CRUDE DRUGS. 419 



(i) Roots, rhizomes and barks should be collected immedi- 

 ately before the vegetative processes begin in the spring, or 

 immediately after these processes cease, which is usually in the 

 fall. 



(2) Leaves should be collected when the CO2 assimilation 

 process is most active, which is usually about the time of the 

 development of the flowers and before the maturing of fruit and 

 seed. 



(3) Flowers should be collected prior to or just about the 

 time of pollination. 



(4) Fruits should be collected near the ripening period, i.e., 

 full grown but unripe. 



(5) Seeds should be collected when fully matured. 



The PRESERVATION of vegetable drugs is likewise deserving 

 of careful consideration, and attention should be given to tlie 

 influence of temperature, moisture, air and light, and the attacks 

 of insects. The temperature of the room or part of the store 

 devoted to the storage of dry drugs should not be more than 

 about 25" C, and nearly uniform throughout the year. 



Drugs containing volatile principles require to be kept in air- 

 tight containers, as the herbs of the Labiats and Compositse, and 

 wild-cherry bark. Air-tight tin cans are probably the most eco- 

 nomical and satisfactory containers for the purpose, and the sug- 

 gestion has been made to paint the edges of the cans with melted 

 beeswax. Drugs are sometimes stored in wooden boxes or in 

 drawers. This method is objectionable, not only because they 

 are more liable to deteriorate, but because the odors are com- 

 municable from one to the other. The storage of drugs in parcels 

 is the most objectionable, particularly, as is usually the case, when 

 the different parcels are stored together. 



Those drugs that are difficult to dry, as the inulin-containing 

 drugs, and some fleshy roots and rhizomes, as Veratrum, are 

 liable to become moldy and should be thoroughly dried before 

 placing them permanently in containers. 



The preservation of drugs against the attacks of insects is, 

 unfortunately, generally overlooked. Most drugs are subject to 

 their depredations, and are usually attacked by the insects in the 

 larval stage. The insects which infest vegetable drugs belong 



