A?aISary  Pi9 1™' }       Podophyllum  peltatum  Linne.  9 
In  the  spring  of  1916,  the  writer  had  occasion  to  collect  a  quan- 
tity of  mandrake  rhizome  in  Fond  du  Lac  County,  Wisconsin.  At 
that  time  it  was  decided  to  collect  samples  throughout  the  growing 
season  and  later  to  make  comparative  examination  of  these  samples. 
Accordingly  a  quantity  of  drug  was  collected  at  various  periods 
from  May  10  until  June  14.  All  material  collected  was  from  the 
same  patch  found  growing  in  a  rather  open  or  glade-like  second 
growth  of  poplar  and  sumach.  The  remainder  of  the  samples  were 
collected  in  Green  Lake  County,  Wisconsin,  from  June  14  to  Octo- 
ber 8,  and  came  from  the  same  type  of  soil  as  the  earlier  collected 
samples.2  The  entire  series  of  samples  may  be  considered  as  very 
representative  of  mandrake  growing  in  Wisconsin,  since  it  is  almost 
invariably  found  growing  in  greatest  abundance  in  open  or  semi- 
open  glades  on  what  is  known  as  Miami  silt  loam,  deep  phase. 
Each  sample  as  collected  was  washed  free  of  all  adhering  soil, 
the  roots  removed,  and  the  rhizome  and  roots  weighed  separately 
and  then  carefully  dried  in  the  shade  by  means  of  artificial  heat 
which  never  exceeded  500  C.  After  drying  the  rhizome  and  roots 
were  again  weighed,  packed  in  cloth  bags,  and  preserved  in  a  dry 
place  until  examined.  The  results  of  the  moisture  determinations 
are  given  in  Table  I. 
Table  I. 
Percentage  of  Moisture  in  Fresh  Rhizome  and  Roots  of  Podophyllum  peltatum. 
Material 
Lot 
number 
Date  collected 
Moisture 
lost  in  drying 
(per  cent.). 
Remarks 
Rhizomes  .  .  . 
I 
May  10,  1916 
78.58 
Plants  just  coming  out  of  the  ground. 
2 
May  23,  " 
80.00 
Plants  just  in  bud. 
3 
June  14, 
80.38 
Plants  at  close  of  flowering  season. 
4 
July  30,  " 
66.66 
Fruit  ripening  on  plant. 
5 
Aug.    4,  " 
66.66 
Plant  foliage  beginning  to  dry  up. 
6 
Oct.    8,  " 
65.00 
Plant  foliage  completely  dried  away. 
Roots  
la 
May  10,  " 
78.95 
Same  as  lot  No.  1. 
2a 
May  23,  " 
80.27 
"    "    "  2. 
3a 
June  14,  " 
81.00 
1    "    "  3- 
4a 
July  30,  " 
76.93 
"   "    "  4* 
5a 
Aug.   4,  " 
76.93 
5- 
6a 
Oct.    8,  " 
70.05 
"    "     "  6. 
In  the  foregoing  table  Lot  No.  1  represents  a  spring-collected 
drug  and  Lot  No.  6  a  fall-collected  drug.   The  amount  of  moisture 
2  Collected  by  N.  R.  Mueller,  of  the  Office  of  Drug-Plant  and  Poisonous- 
Plant  Investigations,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry. 
