A™ec3mbe^903?"}      Conservation  and  Cultivation  of  Plants.  559 
fact  that  in  time  most  plants  can  adapt  themselves  to  surroundings 
differing  from  those  of  their  original  habitat.  It  is  true  also  that 
very  many  of  our  economical  plants  have  been  improved  by  cultiva- 
tion, and  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  like  results  would  not 
follow  the  cultivation  of  medicinal  plants. 
Still,  notwithstanding  this  general  law  of  adaptation,  in  order 
to  be  sure  of  results  we  must  take  into  consideration  the  particular 
conditions  under  which  a  given  species  will  thrive  best  to  obtain  the 
best  results.  For  example,  some  plants  appear  to  prefer  a  dry  soil, 
as  Sassafras  variifolia;  others,  a  damp  location,  as  Veratrum  viride  ; 
some  prefer  a  rich  soil,  as  Asarurn  Canadense,  while  others  grow  in 
waste  places  and  on  ballast,  as  Matricaria  chamomilla  ;  some  prefer 
shade, as  Atisaema  ttiphyllum,  and  others  exposure  to  direct  sunlight, 
as  Datura  stramonium.  Among  the  other  factors  which  must  also 
be  taken  into  consideration  is  that  of  altitude,  some  plants  appearing 
to  thrive  best  high  up  on  hills  or  mountains,  as  species  of  Aconitum, 
while  others  seek  the  lowlands  and  marshes,  as  Acorus  Calamus. 
The  question  of  latitude  ought  also  to  be  considered  owing  to  the 
extremes  in  our  country  in  this  particular. 
Of  course  it  is  not  practicable  or  even  desirable  in  a  paper  of  this 
kind  to  enumerate  all  of  our  native  medicinal  plants  and  to  give  the 
conditions  under  which  each  species  will  thrive  best,  but  almost  any 
work  on  systematic  botany  will  give  such  data  as  would  give  a  clue 
to  the  nature  of  any  plant  that  might  be  selected  for  purposes  of 
cultivation. 
NATIVE  MEDICINAL  PLANTS. 
The  following  medicinal  plants,  not  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
lists,  grow  in  sufficient  numbers  in  this  country  that  it  ought  not  to 
be  difficult  to  secure  them  or  their  seeds  for  purposes  of  cultivation  : 
balsam  fir  or  balsam  spruce  {Abies  balsamed) ;  calamus  [Acorus  Cala- 
mus) ;  European  agrimony  [Agrimonia  Eupatoria) ;  couch  grass  or 
dog  grass  (Agropyrum  repens) ;  tree  of  heaven  (Ailathus  glandulosd)\ 
common  chickweed  (Alsine  media);  marshmallow  (Althcea  officinalis)  ; 
scarlet  pimpernel  (Anagallis  arvensis) ;  angelica  seed  (Angelica 
atropurpured) ;  mayweed  {Anthemis  cotula2) ;  bitter  root  (Apocynum 
1  Plants  parasitic. 
2  Some  plants  are  such  common  weeds  that  they  might  probably  be  collected 
in  certain  localities. 
