The propagation of medicinal plants* 
Frep A. MILLER 
An understanding of the best methods of propagating medicinal 
plants is essential to their successful cultivation. Their cultiva- 
tion or commercial production is not a new industry, in fact 
certain phases of it are extremely old, though poorly developed. 
‘However long some of them have been continued under cultiva- 
tion, there are still many phases of their propagation which have 
never been investigated. Repeated crop failures in the production 
of henbane in England have occurred during the past thirty years, 
and still the most recent reports continue to mention the un- 
certainty of germination without any attempt at explanation. 
This condition is now changing, and the last few years have 
seen a more general and widespread interest in the thorough 
investigation of a rather selected list of drug plants than was 
hitherto experienced. The organized efforts of the United States 
Department of Agriculture are conducive to the continuation of 
this interest, England, Germany, and Austria have not been slow 
in following the example of the United States, and are now ad- 
vocating the national support of comprehensive drug plant 
investigations. 
The success of these investigations must of necessity depend 
upon the readiness with which supplies of seeds and plants can 
be obtained, and the ease with which they may then be propagated. 
The means of propagating medicinal plants need not differ in the 
main from those employed for other economic forms. Seedsmen, 
hurserymen, florists and gardeners all have their special and well- 
Perfected systems of propagation for their respective classes of 
plants. The questions involved in these systems are not only 
those for increasing the number of individual plants, but also those 
volving the blooming and fruiting periods, harvests, markets, 
Special crops, improvements, and breeding operations. Any 
Se; *A Thesis presented to Purdue University toward the degree of Master of 
ence, 
105 
