Am.  Joiir.  Pharm.  \ 
May,  1913.  / 
Digitalis.  Foxglove. 
217 
tobacco,  failed  utterly  with  Digitalis,  although  an  abundance  of 
seed  of  unquestioned  fertility  was  employed.  In  gardens,  how- 
ever, in  limestone  sections  of  both  Kentucky  and  Ohio,  the  trans- 
planted plants  thrive  for  two  seasons,  but  the  seeds  therefrom  fail 
to  maintain  the  crop.  (Fig.  2.)  In  New  York  State,  in  the  valley 
of  the  Honeoye  River,  Digitalis  planted  in  1820  in  a  flower  garden 
on  the  homestead  of  the  Webster  family  (the  home  of  the  writer's 
mother)  at  the  present  date  (1912)  continues  as  a  great  wild  bed, 
self-sown  from  year  to  year.3  In  some -parts  of  the  State  of  Oregon, 
Digitalis,  escaped  from  cultivation,  has  become  a  thick  roadside 
plant,  growing  near  Cloverdale  luxuriantly  and  in  such  abundance 
as  to  have  led  to  its  consideration  as  a  commercial  crop.  To  Dr. 
Walter  F.  Brown,  of  that  city,  we  are  indebted  for  nice  specimens 
of  the  leaf,  and  photographs  showing  the  flower-spikes  over  nine 
feet  high.4    He  writes  as  follows : 
Replying  to  your  questions  I  will  say : 
1.  As  near  as  I  can  find,  Digitalis  has  been  growing  here  for  twenty 
years.  It  was  confined  to  a  few  spots  for  several  years,  but  it  is  now  found 
all  over  the  southern  half  of  this  county. 
2.  It  is  supposed  to  have  been  brought  here  by  pioneers,  and  cultivated 
for  its  flowers. 
3.  The  dairymen  claim  that  some  cows  will  eat  it  in  early  spring,  when 
the  leaves  are  tender  and  other  forage  is  scarce.  It  has  no  noticeable  effect 
on  the  animals  that  eat  it,  but  they  eat  very  little  of  it. 
4.  I  have  used  the  infusion  and  the  tincture  for  about  fifteen  years,  and 
of  late  years  I  have  used  digitalin  to  some  extent. 
5.  People  in  this  locality  make  no  use  of  the  plant,  but  look  upon  it  as  a 
despicable  weed  that  takes  their  hillside  pastures. 
Other  than  the  high  price  of  labor  in  this  country,  there  is  no 
reason  why  Digitalis  should  not  be  American  cultivated,  and  pro- 
duce in  abundance  sufficient  to  supply  all  our  needs,  from  localities 
such  as  Oregon,  suited  to  its  growth. 
Part  Used.  The  leaf  of  the  second  year's  growth  is  generally 
directed  by  "  authority  "  to  be  used,  but  in  our  opinion  this  limita- 
tion to  the  second  year's  crop  is  ill-advised  and  unnecessary.  The 
mature  leaves  of  either  the  first  or  the  second  year's  crop  (Fig.  3) 
3M.  I.  Wilbert,  of  Washington,  D.  G,  informs  us  that  under  favorable 
circumstances  Digitalis  may  become  a  perennial.  Possibly  this  is  a  factor 
in  its  luxuriant  growth  in  the  localities  mentioned. 
*  We  regret  much  that  these  photographs  were  too  faint  for  half-tone 
reproduction. 
