160 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



December, 1917 



question so often heard from those who are 

 loath to part with such delightful new ac- 

 quaintances. These Dutch bulbs — Narcissus, 

 Tulip and Hyacinth, cannot be forced a" 

 second season with any success. A few in- 

 ferior blossoms may be had, but when new 

 bulbs may be bought so cheaply, it is not 

 worth while to depend upon old bulbs for 

 winter bloom. They need not be thrown 

 away, however. Keep the pots watered until 

 the foliage turns yellow, when they may be 

 removed to the cellar. In the spring they 

 may be planted in the hardy border and after 

 a season of rest they will bloom for several 

 years. 



Primrose 



'TTIE Primrose (Primula obconica) is also 

 -*- quite willing to blossom for several seasons 

 with a treatment very similar to that given 

 the Cyclamen, except that the Primrose must 

 be watered regularly throughout the summer. 

 If the old plant is large, the crown may be 



divided, putting each individual plant into a 

 small pot. They should be kept growing 

 throughout the summer, transplanting to 

 larger pots as they grow. Repot in the fall, 

 using a rich soil, made loose with sand and 

 leaf mold, and keep in a cool room. A 

 north or northeast window suits the Prim- 

 rose very well. 



Beautiful Leaves 



TUST now the florists are offering some 

 *"* beautiful foliage plants, whose varie- 

 gated leaves are quite as attractive as flowers 

 or berries. They are very practical gifts, 

 because they look well at all seasons of the 

 year, so that they may be used to decorate 

 the hall or living-room in winter and the porch 

 during the summer. They are also less 

 sensitive to variations in room temperature 

 and lack of sunlight, often thriving where a 

 blooming plant would sulk or die. 



One of the best for table decoration is the 

 Dracaena. The red-leaved D. terminalis is 



very showy and when planted in the centre 

 of a pan, surrounded with Spider Ferns (Pteris 

 cretica) the effect is excellent. 



A stronger growing, shrub-like plant is the 

 Aucuba, often called the Gold-dust Plant 

 because its glossy leaves are green thickly 

 spotted with yellow. It is excellent for hall 

 or veranda. To bring out the beauty of its 

 foliage it should be. sprayed or sponged 

 frequently. With a little care it will look 

 well for many years. 



While these foliage plants and Ferns have 

 no dormant season, they appreciate a period 

 of rest, signifying the fact by ceasing to 

 throw out new leaves or fronds. The water 

 supply should then be cut down, giving just 

 enough to keep the plant in a healthy condi- 

 tion. Frequent sprayings should never be 

 omitted. When new growth starts again, 

 increase the amount of water and stimulate 

 fortnightly with liquid fertilizer, or a small 

 amount of bone meal may be stirred into 

 the soil of each pot. 



Is Drug Plant Growing Practical? 



L. WAYNE ARNY 



Extension Director, Mass. Agricultural College 



[Editor's Note: Many letters of inquiry about the possibilities of drug plant growing have been received during recent months. This 

 article presents the facts as they are, looking at the question in a broad, open manner. Too many people are impulsively anxious to rush 

 in (to almost certain failure and financial loss) where careful people with business acumen will hesitate. That drug plants can be grown is of 

 course a truism; but whether they can be grown profitably is a different question, especially as the same plant under the same management 

 in two different sites may give two different results in the yield of the essential principle, and no one knows why.] 



DON'T attempt drug plant growing 

 as a serious undertaking without 

 weighing all the factors. During 

 the last two or three years ill 

 founded attempts at the growing and collecting 

 of medicinal plants have led to a great many 

 garden tragedies. 



Before the great war very little thought 

 was given to drug plants except in those 

 sections where there was an established in- 

 dustry such as the peppermint industry in 

 Michigan and other of the middle western 

 states; and no one would have seriously 

 thought of establishing a "farm" on which 

 to grow belladonna and other of the more 

 common medicinal plants. But the war 

 soon stopped the importation of most of 

 these plants which are so greatly needed in 

 this country, and we were faced with a very 

 serious shortage of crude drugs. Naturally, 

 the obvious course of proceedure was to en- 

 deavor to make good this shortage by home 

 production, and this was actually done in 

 many places. But certain peculiar problems 

 soon presented themselves with the result 

 that the enthusiastic embryonic drug growers 

 began to realize that something more than 

 the desire was necessary to fill the demand for 

 crude drugs of high quality. 



There is not the least doubt but that 

 never will the time be more opportune for 

 establishing an American crude drug in- 

 dustry; and such an industry is sorely needed, 

 regardless of European conditions. But it 

 must be well realized that the accomplishment 

 of this depends upon a thorough knowledge 

 of certain peculiar conditions both here and 

 abroad and that such an industry must be 

 built not only with the thought of supplying 

 the needs of the moment but also with a deter- 

 mination of putting it on a very sound basis 

 so that it will be able to thrive even after the 

 present war conditions no longer obtain. 

 There are several reasons for the desirability 



of this. Even before the war started, the 

 European importations of crude drugs were 

 not wholly satisfactory. Much that came to 

 our shores showed attempts at adulteration, 

 or the substitution of spurious leaves for 

 official ones. 



Conditions Here and Abroad 



A S SOON however, as we attempt to 

 *^- compete with European drugs we are 

 faced with the difference in labor conditions, 

 and the manner of overcoming the existing 

 difference in the labor status is the crux of 

 the whole situation and upon its success de- 

 pends any effort that may be made at es- 

 tablishing an industry in America. 



There are only two means at hand which 

 will enable the American grower to accom- 

 plish his purpose: producing more drugs per 

 acre, or producing better drugs which will 

 command higher prices in our markets. 

 Unless he can do either one of these two things 

 he is doomed in his business. The first alter- 

 native is almost hopeless, since the European 

 gardener is so much advanced in experience 

 and already has methods which our growers 

 have not. But there is great hope in the 

 possibility of our growing better drugs than 

 are produced abroad, and it is with this 

 thought in mind that the prospective drug 

 grower should begin his endeavors. 



Let it be here stated in no uncertain terms 

 that the man whose ambitions are solely to 

 grow drug plants regardless of their alkaloidal 

 content or their relative merit compared with 

 those produced somewhere else will never 

 succeed and his efforts are to be classed with 

 get-rich-quick schemes of which we already 

 have far too many. For the man who is 

 earnestly endeavoring to grow crude drugs of 

 exceptional quality there is a very bright 

 future. 



Let it also be said that there is no place for 

 the enthusiastic economist who has the idea 



of collecting weeds with the double aim of 

 converting them into money and at the same 

 time ridding his property of noxious plants. 

 The markets are well stocked with such drugs 

 and the men who are collecting them are 

 mostly foreign laborers who are content with 

 one dollar per day as a return for their work. 

 The seriously minded drug grower needs a 

 good greenhouse or at least an ample supply 

 of hot beds and cold frames. The greenhouse 

 is very much preferable since most of the 

 more valuable crops must be started under 

 glass about January, and their success is more 

 nearly assured in a good house. He must also 

 have had experience in handling special 

 crops. Drug plants are not like anything 

 he has ever grown before, and it is for this 

 reason mainly that the average farmer is so 

 wholly unsuited for the work. The market 

 gardener or the floriculturist is very much bet- 

 ter equipped for the special demands that will 

 be made upon his resources. And lastly, but 

 not least, he must have a fair capital, a good 

 deal of which he is prepared to lose or to 

 charge to experience or the pleasure which he 

 has derived from his researches. In other 

 words, the average of ten years of drug grow- 

 ing will probably not show any material in- 

 crease in financial return over the production 

 of the same acreage of any other special 

 crop such as market garden produce, flowers 

 or nursery stock. 



Drug Crops in Demand 



TH E crops which are at this time in 

 greatest demand are: belladonna 

 (Atropa belladonna), Hydrastis (Hydrastis 

 canadensis), digitalis (Digitalis purpurea), 

 Hyoscyamus (Hyoscyamus niger), aconite 

 (Aconitum Napellus), cannabis (Cannabis 

 americana). There are many others which 

 are bringing a fair price but they are mostly 

 easy enough of culture so that little difficulty 

 would be experienced in their production 



