Drug Plants Under Cultivation

Part 1

Transcriber Note

Text emphasis denoted as Italic and =Bold=.

FARMERS' BULLETIN 663

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

DRUG PLANTS UNDER CULTIVATION

This Bulletin gives general suggestions relative to the culture, harvesting, distillation, yield, marketing, and commercial prospects for drug plants. Specific information is also given concerning the cultivation, handling, and yield of individual species and the demand and prices paid for the product.

The market demand for many cultivated plant drugs is not large enough to justify growing them except as small minor crops.

The haphazard production of crude drugs in small lots of a few pounds usually means a dissatisfied producer.

A special knowledge of trade requirements is necessary in collecting, curing, preserving, and packing drugs for market.

Most farm products find a ready local market; a special market must be sought for plant drugs.

High prices for plant drugs do not insure large profits in producing them. Not the price received, but the difference between the cost of production and the selling price is the important point.

Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry

WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief

Issued, June, 1915 Washington, D. C. Revised, August, 1920

Show this bulletin to a neighbor. Additional copies may be obtained free from the Division of Publications, United States Department of Agriculture.

DRUG PLANTS UNDER CULTIVATION.

W. W. Stockberger, Physiologist in Charge, Drug, Poisonous, and Oil Plant Investigations.

CONTENTS.

Page.

Production of crude drugs 3

Some drug plants suitable for cultivation in the United States 4

General cultural suggestions 5

Harvesting 8

Distillation 9

Yield 11

Marketing 11

Commercial prospects 12

The cultivation and handling of drug plants 14

Part 2

PRODUCTION OF CRUDE DRUGS.

Interest in the possibility of deriving profit from the growing of drug plants is increasing yearly. The clearing of forests, the extension of the areas of land under tillage, and the activities of drug collectors threaten the extermination of a number of valuable native drug plants. Annually, large sums of money are expended for crude drugs imported from countries where they are grown under conditions of soil and climate resembling those of many localities in the United States. As a means of guaranteeing the future supply of crude drugs and of lessening the dependence on importations, attention is now being turned to the cultivation of drug plants with a view to increasing domestic production.

The problems presented by the cultivation of drug plants are not less difficult than those encountered in the production of many other crops. Drug plants are subject to the same diseases and risks as other crops and are similarly affected by variations in soil and climatic conditions. They require a considerable outlay of labor, the same as other crops, and likewise require intelligent care and handling. They are subject to the same laws of supply and demand, and, like other products, must conform to the consumer's fancy and to definite trade requirements.

A number of common medicinal plants have long been cultivated in gardens in this country, either as ornamentals or as a source of herbs used in cookery and as domestic remedies. A few of these plants, such as goldenseal, wormwood, wormseed, and peppermint, have been grown commercially for sale as crude drugs; but the acreage devoted to their production has been relatively small and for the most part restricted to certain localities. Other drug plants which occur as common weeds in many places may prove to respond to cultivation; experiments should then be undertaken to determine whether it is profitable to grow them. In this connection it should be remembered that the soil type very often is an important limiting factor in propagating different kinds of plants. Some plants grow best in well-drained loam, some prefer a marsh, some require soils rich in lime, while others thrive only in acid soil. The soil requirements of all plants are not understood; in fact it is not improbable that better comprehension of the soil, climatic, and cultural conditions adapted to the different kinds of plants will enable the successful propagation of species now regarded as unsuited to cultivation. In undertaking the growing of medicinal plants, therefore, it is essential to know that the species selected for cultivation will do well under the conditions of soil and climate existing where the planting is to be made. When necessary, this should be determined on small experimental plats before undertaking commercial plantings.

Assuming that the soil and climate of the situation selected are suitable for the growing of drug plants, it does not necessarily follow that they can be produced at a profit. The cost of production and marketing may be greater than the amount received for the crop when it is sold. Some drug plants not well suited for cultivation on a large scale may be found profitable when grown on small areas as a side line. On the other hand, some may be produced more cheaply when cultivated on a scale large enough to warrant the use of labor-saving devices than when grown on small areas with the aid of hand labor alone. The value of land, the cost and availability of labor, and the possible returns from other crops are all factors to be considered carefully. On account of the variation in these factors according to locality, the same crop might prove to be profitable in one location and unprofitable in another. It is for these reasons that unqualified statements concerning the ease and profitableness of drug plant growing should not be taken too seriously.

SOME DRUG PLANTS SUITABLE FOR CULTIVATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

The number of drug plants which may be grown in the United States is large, although the same plants are not equally adapted to the conditions of soil and climate prevailing in different sections. Often the most suitable plants for a particular locality can not be foretold, especially in those situations where no attempts have yet been made to grow them. In such cases it is well to select for cultivation plants which thrive elsewhere under conditions most closely resembling those of the new situation in which it is proposed to grow them. The success with which ordinary field or garden crops can be grown will in general indicate the possible suitability of a given location for growing many medicinal plants. Since a number of native medicinal plants which in their wild state are restricted to certain localities have been successfully cultivated in situations far beyond their natural range, there are good reasons for believing that many such plants will thrive in sections where they are not now grown. However, good results can scarcely be expected unless the plants are placed under conditions similar to those in which they normally thrive.

In suitable soil and under favorable weather conditions the following drug plants have been found to thrive well under cultivation in numerous places in the Central and Eastern States and will probably be found suitable for cultivation in many other situations if the difference in climatic conditions is not too great:

Anise. Conium. Elecampane. Sage. Belladonna. Coriander. Fennel. Stramonium. Camomile. Digitalis. Henbane. Tansy. Caraway. Dill. Horehound. Thyme.

Some perennials, such as belladonna and digitalis, are only partly hardy and would be subject to winterkilling in the colder sections. Such plants as aconite, arnica, lovage, poppy, seneca, valerian, and wormwood seem to thrive best in the northern half of the United States in situations where the rainfall is well distributed throughout the growing season. On the other hand, cannabis, licorice, and wormseed are better suited to the warmer climate of the southern half of the United States. Aletris, althaea, angelica, calamus, orris, pinkroot, peppermint, serpentaria, and spearmint are adapted generally for situations in which the soil is rich and moist, but lavender and larkspur are partial to well-drained sandy soil. Ginseng and goldenseal occur naturally on rich soil in the partial shade of forest trees and can be cultivated successfully only when planted in woodlands or in specially prepared soil under artificial shade (fig. 1).

GENERAL CULTURAL SUGGESTIONS.

The special details of cultivation for each of the medicinal plants mentioned are given under the discussion of the individual species. Suggestions which are of general application, however, are here brought together, in order to avoid unnecessary duplication.

Propagation.--A number of the species considered later can be grown easily from seed, but others are best propagated from cuttings or by division. Many wild medicinal plants are much more difficult to propagate from seeds than the species commonly grown in gardens. Likewise, some of the species now grown abroad and suitable for cultivation in this country are not easily propagated and require special conditions if good results are to be realized.

Seeds of the better-known varieties of medicinal plants are regularly listed in the catalogues of numerous seed houses, and those which are less common can usually be obtained from dealers who make a specialty of one or more of these species. Plants can frequently be obtained from nurseries or from dealers in hardy ornamentals. The catalogues of a number of dealers should be consulted and the varieties for propagation carefully selected. In ordering, the medicinal variety should always be called for, since many of the related ornamental forms which are listed are of doubtful, if any, medicinal value.

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