158  .  Lands  Where  Drugs  Grow.  {AmAP°rnr;imrm' 
the  constant  tendency  to  secure  cheaper  labor  for  the  industry- 
keeps  the  prices  down,  it  militates  against  any  improvement  in 
quality. 
My  limited  observations  tended  to  indicate  that  the  available 
supply  of  many  crude  drugs  is  not  on  the  increase.  In  England 
the  area  given  over  to  drug  cultivation  could  not  nearly  supply 
home  consumption  if  no  drugs  were  imported  into  the  country. 
Reliable  figures  as  to  the  acreage  under  cultivation  could  not  be 
obtained.  On  the  Continent,  so  far  as  I  could  learn,  the  cultivation 
zone  is  not  extensive  nor  is  it  increasing. 
In  rural  England  the  struggle  for  existence  is  very  keen.  The 
large  drug  farmer  places  every  obstacle  in  the  way  of  his  smaller 
neighbor.  He  rigidly  guards  his  methods  of  culture  and  prepara- 
tion. The  smaller  man  cannot  find  out  what  to  grow  or  how  to 
make  it  grow ;  the  larger  man  controls  the  market,  and  takes  good 
care  that  the  "little  fellow"  makes  no  profit.  Wild  medicinal  plants 
of  certain  kinds  seem  quite  plentiful  in  the  British  Islands,  but  buy- 
ing prices  are  kept  down  to  a  point  where  there  is  no  inducement 
for  the  laborer  to  gather  the  product. 
As  an  example  we  may  take  henbane.  The  leaves  of  the  first 
year's  growth  in  the  English  market  bring  75  cents  per  pound ; 
those  of  the  second  year  bring  #2.12  per  pound.  The  supply  is  in 
the  hands  of  a  very  limited  number  of  growers.  There  are  many 
small  farms  where  the  plant  might  be  cultivated  in  areas  ranging 
from  a  small  patch  to  a  few  acres,  but  the  small  farmer  lacks  the 
requisite  knowledge.  Wild  henbane  seemed  to  me  fairly  plentiful, 
but  in  the  vicinity  where  it  is  to  be  found  labor  is  scarce,  and  there 
would  be  great  difficulty  for  the  small  gatherer  to  find  any  market, 
except  he  should  turn  to  his  fortunate  neighbor — the  large  pro- 
ducer— who  controls  both  the  inlet  and  the  outlet. 
Turning  to  the  Continent,  where  drugs  are  gathered  more  largely 
from  their  natural  habitat,  we  find  that  the  annual  yield  of  any  given 
drug  is  not  on  the  increase ;  good  grades  are  always  scarce ;  the 
supply  is  limited ;  and  even  an  offer  of  extra  price  in  most  in- 
stances will  not  bring  a  better  quality  nor  a  much  larger  amount. 
In  the  evolution  of  "The  New  Germany,"  the  regions  where  drugs 
were  once  gathered  in  quantity  are  now  occupied  by  villages,  fac- 
tories and  cultivated  farms;  the  drug  plants  have  been  exterminated 
and  the  gatherer  has  "  moved  on." 
