148 
Cultivation  of  Hydrastis. 
S  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\      April,  1913. 
until  the  filtrate  no  longer  yields  any  turbidity  on  the  addition  of  a 
few  drops  of  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  and  burn  the  filter  in  a  platinum 
crucible.  Deduct  the  ash  of  the  filter  from  the  weight  of  the  residue. 
The  corrected  weight  in  milligrams  divided  by  the  weight  in  grams 
of  absolute  acid  indicated  by  the  titration  is  the  barium  number. 
CULTIVATION  OF  HYDRASTIS. 
By  John  O.  Baldwin. 
Hydrastis  Canadensis  L.,  Golden  Seal,  Fam.  Ranunculaceae, 
is  one  of  the  most  useful  and  valuable  plants  of  our  American  forests, 
and  so  fast  is  the  supply  diminishing,  that  a  few  men  have  undertaken 
its  cultivation,  what  success  this  enterprise  may  develop  is  for  time 
to  determine. 
I  shall  in  this  article  try  to  note  some  of  the  essential  require- 
ments necessary  to  the  growth  and  development  of  this  plant, 
referring  to  its  history  only  casually. 
A  few  years  ago,  as  an  experiment,  I  removed  a  few  wild  plants 
of  golden  seal  from  their  native  heath  to  a  portion  of  my  ginseng 
garden  which  at  the  time  was  vacant ;  the  behavior  of  the  plant  in 
this  experiment  was  eminently  encouraging,  and  I  accordingly  pro- 
ceeded to  gather  all  of  the  wild  roots  and  seed  which  I  could  find, — 
result — I  now  have  a  fine  stock  of  growing  plants  under  cultivation, 
but  none  for  sale  at  this  writing,  as  I  expect  to  further  enlarge  my 
beds  with  whatever  stock  I  may  find  which  will  do  to  remove  this 
season. 
The  natural  home  of  the  golden  seal  is  in  the  deep  shady  nooks 
of  our  American  forests,  where  the  soil  is  rich  and  soft  and  deep, 
and  the  moisture  and  the  drainage  are  in  its  favor, — where  once 
it  grew  in  profusion,  it  is  found  only  in  patches  now,  and  these 
small  areas  are  constantly  giving  away  to  only  here  and  there  a 
single  plant,  and  these  lingering  halos  of  a  past  wild  woodland  glory 
are,  year  by  year,  teaching  their  lessons  of  conservation  to  the 
student  and  grower. 
To  be  successful  in  the  growing  of  this  plant,  the  natural  condi- 
tions must  be  carefully  and  strictly  observed,  artificial  means  being 
employed  only  where  they  improve  upon  the  natural,  where  the 
plants  originally  grew,  and  then,  the  natural  conditions  should  not  be 
eliminated  or  overlooked. 
