428 



PLANTS YIELDING PROFITABLE MEDICINAL AND ECONOMICAL AGENTS. 



Opium poppy fPajyaver somniferum) and common garden poppy. 

 Opium is obtained by making slight incisions in the unripe capsules a 

 few days after the fall of the flower; a white substance exudes, and 

 forms in tears on the edges of the cuts, which, after standing twenty- 

 four hours, is scraped oft" in brownish lumps. Castor oil, from the castor 

 bean, is used as a medicinal agent, as a lubricator, and the seeds as a 

 manure ; yields 15 to 25 bushels per acre ; the seeds yield about one- 

 fourth of their weight in oil. 



Alkaloids and retinoids : These command ready sale at the North ; 

 podophylline, from the wild jalap of the South ; hydrastine, from hy- 

 drastis; iridin, from the blue flag; leptandrin, from leptandra — all 

 natives of the South. 



Fearl and other ashes, lye, and soap : From myrtle and other berries ; 

 oak and other woods. 



Acids : Hydrocyanic, acetic, and pyroligneous, from distillation of 

 pine; citric from limes and lemons; and oxalic, used in dyeing, from saw- 

 dust, and from sorrel and dock. 



Tinctures from native plants. 



Medicinal leaves and fiou-ers : To be cultivated for sale as aromatics ; 

 sage, hoarhound, hops, peppermint. 



Medicinals, oils, and essences : From sassafras, lemons, several species 

 of wild sorrel, bene, and jessamine flowers. 



Seeds, oils, and tvax: From flax, mustard, and myrtleberry. 



Potash, soda, niter, barilla, and Icelp : From the saw i^almetto, the 

 ashes of which are exceedingly rich in potash ; fumitory, wormseed, 

 saltwort, fSalsola Jcali,J barilla, glasswort, (SaUcornia herhacea;) (the 

 last three grow on the coast;) corn, potatoes, and pea vines. 



Iodine and Icelp : From fuci and other sea- weeds. 



Ammonia : From fumitory, wormseed, pea vines, and marsh mallows. 

 These are all native plants, and are rich in potash, and can be turned 

 under the soil as manure. 



Balsam : From the balsam fir of the mountains. 



Essences aiid perfumes : From roses, jessamine, and other flowers. 



Salt of sorrel and binoxalate of potash : From dock, sorrel, &c. 



Medicinal plants : Wild jalap, (Podophyllum peltatum,) ginseng, Caro- 

 lina pink, Seneca and Virginia snake roots, blood root, &c. 



Materials for tanning leather; also for dyestuffs and calico printing : 

 From black, white, and red chestnut, Spanish and other oaks; from hem- 

 lock forests ; from the leaves, seed vessels, barks and roots of various 

 plants growing abundantly at the South. 



Inks : From the tannin yielded from the unripe persimmon, and by 

 barks, leaves, or fruit of tlie gam tree, oak, alder, walnut, &c. 



Dyestuffs and materials : Blue, yellow, green, and black, from the 

 walnut, agrimony, i)ersimmon, maple, sweet leaf, vitis, indigo, &c., all 

 native plants. 



Quercitron: From the black oak, (Quercus tinctoria,) which abounds 

 in the upper districts of the State. 



Bee pastures : Honey and wax as articles of trade. 



Beet-root sugar : From the beet. 



Hedges, in place of fencing : From the osage orange, cassina, haw, &c. 



Madder, to be cultivated. 



Railroad ties : From planting locusts along the lines of railroads. 



