Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
July,  1913.  / 
Breeding  Medicinal  Plants. 
295 
in  the  vicinity  of  Indianapolis  for  relative  hardiness.  See  Figure  I 
for  test  plot  of  belladonna. 
HENBANE. 
Henbane  is  a  pharmacopoeial  drug,  supposed  to  consist  of  the 
dried  leaves  and  flowering  tops  of  Hyoscyamus  niger  collected  from 
plants  of  the  second  year's  growth.  This  product  must  yield  not 
less  than  0.08  per  cent,  of  alkaloids.  Records  covering  one  hundred 
and  two  inspections  of  this  drug  purchased  in  the  drug  markets 
of  the  United  States,  show  but  thirteen  per  cent,  with  a  yield  of 
alkaloids  equal  to  or  above  this  requirement.  The  remaining  eighty- 
seven  per  cent,  vary  from  0.018  per  cent,  to  0.075  per  cent.  From 
a  botanical  point  of  view,  this  drug  is  also  far  from  uniform. 
Many  samples  and  shipments  contain  seeds  which  germinate 
readily,  and  when  grown  to  maturity,  furnish  a  means  of  accur- 
ately identifying  the  original  material.  A  number  of  shipments 
have  been  checked  in  this  manner  during  the  past  two  years,  and 
annual  plants  have  been  found  in  nearly  all  cases.  The  official 
requirements  state  definitely  that  the  drug  must  be  collected  from 
plants  of  the  second  year's  growth.  However,  without  some' 
provision  for  controlling  this  collection,  little  can  be  done  toward 
obtaining  an  official  product  in  this  respect.  Certainly  the  above 
conditions  of  alkaloidal  yield  and  botanical  origin  of  this  drug  are 
strongly  suggestive  of  the  necessity  and  desirability  of  subjecting 
the  genus  to  a  thorough  and  rigid  investigation.  This  investiga- 
tion should  have  to  do  with  the  isolation  and  cultivation  of  the 
annual  and  biennial  forms,  as  well  as  all  species  and  varieties  of 
these.  Individual  plants  should  be  selected  for  breeding  purposes, 
and  tested  for  yielding  properties  in  the  same  manner  as  described 
for  belladonna. 
STRAMONIUM. 
Stramonium  has  been  taken  up  in  a  similar  manner,  and  the 
work  on  Datura  stramonium  and  Datura  tatula,  two  common 
forms,  has  now  been  carried  through  the  second  year.  Selections 
of  Datura  tatula  gave  a  variation  in  alkaloidal  percentage  of  from 
6.47  to  0.65.  The  plants  yielding  these  extremes  produced  off- 
springs as  follows : 
Of  ten  individuals  from  the  plant  yielding  0.47  per  cent,  alka- 
loids, a  range  of  from  0.44  per  cent,  to  0.57  per  cent,  was  obtained, 
