CHAPTER VI. 

 CULTIVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS. 



WHEN the forests and woods were full of wild medicinal plants 

 that could be easily gathered, there was hardly an incentive 

 to consider the farming of them. Now that they are becoming 

 scarcer, the need is especially apparent. Our interest in the culti- 

 vation of medicinal plants, however, is not primarily because there 

 is a growing scarcity of the sources of supply, but in order that 

 drugs of uniform quality and increased value may be had. For- 

 tunately, there is a tendency on the part of some manufacturing 

 pharmacists to concentrate their efforts upon a few plants yielding 

 drugs and to study them in relation to their active principles 

 throughout different periods of the season. In addition to these 

 actual experiments, there are numerous inquiries made regarding 

 the possibilities of the successful farming of medicinal plants. 

 These inquiries come from various people who, for one reason 

 or other, would like to get into country life and have some definite 

 work to do. Many of them have never had any practical experi- 

 ence in growing plants other than taking care of a garden plot. 

 Nearly all know nothing of the commerce of drugs and have no 

 idea of the problems connected with the disposition and marketing 

 of them. Fortunately, some experiments have been conducted 

 and there is some general information as to how one should 

 proceed in the work. However, it must be said at the outset, no 

 one can grow medicinal plants without having some training and 

 special education for it ; and unless one is familiar with the prac- 

 tical conditions of trade, that is in regard to the markets and 

 prices paid for drugs, even though successful in raising a good 

 crop, one may not be able to dispose of it. It is very difficult to 

 lay down any one rule that can be invariably followed on this sub- 

 ject. In fact, very little work has been done to enable us to draw 

 other than very broad conclusions. The first thing to be consid- 

 ered is locality. Of course, tropical plants would not grow in 

 the temperate zone, nor mountainous plants at the seaside, although 

 even here there are exceptions that only experiments can show. 



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