Drug Plants Under CultivationStockberger, W. W. (Warner Webster)
Science
Drug Plants Under Cultivation
Stockberger, W. W. (Warner Webster)
Botany, Medical; Medicinal plants -- Culture -- United States
When the female plants reach maturity, a sticky resin forms on the
heavy, compact flower clusters, and harvesting may then be begun. The
tops of the plants comprising the flower clusters are cut and carefully
dried in the shade to preserve the green color as far as possible.
Drying can best be done, especially in damp weather, by the use of
artificial heat, not to exceed 140° F.
For several years cannabis of standard (U. S. P.) quality has been
grown on a commercial scale in this country, chiefly in South Carolina
and Virginia. After the flowering tops are harvested they are
thoroughly dried under cover, then worked over by hand, and all the
stems and large foliage leaves removed. This process gives a drug of
high quality but greatly reduces the net or marketable yield per acre,
which usually ranges from 350 to 400 pounds. Some growers do not remove
the stems and leaves, thus increasing the acreage yield but reducing
the market value of their product. The quality of cannabis can be
determined only by special laboratory tests, which most dealers are
not equipped to make; consequently, they are usually unwilling to pay
growers as high prices as they would if the low-grade cannabis were
kept off the market.
The market price in June, 1920, for tested (U. S. P.) domestic cannabis
was 30 to 35 cents; for nontested, 20 to 25 cents a pound.
CARAWAY.
Caraway (_Carum carvi_) is a European biennial herb of the parsley
family. It grows and fruits well over a considerable portion of
the United States, especially in the North and Northwest, but its
cultivation in this country seems never to have assumed commercial
proportions. The seeds are used medicinally, but are mainly utilized
for flavoring cakes, confectionery, and similar products. On
distillation with steam, the seeds yield an aromatic oil, which is more
used in medicine than the seed itself.
Soil of a somewhat clayey nature and containing a fair proportion of
humus and available plant food is particularly suited to caraway, but
the plant generally grows well in any good upland soil which will
produce fair crops of corn or potatoes. Seeds should be sown in early
spring in drills about 16 inches apart, and from 6 to 8 pounds of seed
are sown to the acre. Frequent shallow cultivation throughout both
growing seasons is desirable in order to keep the soil mellow and free
from weeds, as a weedy crop at harvest time usually means a product
inferior in quality.
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