VARIOUS FARM PRODUCTS 555 



hemlock (of which either the leaves, flowers, herb, or seeds are 

 used in medicine) ; and also wormseed, and black and white mus- 

 tards, of which the seeds only are used. 



Descriptions of these plants (not already described in their 

 classification as weeds elsewhere in this work) follow, together with 

 the common names by which they are known in different localities, 

 the habitat (or, in other words, the kinds of places or soils in which 

 they are likely to be found), their geographical range, information 

 as to the parts to be collected, their uses, the extent to which they 

 are imported and the prices usually paid by dealers. 



With the exception of the figures for dandelion and mustard, 

 which were obtained from the Bureau of Statistics of the Depart- 

 ment of Commerce and Labor, the imports are based on estimates 

 furnished by dealers, and the prices per pound, while serving to 

 give an idea as to what may be expected for the drugs, will vary 

 from year to year, depending principally upon supply and demand, 



There are of course a large number of plants used in medicine 

 that are not included in this article, which is intended to cover 

 only such medicinal plants as may be classed as weeds. 



Burdock (Arctium lappa). Cockle button, cuckold dock, 

 beggars' buttons, hurr-bur, stick button, hardock, and bardane. 

 The root alone is recognized in the United States Pharmacopoeia, 

 but there is a limited demand for burdock seed, and the leaves also 

 are employed. Burdock roots and seeds are used in blood and skin 

 diseases, and the leaves externally as a cooling poultice for swell- 

 ings and ulcers, the latter being employed only in the fresh state. 

 About 50,000 pounds of lappa or burdock root are imported an- 

 nually, and the best root is said to come from Belgium, where great 

 care is exercised in its collection. The price or the root ranges 

 from 3 to 8 cents per pound, and that of the seed from 5 to 10 

 cents. 



Dandelion (Taraxacum taraxacum). Blow-ball, cankerwoit, 

 doon-head-clock, fortune-teller, horse gowan, Irish daisy, yellow 

 gowan, one o'clock. Dandelion is distributed as a weed in all civi- 

 lized parts of the world, and in this country is naturalized from Eu- 

 rope. With the exception of the South, it is very abundant through- 

 out the United States in fields and waste places, and it is especially 

 troublesome in lawns and meadows. The root of dandelion is used 

 medicinally. It is a large taproot, sometimes 20 inches long, thick 

 and fleshy, dull yellow or brownish on the outside, white inside, 

 practically without odor, and bitter. Dandelion is often used as a 

 tonic in diseases of the liver and in dyspepsia. 



The best time for digging dandelion root is from July to Sep- 

 tember. The annual import of dandelion root into the United 

 States amounts to over 100,000 pounds. The pries per pound 

 ranges from 4 to 6 cents. 



Docks (Rumex species). Several species of docks posses 

 medicinal properties. Among these are the yellow dock (Rumex 

 erispus), the broad-leaved dock (R. obtuxifolnu*) , and the yellow- 

 rooted water dock (R. britannica), all more or less abundant, 



