is entirely
 possible, and is especially desirable
 at this time, when the importation O
 Sicilian sumac is restricted by tn
 difficulties of transportation.
 American sumac, if properly han
 dled, will make an excellent substi ute for Sicilian sumac. Consumer of sumac must realize, however, tha , the first step necessary for the pro , duction of a high grade synac sim D liar to the foreign article is prope
 gathering and proper curing, whicl can be accomplished only by offerin f as an incentive to the country peopl f a price commensurate with the qual
 ity The better the sumac thegbette S should be the price. In this way mu . tuai benfit will be gained and muc t will be done toward materially de t veloping the domestic sumac indus d try.
 Information gathered by the De y partment of Agriculture shows tha . the consumption of domestic suma q during the two or three years pric e to 1917 has been more than 10000 co t pounds annually. In 1917 we importe l. more than 100000 pounds of groun