868 
Medicinal  Plants  in  America.  (Am  Jour.  Pharm. 
<•       Dec,  1918. 
recently  said  in  effect :  "  The  cultivation  and  marketing  of  drugs 
must  be  done  under  an  entirely  different  set  of  conditions  than  those 
obtaining  in  the  growing  and  selling  of  vegetables.  Much  that  has 
been  published  on  the  subject  is  misleading,  and  the  idea  that  the 
ordinary  farmer  can  successfully  grow  drug  plants  and  produce  a 
marketable  article  is  ridiculous.  It  can  be  confidently  asserted  that 
if  the  ordinary  farmer  should  undertake  the  growing  of  drug  plants 
it  would  result  in  failure  to  him  as  well  as  discredit  to  the  efforts  of 
those  who  are  specializing  in  the  subject." 
Fig.  4.   Women  harvesting  belladonna  leaves. 
Dr.  W.  W.  Stockberger,  the  Expert  .of  the  United  States  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  in  charge  of  drug  and  poisonous  plant  in- 
vestigations, expresses  the  same  fact  in  the  following  words  :2 
"If  medicinal  plant  cultivation  is  to  succeed  in  this  country  it 
must  be  placed  on  a  sound  commercial  basis,  and  there  are  good 
reasons  for  believing  that  this  end  will  not  be  attained  by  encour- 
aging a  large  number  of  persons  to  engage  in  drug  growing  on  a 
small  scale."  .  .  .  "If  the  drug  manufacturer  is  to  become  per- 
2  The  Druggists'  Circular,  January  18,  p.  5 ;  ibid.,  March  18,  p.  106. 
