JOURNAL 



OF THE 



CO 



CO 

 CZ3 



Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 



Volume XXXI FEBRUARY, 1916 Number 4 



THE COLLECTION AND CULTIVATION OF CRUDE 

 DRUG PLANTS IN NORTH CAROLINA, WITH SPE- 

 CIAL REFERENCE TO THE CULTURE OF 

 HYDRASTIS AND BELLADONNA 



By John Grover Beard. ^^ •^AJiy 



New roi^g 



During the past decade there has been much agitation through- '^^'Cai, 

 out the United States for drug cultivation. This agitation pro- ^^' 



duced definite results soon after the outbreak of the European war, 

 and has now crystallized into concrete efforts upon the part of large 

 manufacturing houses to grow in this country as many medicinal 

 plants as supply, demand, and feasibility would dictate. The orig- 

 inal movement for drug cultivation was started by the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, and was soon imitated by sev- 

 eral of the state departments of agriculture, as well as by a few 

 private individuals here and there. The world war has now 

 brought home to us the fact that we were dependent upon Europe 

 not only for toys, laces, lenses, and dyestuffs, but also for a large 

 part of our medicinal supplies. Such crude drugs as scopola, hyo- 

 scyamus, belladonna, digitalis, and ergot could no longer be ob- 

 tained from Europe, and the United States had to face the problem 

 of supplying these drugs or doing without them. With character- 

 istic ability the country has gradually added to the supply, and 

 while it is hardly within even a reasonable distance of the demand, 

 it is perhaps safe to assume that, conditions constantly improving, 

 we will at no distant time be independent of the more important 

 European drugs. 



Unfortunately, however, North Carolina, to whom nature has 

 bounteously furnished so many drug plants, has not yet awakened 

 to her opportunities and is year by year allowing a potential source 

 of much wealth to rot in her fields. With her coastal plains, sand- 



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