A New Source of Tannin.

The Manufacturer and Builder 11, 1893

A correspondent in New Mexico sends us, says the Popular Science News, an interesting account, with specimens, of the Canaigre root, which is indigenous to that section of country. The plant belongs to the dock family, and contains so large a percentage of tannic acid that large quantities of the root are exported to Europe to be used in the manufacture of leather. The producers receive $5 a ton for the green root delivered at the railway stations, and when properly dried and prepared will bring from $65 to $80 per ton in Europe. The plant grows wild in great abundance, but the yield and quality is greatly improved by cultivation and irrigation. A factory has recently been erected at Deming for extracting the tannic acid from the root, and a second is soon to be erected at Eddy. The utilization of this hitherto worthless plant promises to become an important industry in New Mexico and Arizona, and while adding greatly to the wealth of those States, will be of equal service to the northern and eastern sextions of the country in preserving their oak and hemlock forests from destruction. There are doubtless many other valuable plants in the partially explored regions of the country, only awaiting discovery by the botanist and chemist.