10 



FLOWERS. 



Flowers are collected when they first open or immediately after — ■ 

 not when they are beginning to fade. To preserve the bright natural 

 color as nearly as possible they should be carefully dried in the shade, 

 in the same manner as directed for leaves and herbs. 



SEEDS. 



Seeds should be gathered just as they are ripening, before the seed 

 pods open, and should be winnowed in order to remove fragments of 

 stems, leaves, and shriveled specimens. 



DISPOSAL OF THE DRUGS. 



Samples representative of the lot of drugs to be sold should be sent 

 to the nearest commission merchant, general store, or drug store, for 

 inspection and for quotation on the amount of drug that can be fur- 

 nished, or for information as to where to send the article. The size of 

 the sample depends, of course, upon the kind of drug; from 3 to 4 

 ounces — or, say, at least a good handful — should be submitted. The 

 package containing the sample should be plainly marked as regards 

 contents, and the name and address of the sender given. In writing 

 to the different dealers for information and prices, it should be stated 

 how large a quantity of a particular drug can be furnished and how 

 soon this can be supplied, and postage should alwaj^s be inclosed for 

 repl} 7 . In no case should the entire lot of collected drugs be sent to 

 dealers without preliminary correspondence. The collector should 

 bear in mind that freight is an important item, and it is best, there- 

 fore, to address such dealers as are nearest to the place of production. 

 When ready for shipment, crude drugs may be tightly packed in 

 burlap or gunny sacks, or in dry, clean barrels. 



DESCRIPTIONS OF PLANTS. 



The plants included in this bulletin are burdock, dandelion, the 

 docks, couch grass, and pokeweed (principally root drugs); foxglove, 

 mullein, lobelia, tansy, gum plant, scaly grindelia, boneset, catnip, 

 hoarhound, yarrow, fleabane. blessed thistle, jimson weed, and poison 

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

 medicine); and also wormseed, and blackand white mustards, of which 

 the seeds only are used. 



Descriptions of these plants 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. 



188 



