546 
Pharmaceutical  Meeting. 
("Am.  Jour.  Puarrn. 
\  November,  1907. 
plants,  a  large  proportion  of  which  are  shaded  woodland  plants  and 
require  the  protection  of  shrubs  and  trees.  The  experiments  showed 
that  this  condition  is  of  more  importance  than  even  that  of  soil,  the 
plants  being  not  only  protected  from  the  sun,  but  also  from  beating 
rains  and  winds.  Of  the  plants  requiring  protection  of  this  kind, 
hydrastis  was  especially  mentioned. 
Professor  Kraemer  said  that  not  only  are  many  drug-yielding 
plants  growing  scarce,  but  in  a  number  of  instances  the  drugs  have 
fallen  into  disrepute  by  reason  of  their  scarcity  and  the  consequent 
spurious  character  of  the  drugs  supplied.  As  examples  of  such 
drugs,  aspidium  and  spigelia  were  mentioned.  He  then  spoke  of 
the  diversified  habits  of  medicinal  plants  and  pointed  out  the  neces- 
sity for  experience  in  their  cultivation.  In  this  connection  he  ex- 
hibited petri  dishes  containing  prothallia  of  Aspidium  marginale, 
whfch  had  been  developed  from  the  spores  under  nearly  sterile  con- 
ditions, and  said  that  he  was  making  a  study  of  the  plant  with  a 
view  to  its  cultivation.  He  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
rhizome  of  a  comparatively  young  plant  will  yield  as  much  of  the 
active  drug  as  an  older  plant,  as  the  rhizome  gradually  dies  at  the 
posterior  end,  losing  its  green  color. 
Professor  Kraemer  stated  that  there  are  some  medicinal  plants 
which,  on  account  of  their  destructive  influence  on  other  plants, 
it  is  not  desirable  to  cultivate  except  under  special  control  condi- 
tions, as  corn  smut  and  ergot,  and  said  that  he  had  successfully 
grown  corn  smut  the  year  round  in  the  laboratory.  He  thought 
that  possibly  ergot  might  be  grown  by  means  of  nutrient  media 
prepared  from  cereals,  such  as  wheat  and  rye. 
Prof.  C.  B.  Lowe  recalled  an  instance  in  which  some  imported 
aspidium,  purchased  by  the  late  Professor  Maisch,  was  without  green 
color,  due  probably  to  the  fact  that  the  rhizomes  had  been  sliced 
previous  to  drying,  and  the  quality  thus  affected  through  exposure. 
He  then  spoke  of  the  beneficial  influence  of  the  forest  reserves  in 
preserving  the  native  plants  within  their  boundaries. 
Dr.  John  A.  Borneman,  of  Philadelphia,  presented  some  data  on 
"  The  Naturalization  of  Foreign  Medicinal  Plants."  He  said  that 
for  a  number  of  years  past  he  had  been  associated  with  Mr.  Lewis 
Hellerman,  of  Lawndale,  Pa.,  in  the  growing  of  medicinal  plants, 
particularly  foreign  plants,  and  that  they  had  been  remarkably  suc- 
cessful. Among  other  foreign  plants,  they  have  cultivated  the 
following,  all  of  which,  it  was  stated,  can  be  grown  on  a  large  scale 
