114. MILLER: THE PROPAGATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS 
made for three successive years on well-prepared ground, and all 
have resulted in complete failures. Not enough plants for 
experimental purposes were obtained by the most careful attention. 
Continued failures from open sowing of henbane are reported 
from England. Thirty years ago Holmes called attention to 
the difficulties in the cultivation of henbane. He mentioned the 
uncertainty of the crop in England, and the peculiarities in the 
germination of the seed. Again (11) in 1905 he mentions the 
uncertainty of the crop. Ransom (17) in 1902 claims that it is 
difficult to obtain a good crop of this drug in Britain. Henkel 
(10) later calls attention to the uncertainty in seed germination. 
Turner (23) in his directions for growing henbane is encouraging 
in the extreme. In his opinion it is not a difficult crop to handle. 
Repeated tests in the open field have resulted in failures. Fair 
germination was obtained in one instance, but the seedlings could 
not compete with common weeds until large enough for cultivation. 
Seed tests carried on under glass indicate that germination is of 
high percentage, uniform and fairly regular for seeds from different 
sources, 
With some of the older drugs in cultivation, propagation and 
cultural systems have been highly developed. Examples of this 
may be found in the excellent notes of Weddell (24) on the nur- 
series, cultivation, harvesting and curing of coca, of Lumsdaine 
(15) on the cultivation of nutmegs and cloves in Bencoolen, of 
Eatwell (7) on the methods of cultivation, collecting, and curing 
of opium, and the influence of soil and climate upon the yield 
and quality of the product, and of DeVry (6) on cinchona. 
There are few authentic data or directions, however, upon the 
propagation and cultivation of the more important forms which 
are adapted to this country. This list might well include such 
forms as belladonna, henbane, stramonium, digitalis, arnica, 
larkspur, valerian, santonica, veratrum, hellebore and others. 
It is evident that methods would have to be developed to suit 
the conditions of soil and climate, and at the same time be varied 
to meet the purposes of the work. That is, commercial production 
might be possible under a system which would be worthless for 
experiments on plant breeding and improvement. 
In the following discussions the questions of propagation have 
