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 grown under cultivation the soil should be well fertilized,
preferably by decaying vegetable matter, such as woods soil and rotting
forest leaves, which should be well worked in to a depth of 10 inches
or more. Raw bone meal and cottonseed meal are also favorable in their
action. Seed may be sown in October in a well-prepared seed bed. It may
be scattered broadcast or dropped one-half inch apart and covered with
fine leaf mold to the depth of 1 inch. During the winter the seed bed
should be protected with burlap or fertilizer sacks, and should also be
guarded against encroachment of moles or mice. Plants may be set 6 to 8
inches apart each way and the rootstocks covered to a depth of about 2
inches. For satisfactory growth goldenseal requires about 75 per cent
of shade during the summer, which should be provided by a lath shade or
by cloth, brush, or vines. The soil should be kept free from weeds and
the plants liberally watered throughout the growing season, but good
drainage is necessary, since goldenseal does not thrive in boggy ground.
Under favorable conditions goldenseal reaches its best development
in about, five years from seed, or, in a year or two less when grown
from root buds or by divisions of the rootstocks. The root is dug in
the autumn after the tops have withered. They are washed clean of all
soil, sticks, etc., and dried on lath screens in an airy place in mild
sunlight or partial shade, or indoors on a clean, dry floor. When dried
in the open they should be protected from rain and dew. The cured root
is kept in loose masses until marketed, since close packing may cause
attacks of mold. The dried leaves and stems of goldenseal, commonly
known as "seal herb," are also a marketable product.
The prices in June, 1920, ranged from $5 to $6 a pound for the roots
and from 40 to 70 cents a pound for the herb.
HENBANE.
Henbane (_Hyoscyamus niger_) is a poisonous annual or biennial herb of
the nightshade family, introduced into this country from Europe and
occasionally found as a weed in a number of the Northern States. The
leaves, flowering tops, and sometimes the seeds are used medicinally.
Henbane is propagated from seeds, but when these are sown in the open
field germination is uncertain, and a very poor stand or total failure
is a frequent result. Germination is usually much more certain when
the seeds are sown under glass, but the plants do not readily stand
transplanting and often die after they are set in the open. Very good
results have been secured by sowing the seed in small pots under glass
in January, transferring the seedlings to 3-inch pots in March, and
transplanting in May to the field, where the plants may be set at least
15 inches apart in rows. In handling the plants care should be taken
to disturb the soil about the roots as little as possible. The soil
requirements and method of cultivation are practically the same as for
belladonna.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account