Tamus
(the old Latin name used by Pliny). SYN. Tamnus. ORD. Dioscoreaceae. A small genus (two species) of greenhouse or hardy, tuberous rooted twiners; one is a native of the Canary Islands, and the other is broadly dispersed over Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia. Flowers dioecious; racemes axillary; males often elongated, loose, the flowers disposed in small, few-flowered racemes, or solitary and pedicellate at the sides of the rachis; females very short, few-flowered, sometimes reduced to a sessile fascicle. Berry sub-globose, succulent, indehiscent. Leaves alternate, cordate, entire or three-lobed. T. communis is the only species calling for description here. It thrives in any ordinary soil, and may be increased by divisions of the root; or by seeds, raised in a cold frame.
T. communis (common). Black Bryony; Lady's Seal; Murrain Berries, &c. fl. 1/6in. in diameter; female racemes 1in. shorter than the males, recurved, few-flowered. May and June. fr. red, oblong, 1/2in. long. l. ovate-cordate, acuminate, 2in. to 3in. long, on long petioles, obscurely laterally lobed, five to seven-nerved, the tips bristly; stipules reflexed. Stem many feet long, angular, branched. Rootstock ovoid, black, fleshy. Europe (Britain), &c. (Sy. En. B. 1508.) TAN, or TANNERS' WASTE. This consists of the bark of various trees, chiefly the Oak, Larch, and Willow. The tannin is extracted for the purpose of tanning leather, and a large quantity of refuse remains to be disposed of. This refuse is frequently employed for making hotbeds, as it gives a steady heat for a considerable time, the heat being more easily regulated, and retained longer, than that obtained from pure stable-yard manure. In general, however, a mixture of manure and dead leaves is preferred to Tan, as, when it has lost its heat, and has to be replaced in the hotbed, this mixture forms a valuable manure for the soil; while Tanners' Waste decays slowly, and is of little value as manure. Analysis shows that the nitrogenous matters of the fresh bark are almost entirely removed from it in the processes of extracting the tannin; while some of the tannin remains, and hinders decay of the refuse. Nearly half the weight of the Tan is water; and the ash, or mineral compounds in the Tan, consists very largely of Carbonate of Lime, and of Silica; the valuable Phosphates and Potash salts being present in it only in very small quantity. If employed as manure, Tan should be made up into a compost with earth, lime, and farmyard manure, and the whole should be saturated occasionally with liquid manure, and allowed to ferment for a considerable time before it is used.