MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS 67 



away, coriander, digitalis and sage is at present large enough to make them 

 worthy of consideration. 



Anise (Pimpinella anisum) is an annual plant grown for its aromatic 

 seeds. It is cultivated on a small scale in Rhode Island, and is suited for 

 localities similar in climate to that state. The best soil for anise is a light, 

 moderately-rich and well-drained loam. The plant is very sensitive to 

 unfavorable weather conditions, but in a good season the yield of seed 

 should be from 400 to 600 pounds per acre. About 2000 acres should 

 produce the average quantity of seed annually imported into this country. 

 The price usually ranges from 6 to 8 cents a pound. 



Belladonna (Atropa belladonna) is an important drug plant for which 

 there is a steady demand. It has been cultivated in New Jersey, Pennsyl- 

 vania and California, although not very successfully from a commercial 

 point of view. It is apparently better adapted to the warmer states than 

 to the colder regions where it is likely to winter-kill. Belladonna thrives 

 best in deep, moist, well-drained loam containing lime. Sowing seed in the 

 field usually gives very poor results, but sowing seed in the greenhouse and 

 transplanting like tomatoes is usually successful. The cost of growing 

 belladonna is high, owing to the large amount of necessary hand labor. 

 Five hundred pounds of dry leaves per acre is considered a fair yield. At 

 the end of the second year about 1000 pounds of dried root per acre may be 

 harvested. The prices in the wholesale drug markets have been from 14 

 to 25 cents a pound for the leaves and from 9 to 18 cents a pound for the 

 roots. Prices to growers have been proportionately less. 



Caraway (Carum carui) is an annual, cultivated for its aromatic 

 seeds, which are used medicinally and for flavoring. It grows and fruits 

 well over a considerable portion of the United States, especially in the north 

 and northwest, but its cultivation in this country has never assumed 

 commercial proportions. Soil of a somewhat clayey nature and containing 

 a fair proportion of humus and available plant-food is particularly suited 

 to caraway, but the plant generally grows well in any good upland soil 

 which will produce fair crops of corn or potatoes. The average yield of 

 seed per acre is about 1000 pounds. At this rate about 2700 acres would be 

 required to produce the quantity of seed annually imported. Anyone 

 undertaking the cultivation of this plant might well consider growing dill 

 and fennel also. Caraway seed is valued at about 6| cents a pound. 



Coriander (Coriandrwn sativum) is also grown for its aromatic seeds 

 and in its requirements and method of culture is very similar to caraway. 

 The yield of seed is quite variable, but from 500 to 800 pounds per acre may 

 be expected. If the average yield were 650 pounds per acre, 2000 acres 

 would be required to produce the quantity of seed annually imported. 

 The seed is valued at approximately 3 cents a pound. 



Digitalis or Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is an important drug plant 

 for which there is a constant demand. The leaves are used in medicine. 

 Although widely grown in flower gardens as an ornamental, it has not yet 



