Part 11

This plant thrives under cultivation in a rather rich, moist loam, and grows well either in the open or in partial shade. It grows readily from seeds, which are very small and must be sown on soil which has been well fined and exceptionally well prepared. The seeds are sown either in the fall or spring in rows 2 feet apart. It is best not to cover the seeds but to sow them on the surface of the soil, which is then firmed with a float or by resting a board over the row and walking upon it. Fall planting usually gives a better stand and a heavier crop. Shallow cultivation should be given until the plants begin to flower.

Lobelia is harvested when in full flower or as soon as some of the older seed pods are full grown. The plants may be cut with a mower if the cutter bar is set high enough to avoid including the large stems. The herb should be dried in the shade, in order to preserve the green color.

Small areas have given yields at the rate of 1,000 pounds of dry herb per acre. The prewar price paid to collectors for the dried herb was about 3 cents a pound. The prices in June, 1920, were, for the herb, 20 cents; for the seed, 75 cents a pound.

LOVAGE.

Lovage (Levisticum officinale) is a perennial plant of the parsley family, introduced into this country from Europe as a garden plant and now grown as a crop in certain localities in New England and the West. The root has long been supposed to have medicinal properties and is in some demand in the drug trade. The flowering tops yield a volatile oil, for which, however, there is little demand. The seeds are used for flavoring confectionery and the leaf stems are sometimes blanched, like celery, and eaten as a salad.

Lovage is propagated by division or from seeds. The seeds may be planted in the fall in drills 18 inches apart or sown in early spring in a hotbed, greenhouse, or well-prepared seed bed in a sheltered portion of the garden. They should be covered very lightly with sand or fine sifted soil, and in order to prevent the soil from drying out before the seeds germinate it is advisable to spread old burlap or sacking over the bed. The sacking may be sprinkled occasionally if the weather is dry and should be removed when the first seedlings break the soil. The plants should reach a size suitable for transplanting by the end of May, when they may be set at intervals of 8 inches in rows far enough apart for convenient cultivation. Lovage grows well in almost any deep, well-drained soil, such as will produce a fair crop of corn or potatoes, and is benefited by the liberal use of fertilizer, although heavy applications of manure tend to produce excessive top growth.

The roots may be dug in October of the second or third year after setting the plants. Numerous offsets will generally be found, and if these have good roots they may be used to renew the plantation without recourse to seed. Such shoots should at once be reset at the usual distances apart. The freshly dug roots should be well washed, cut into slices about one-half inch thick, and carefully dried. If necessary, artificial heat, not to exceed 125° F., may be used to hasten drying.

Returns from experimental areas indicate that a yield of about 1,000 pounds of dried root to the acre may be expected under good conditions every third year. The prices quoted for American lovage root in the wholesale drug markets range from 45 cents to $1 a pound, according to demand and quality. Producers, however, usually receive much less than the wholesale price.

MELISSA.

Melissa, balm, or lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), is a perennial herb of the mint family, native to southern Europe. In this country it has long been cultivated in gardens, from which it has escaped and now grows wild in many places in the eastern United States. The leaves of balm are widely used for culinary flavoring, and the leaves and flowering tops are used in medicine. The volatile oil distilled from the plant is said to be used in perfumery and also for flavoring.

Balm grows readily on any good garden soil and is easily propagated from seeds, cuttings, or by division. The seeds may be sown in the open early in the spring, but owing to their small size it is best to sow them in shallow flats in a greenhouse or in a hotbed. The soil should be well fined and the seeds sown thinly on the surface of the soil, which is then firmed with a float or a small board. When well up, the seedlings should be transferred to deeper flats, and when 4 or 5 inches high they may be transplanted to the open and set about a foot apart in rows spaced to suit the cultivation to be given. Cultivation should be frequent and sufficient to keep the soil about the plants mellow and free from weeds.

When the plants are in full flower the crop can be cut with a scythe, or with a mower if the herb is to be used for distillation. For preparing the crude drug only the flowering tops are collected, the coarse, stemmy portions of the herb being rejected. The leaves and tops are dried in the shade in order to preserve the green color.

Yields at the rate of about 1,800 pounds of dry herb per acre have been obtained, but if only the flowering tops are collected the yield will be very materially less. The prewar price paid to collectors for the leaves and tops ranged from 3 to 4 cents a pound. In June, 1920, the price for the leaves was 15 cents a pound.

ORRIS.

Orris (Iris florentina) is a perennial, native to southern Europe, and is cultivated chiefly in Italy for its fragrant rootstocks, which yield the orris of commerce. The plant grows well in a variety of soils and flourishes in a rich, moist loam, but roots which are grown in rather dry, gravelly soil appear to be the most fragrant. Orris is readily propagated by division of the old plants, which may be set either in the spring or fall about a foot apart in rows spaced conveniently for cultivation.

Since harvesting usually takes place only once in three years, the use of the land is required for that length of time in order to obtain one crop. After the roots are dug they are peeled and dried in the open air. The desired fragrance does not develop until after the dry roots have been stored for a number of months, during which time they are especially liable to the attacks of insects.

The yield is from 5 to 6 tons of dry root per acre. The average annual importation of orris is normally about 500,000 pounds. The wholesale prices, which before the war ranged from 6 to 10 cents, in June, 1920, were 14 to 15 cents a pound. The outlook for a profitable orris industry in this country does not appear promising, and it does not seem advisable for any considerable number of persons to undertake the growing of this crop.

PARSLEY.

Parsley (Petroselinum sativum) is a biennial herb grown everywhere in gardens for use in garnishing and seasoning. All parts of the plant contain a volatile oil, that from the seed being especially rich in a constituent known as apiol, or "parsley camphor," which is still used to some extent in medicine. In the crude-drug trade there is a small demand for the root, leaves, and seed.

A rich and rather moist soil is desirable for the growing of parsley. The seeds germinate slowly and are frequently sown early in the spring in cold frames or seed beds, from which the young plants may be removed later and set in the open in rows 12 or more inches apart and about 6 inches apart in the row. When the leaves are fully grown they may be collected and dried in the usual manner. The plants flower in the second year, and as soon as the seed is ripe it is harvested and carefully dried. At the end of the second growing season, late in October, the root may be dug and should be well washed and carefully dried. Artificial heat may be used in drying if necessary.

On small areas yields of seed at the rate of about 185 pounds per acre have been obtained. During the past few years the wholesale price of the seed has varied from 10 to 70 cents a pound, according to demand and season. From 15 to 50 pounds of seed are required to yield 1 pound of the oil, which in June, 1920, was quoted at $6.50 to $7 a pound.

PENNYROYAL.

Pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides) is an annual plant, flowering from June to October, and is found in dry soils from Nova Scotia and Quebec to Dakota and southward. Both the dry herb and the oil obtained therefrom by steam distillation form marketable products.

Pennyroyal grows well on average upland soils and is frequently abundant on sandy or gravelly slopes. In field planting the seeds should be sown in rows in the fall and covered not to exceed one-quarter of an inch, since they rarely germinate if planted at a greater depth. The plants come up early in the spring, and to secure the best results clean cultivation and freedom from weeds are essential, as with all cultivated crops.

Early in the summer, when the plants are in full flower, they may be mowed. To prepare the herb for market the plants are dried, preferably in the shade, and carefully packed immediately after drying. All the large stems should be removed in order to improve the quality of the product. The herb should be marketed promptly, since it deteriorates with age. For the production of the volatile oil, the plants should be harvested when in full flower and distilled without drying.

Returns from experimental areas indicate that a yield of about 1,200 pounds of dry herb per acre may be expected. The yield of oil varies from 15 to 30 pounds per acre. The price paid for the dry herb usually ranges from 1 to 2 cents a pound. The wholesale price of the oil ranges from about $1 to $2 a pound.

PEPPERMINT.

Peppermint (Mentha piperita) is a perennial of the mint family, frequently found growing wild in moist situations throughout the eastern half of the United States. It is cultivated on a commercial scale, chiefly on the muck lands of southern Michigan and northern Indiana. The volatile oil forms the principal marketable product, but there is some demand in the crude-drug trade for the dried leaves and flowering tops.