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In order to avoid this unsatisfactory condition "between sellers and 
buyers it is advisable that each producer of barbasco sell his product only 
in a dry state. For the drying process, a kind of stove would not be out 
of place, and it may alsu suffice to dry tnem :n the sun. 
Only the variety huasca barbasco should bo offered for sale, because 
if mined with other similar roots the content of the active principle lowers 
the price. A well organized propaganda in favor of the Peruvian barbasco 
should be started in foreign countries. 
Page is of the opinion that huasca barbasco, en account of its high 
content of rotenone and other valuable substances, will have a great future 
and will displace other similar products competing with it, that are of in- 
ferior quality, such as derris and barbasco of different countries. 
It is advisable to recommend official intervention of the Agricul- 
ture Department that a farmer never store his barbasco and pile it up be- 
fore it is absolutely dry. If this is not done the chances are that the 
product will deteriorate, mold, and take on a disagreeable musty odor. 
Furthermore, when barbasco is in such condition it is easily attacked by fungi 
and also by insect larvae, 
B::tcriorly the rotfts of huasca barbasco, as those of other varieties, 
resemble in color the soil in which they grow. Thus if a root arcw in a clay 
sod it seems to have a yellowish color no matter what the variety may be. If 
it was cultivated in a sandy soil it appears to be of a light color almost 
white. On drying later, it takes on a clearer color in almost all ea,scs. 
If a section of huasca barbasco root is observed under a microscope, it will 
be noted that ligneous vessels in the center and of the rind arc always of a 
finer texture and are closer together than in the other varieties. In these 
the rind also appears to be darker in general, or spotted. These differences 
are more conspicuous in the roots of plants more than 2 years old. 
A sample of huasca- barbasco coming from Parana Pura., in the neighbor- 
hood of Yurimaguas, which was analyzed by Mr. Massey in his private labor- 
atory, showed a content of 13 percent rotenone. 
Dennis (113) in 1935 delivered an address on cube at the line, Peru., 
High School, which was published in two articles in the lost CTast Leader. 
"My interest in Cube Barbasco dates from 1917, when, for 
the first time, I saw it used for fishing purposes in the Man tare 
P.ivcr, near Huancayo . . . From that day on I commenced my studies and 
research work in order to determine whether the Barbasco had any 
commercial value. I believed that ana extract from the mot would 
kill ants and other parasites or land-inseccs attacking the crops. 
Lacking a laboratory and other facilities for experimenting, I final- 
ly decided to send a few ro'jts to a chemical concern in the United 
Sta,tcs, manufacturers of a well-known insecticide preparation. They 
replied, advising me that they had at their service a Peruvian 
Chemist, to whom they had referred the matter and who had informed 
them that he was quite familiar with this particular plant, the r'>ot 
