Fig. 53.—Sicilian Sumach (Rhus coriaria).
Mostly propagated by suckers from older plants, which are planted in rows about two feet apart in early spring, and pruned to 6-8 inches. Bushes begin to bear the year after planting, though the strength is not so good as from more mature plants. Cropping is either by pruning off shoots, or gathering leaves by hand; in the latter case shrubs are pruned in winter. The leaves are dried either in the fields, or on covered threshing floors, where they are afterwards separated from the stems by beating. Some is exported in this state, as “leaf” or “baling” sumach, but most is ground to fine powder under edge-runners. “Ventilated” sumach is winnowed to remove dust and sand, which often contains iron. “Mascolino” is the best sumach from Palermo and district; “feminella” consists of weaker sorts from other parts, and is generally used for mixing.
The different varieties of sumach are classed as follows:—
| Relative Market Value. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sumach | for | baling | 2·5 |
| „ | „ | grinding | 2·3 |
| „ | from | yearling plants | 1·5 |
| „ | „ | ends of branches collected in autumn | 1·0 |
To prepare these different grades for ultimate consumption, they are ground in mills similar to those employed for crushing olives, that is, in which two large stone wheels follow each other, revolving upon a circular bed, the whole construction being about the same as the Spanish or Mexican arrastre. The sumach thus pulverised is passed through bolting-screens to separate the finer from the coarser particles.
After the sumach leaf has been subjected to the first process of trituration, the coarse remaining portions are re-ground and the product added to that which has been already obtained. The still unpulverised residue known as peduzzo is sifted, and the coarser and ungrindable parts are used as fuel, while the finer are mixed with the partially-ground, small, leaf-bearing branches (gambuzza, gammuzza), and ground again.
Palermo is the principal seat of the sumach trade. The material is generally bought from the small growers by middlemen, who hold it till market conditions are favourable. The quotations are always in tarì of 42·5 centimes per cantar of 79·342 kilos, which are obsolete even in Sicily, and have to be reckoned into lire (francs) and kilos. Consequently 1 tarì per cantar equals 0·53565 lira per 100 kilos.
In 1894, the prices delivered at the mills were about 41-42 tarì for mascolino, 37-38 tarì for femminello, 14-18 tarì for brusca, and 10 tarì for stinco, per cantar; the lira being worth about 9d.[140]
[140] Cf. ‘Kew Bulletin,’ No. 107, pp. 293-6.