Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  I 
April,  1913.  I 
Cultivation  of  Hydrastis. 
a  bed  had  been  dug  out  a  season  or  two  previous,  thus  proving  its 
sturdy  persistent  growth.  Starting  golden  seal  from  seed  is  a  very 
wearisome  task,  requiring  some  skill  and  considerable  patience,  for 
the  seed  are  very  slow  to  germinate,  yet  after  they  are  once  out  of 
the  ground,  and  after  the  first  season  they  do  very  well  with  a  little 
extra  care'  the  second  year,  gaining  their  growth  rather  rapidly; 
remove  from  the  nursery  bed,  to  the  permanent  bed  when  in  the 
second  season  of  their  existence ;  I  might  add,  never  try  to  stratify 
Hydrastis  seed,  have  a  bed  ready  and  sow  them  immediately  after 
picking,  covering  them  lightly.  In  setting  plants  take  a  board  fomr 
»feet  long  and  eight  inches  wide,  and  lay  across  the  bed  to  stand  upon, 
so  as  not  to  tramp  the  bed ;  the  edges  of  this  board  should  be  straight ; 
with  a  garden  trowel  make  a  trench  in  depth  necessary  to  the  size 
of  roots  to  be  set,  along  one  edge  of  the  board,  set  in  the  plants, 
packing  the  soil  firmly  around  them1,  remove  the  board  the  width 
of  its  self  and  repeat  the  operation,  this  leaves  the  rows  about  eight 
inches  apart,  setting  them  six  inches  in  the  row ;  leave  the  surface 
of  the  bed  level,  after  which,  give  all  a  light  mulch  of  well  rotted 
horse  manure,  sawdust  or  forest  leaves,  to  help  hold  the  moisture 
during  the  long  hot  summer  days. 
Artificial  Shade  Best. 
The  common  slat  shed,  the  same  as  used  in  ginseng  culture, 
is  the  best  for  the  growing  of  golden  seal,  as  the  plants  grow  better 
under  this,  than  they  do  under  trees  and  vines,  as  they  have  the 
advantage  of  the  fertility  and  moisture,  which  trees  and  vines  would 
rob  them  of  during  the  growing  period,  the  plants  should  have 
every  advantage  conducive  to  their  growth  at  this  time,  because  this 
period  of  their  life  is  short ;  this  reason  alone  should  be  in  favor 
of  the  artificial  shade,  though  other  reasons  might  be  given. 
Mulching. 
Late  in  autumn,  before  the  ground  freezes,  I  cover  the  beds  with 
forest  leaves  to  the  depth  of  two  or  three  inches ;  it  has  been  my 
experience  that  a  too  deep  covering  does  more  harm  than  good, 
because  of  field  mice  burrowing  through  the  beds  ;  when  digging 
roots  last  fall  (and  I  had  noticed  it  before),  I  found  quite  a  number 
of  roots,  especially  ginseng,  badly  gnawed  by  these  pests,  some  of 
