As^PterberPi9i5m'}      Cultivation  of  Medicinal  Plants.  427 
sider  the  farming  of  them.  Now,  that  they  are  becoming  scarcer, 
the  need  is  especially  apparent.  Our  interest  in  the  cultivation  of 
medicinal  plants,  however,  is  not  primarily  because  there  is  a  growing 
scarcity  of  the  sources  of  supply,  but  in  order  that  drugs  of  uniform 
quality  and  increased  value  may  be  had.  Fortunately,  there  is  a 
tendency  on  the  part  of  some  manufacturing  pharmacists  to  concen- 
trate their  efforts  upon  a  few  drug-yielding  plants  and  to  study  them 
in  relation  to  their  active  principles  throughout  different  periods  of 
the  season.  In  addition  to  these  actual  experiments,  there  are  numer- 
ous inquiries  made  regarding  the  possibilities  of  the  successful  farm- 
ing of  medicinal  plants. 
"If  one  is  satisfied  that  it  is  worth  while  to  take  up  the  cultivation 
of  any  particular  plant,  its  geographical  range  should  be  studied, 
both  as  to  where  it  is  indigenous  and  where  it  has  become  naturalized. 
The  literature  should  be  gone  over  not  only  for  facts  regarding  the 
cultivation  and  distribution  of  the  particular  plant  in  view,  but  also 
of  some  of  the  related  plants. 
"At  the  same. time  that  these  preliminary  studies  are  made,  a 
careful  survey  should  be  taken  of  the  plants  which  are  indigenous 
and  in  cultivation  in  the  particular  locality  where  one  is  proposing 
to  locate  the  farm.  Then,  of  course,  everything  should  be  done  on  a 
small  scale  at  first.  If  there  is  no  information  available,  then  he  must, 
on  the  basis  of  the  general  principles  laid  down  for  the  cultivation 
of  medicinal  plants,  proceed  with  their  culture,  conducting  parallel 
experiments  with  propagation  by  both  seeds  and  cuttings. 
"  Then  when  the  crop  is  harvested  he  must,  by  analytical  and  other 
means,  satisfy  himself  as  to  the  value  of  his  product  compared  with 
the  commercial  article,  and  with  these  facts  in  hand  submit  specimens 
and  request  quotations  from  the  dealer  in  crude  drugs,  and  the 
wholesale  druggist.  On  this  basis  he  will  arrange  for  all  future  crops 
with  some  certainty  as  to  their  market  value.  Experience  has  shown 
that  cultivated  crops  command  a  higher  price  than  the  drugs  obtained 
from  wild  plants,  even  though  their  superiority  cannot  be  demon- 
strated by  analytical  means.  For  instance,  no  one  is  trying  to 
determine  by  an  analytical  process  whether  any  given  lot  of  tobacco, 
tea,  or  coffee  is  of  superior  value,  and  yet  the  competent  dealer  and 
the  discriminating  public  even  recognize  the  qualities  of  the  grades 
that  are  offered.  This  is  even  more  marked  with  the  products  that 
have  been  derived  thus  far  from  cultivated  medicinal  plants,  and  are 
appreciated  by  some  pharmacists  and  physicians." 
