Am.  Tour.  Pharm. 
Oct.,  1918. 
Indian  Belladonna  Root. 
731 
no  evidence  in  1889  (the  date  at  which  Dr.  Watt's  remarks  were 
published)  that  the  root  of  the  Himalayan  belladonna  was  met 
with  in  Indian  commerce.  A  careful  examination  of  the  roots  of 
the  Indian  belladonna  in  commerce  in  this  country  in  191 7  showed 
me  that  a  large  proportion  of  them  differed  from  the  English  root 
in  the  appearance  of  the  transverse  section ;  whilst  in  a  few  samples 
no  such  difference  could  be  detected.  Under  these  circumstances, 
I  applied  to  Colonel  Sir  D.  Prain,  the  present  director  of  the  Royal 
Gardens  at  Kew,  who  resided  for  some  years  in  India  as  director  of 
the  Botanic  Gardens  at  Calcutta,  and  inquired  if  he  had  any  infor- 
mation on  the  cultivation  of  belladonna  in  India ;  and  in  reply  he 
kindly  gave  me  the  following  extracts  from  the  Annual  Report  of 
the  Kumaun  Government  Gardens,  1909-10  (p.  3)  :  "Although  the 
plant  is  said  to  be  exceedingly  plentiful  in  many  parts  of  the  western 
Himalayas,  I  have  been  unsuccessful  in  my  endeavors  to  obtain  seed 
of  the  Himalayan  variety  from  natives,  neither  do  the  large  number 
of  hill  men  I  have  consulted,  including  several  doctors,  know  of 
its  existence. 
"A  small  supply  (2  ounces)  of  seed  was  therefore  purchased 
from  Messrs.  Vilmorin  and  Andrieux  in  August  last  (1909).  The 
seeds  germinated  satisfactorily,  and,  as  far  as  I  can  judge  from 
growth,  the  plants  are  all  that  can  be  desired. 
"  Messrs.  W.  Ransom  and  Son,  of  Hitchin,  to  whom  a  sample 
of  hill-grown  belladonna  root  was  sent  last  year  (1913),  reported  it 
to  be  of  very  good  quality.  I  have  suggested  to  the  commissioner 
that  fifty  acres  of  virgin  forest  land  be  devoted  entirely  to  bella- 
donna cultivation.  I  have  sown  large  quantities  of  seed  in  the  Chau- 
battia  nursery,  and  a  good  harvest  of  seed  is  expected  during  the 
coming  season  from  the  plants  in  the  Kutcherry  Gardens,  Naini 
Tal,  which  were  sown  from  seed  originally  imported  in  1909  from 
Vilmorin,  Andrieux  &  Cie.,  Paris  (1914-15  Report). 
"In  the  report  of  the  Economic  Botanist  (C.  and  D.,  July  14, 
1914),  it  is  stated  that  the  sun-dried  roots  grown  in  the  Kutcherry 
Gardens  gave  respectively  0.4  per  cent,  of  alkaloid  from  one-year- 
old  plants,  and  0.45  per  cent,  from  two-year-old  plants ;  whilst  bella- 
donna root  obtained  from  Europe,  and  used  in  British  medicinal 
preparations,  contains  from  0.2  to  0.6  per  cent,  total  alkaloids.  The 
roots  grown  in  Naini  Tal  are  therefore  of  good  average  quality,  and 
are  suitable  for  use  in  the  medical  store  departments  of  India." 
In  reply  to  further  inquiries  made  in  December,  191 7,  by  the  as- 
