Part 4

The plants usually flower in the second year from seed, when the roots may be harvested. It is preferable, however, to defer harvesting until the stems have died down in the fall, when all the roots should be dug, the smaller reserved for planting and the larger ones washed, sliced lengthwise, and dried. The leaves are also harvested, but are not in much demand.

Reliable data on yield are not available, although some estimates place the yield at about 450 pounds of dry root per acre. The American market is supplied with imported aconite root, for which the prewar price ranged from about 9 to 15 cents a pound. The price in June, 1920, ranged from 60 to 62 cents a pound. The quantity imported in 1919 was about 35,000 pounds. The demand for this drug is limited, and this fact, together with the probable low yield, makes its profitable cultivation in this country very doubtful.

ALTHAEA.

Althaea, or marshmallow (Althaea officinalis), is a perennial herb introduced from Europe which now grows wild in marshy places near the sea in Massachusetts and along tidal rivers in New York and Pennsylvania. The root forms the official drug, but the leaves and flowers also are sometimes used medicinally.

Althaea will grow well in almost any loose garden soil of moderate fertility, but tends to winterkill in situations where the ground freezes to a considerable depth. The plants may be propagated from seeds or from divisions of the old roots made early in the spring. The seed may be sown in the open in shallow drills at least 3 feet apart, and the seedlings should be thinned to stand 16 inches apart in the row. Under good conditions the plants attain a height of 3 or 4 feet; therefore, close planting does not give sufficient room for full development.

In the second year of growth the roots are harvested, washed, peeled, cut into short lengths, and thoroughly dried. Yields at the rate of 800 to 1,000 pounds of dry root per acre have been obtained. The prewar wholesale price usually ranged from 12 to 20 cents a pound. The price in June, 1920, was 25 to 27 cents a pound. The annual importation of this root averages about 30,000 pounds. In view of the amount of hand labor required in preparing the root, the relatively low price, and the rather limited demand, the cultivation of this plant for profit is not very attractive.

ANGELICA.

Angelica (Angelica officinalis) is a European biennial plant of the parsley family, sometimes grown in this country as a culinary herb and known commonly as garden angelica. The fresh stems and leafstalks are used as a garnish and for making a candied confection. The seeds and the oil distilled from them are employed in flavoring, and the aromatic roots are sometimes used in medicine.

Angelica thrives best in a moderately cool climate and may be grown in any good soil, although a deep, fairly rich loam which is moist but well drained will give the best results. The soil should be deeply plowed and well prepared before planting. The plant is most readily propagated from divisions of old roots, which may be set either in the fall or spring about 18 inches apart in rows. The seeds germinate very poorly if more than one year old, and it is best to sow them as soon as they are ripe in a seed bed, which should be kept moist by frequent watering if necessary. Early in the following spring the seedlings are transplanted and set about 2 feet apart each way in their permanent location. Plants may also be obtained from seeds sown in March in a spent hotbed or in a cold frame. In order to increase the root development, the plants are often transplanted a second time, at the end of the first year's growth, and set 3 or 4 feet apart. For the same reason the tops are often cut back to prevent the formation of seed. During the growing seasons the soil should be kept mellow and free from weeds by frequent cultivation.

The roots are usually harvested in the fall of the second year, but sometimes those of the first-year plants are marketed. After being dug, the roots are washed and dried in the open air. In order to keep out insects and to preserve the aroma it is best to store the dried root in tin containers which can be tightly closed. The root of the European or garden angelica found in our drug markets is imported largely from Germany. During the past few years the wholesale price has averaged about 20 cents a pound.

The root of a native species of angelica (Angelica atropurpurea), commonly called American angelica, also occurs in the drug markets of this country. It is collected from wild plants, and the price to collectors in former years usually ranged from 6 to 10 cents a pound. The prices in June, 1920, were for the seed 20 cents and for the root 14 cents a pound.

ANISE.

Anise (Pimpinella anisum) is an annual herb of the parsley family, widely cultivated in Europe and to a limited extent in this country, chiefly in Rhode Island. Although this plant may be grown quite generally throughout the United States, it has been found difficult to bring the crop to maturity in northerly situations where the growing season is short or in the South where the climate is hot and dry. It is grown chiefly for its aromatic seeds (fruits), which are used medicinally, and also in baking and for flavoring confectionery. The oil distilled from the seeds is used medicinally in cordials, and also for flavoring various beverages.

Anise thrives best in a light, moderately rich, and well-drained loam which has been carefully prepared before planting. It is grown from seeds, which are usually sown early in the spring directly in the field, since the seedlings are unfavorably affected by transplanting. The seeds, which should not be more than 2 years old, are sown thickly, about two to the inch, and covered one-half inch deep. Since the plants develop very slowly, seed should not be sown in weedy soil. When the seedlings are 2 to 3 inches high they are thinned to stand 6 inches apart in the row. The rows may be 18 inches or 3 feet apart, depending on the cultivation intended. An ounce of seed should sow a row 150 feet long, and about 5 pounds will plant an acre when the rows are 3 feet apart. The plants should receive frequent and thorough cultivation throughout the growing season.

About three months from the time of planting the plants will blossom, and a month later the seed should be matured sufficiently for harvesting. As soon as the tips of the seeds turn a grayish green color they should be harvested, for if allowed to remain exposed to the weather they quickly turn brown or blacken. The plants may be pulled by hand and stacked, tops inward, in heaps about 6 feet high, or they may be mowed and at once built up into cocks of the same height. In about four or five days the seed will have ripened, after which it should be thrashed out and thoroughly cleaned.

Yields of anise seed are quite variable, since the plant is very sensitive to unfavorable weather conditions. In a good season from 400 to 600 pounds per acre may be reasonably expected. The prewar wholesale price usually ranged from 6 to 8 cents a pound. The prices in June, 1920, ranged from 19 to 30 cents a pound. During the war the average annual importation of 500 tons was reduced to about 180 tons.

ARNICA.

Arnica (Arnica montana) is a herbaceous perennial plant of the aster family, native in northern and central Europe, where it thrives in the cool climate of the mountain meadows and upland moors. The flowers, leaves, and roots are employed in medicine.

Arnica requires a marshy soil, abundant rainfall, and a cool climate for its best development. It is propagated by divisions of the roots or from seeds sown either in the fall or the spring. Seed may also be sown in August in a seed bed and the plants transplanted the following spring to stand about 18 inches apart in the row. The flowers may be harvested the second year and the roots after three or four years.

Arnica is not produced commercially in the United States, and the small quantity imported annually is apparently sufficient to meet the market demands. Its cultivation presents many difficulties, and efforts to grow it in the milder portions of this country have generally proved unsuccessful.

BELLADONNA.

Belladonna, or deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), is a large, poisonous perennial which occurs wild in Europe, where it is also cultivated. Both the leaves and the roots are important crude drugs. In recent years it has been cultivated to some extent in this country, but is likely to winterkill in the colder sections.

Belladonna may be propagated in a small way from cuttings of the young shoots rooted in moist sand in the usual manner or from divisions of the fleshy rootstocks made early in the spring, but it is most readily grown from seeds which may be thinly sown in pots or well-drained boxes in a cool greenhouse in midwinter or in a sheltered place in a garden early in the spring. When the seedlings are large enough to handle they should be transplanted singly to small pots or pricked out in flats or shallow boxes of light, rich soil, placing them about 2 inches apart each way, as with tomato or other vegetable plants intended for field planting. In the spring, as soon as danger from frost is over, they should be transplanted to the field and set about 20 inches apart in rows 30 or more inches apart Sowing seeds in the field or transplanting directly from the seed bed to the field has rarely given good results in this country. Belladonna seeds are small, and if well handled under glass or in protected seed beds 1 ounce should produce 10,000 or more plants, sufficient to set an acre.

Belladonna thrives best in deep, moist, well-drained loam containing lime, such as will under proper fertilization produce good garden vegetables. The preparation of the soil should be very thorough and consists of deep plowing, either in the fall or early spring, and repeated working with the disk or spring-tooth and smoothing harrows. Weeds should be kept under control at all times and the soil stirred with a hoe or cultivator at intervals of about 10 days, particularly after each hard rain, and shallow cultivation given in hot, dry weather to conserve the natural moisture of the soil. Good commercial fertilizers, such as are commonly used in truck gardens, are beneficial. Those containing 8 per cent of phosphoric acid, 4 per cent of nitrogen, and 4 per cent of potash are the most desirable and should be applied at the rate of about 600 pounds per acre. Stable manure at the rate of 12 to 20 tons to the acre may be used if plowed under when the ground is prepared.

Belladonna is sometimes affected by a wilt disease, which is aggravated by wet soils and fresh animal manures, and the foliage is greedily attacked by the potato beetle. Dusting with lime, spot, or road dust in the morning when the leaves are wet with dew is occasionally effective. The destructive attacks of these pests are usually confined to the seed bed or to first-year plantings, but the insects may be controlled by the careful use of insecticides.

The leaves are picked when the plants are in full bloom. They should be carefully handled, to avoid bruising, and dried in the shade in order to retain their green color. A hundred pounds of fresh leaves yield about 18 pounds when well dried. One crop only can be collected the year of planting, but two crops are gathered in each of the next two or three years, after which it appears better to market the roots and make new plantings. While only the leaves should be collected for the best pharmaceutical trade, the young growth, including the smaller sappy twigs, has medicinal value and may be sheared from the plants and dried in the same manner as the leaves. The ease of collection and increased weight of material may render the latter method more profitable.

The roots alone are not as profitable as the leaves. The best roots are those of the second and third year's growth. They are harvested in the fall after frost, the tops being mowed and raked off and the roots turned out with a deep-running plow, or with a potato fork if the area be small. They are carefully washed and cut into about 4-inch lengths, the larger pieces being split lengthwise to aid in drying. Thorough drying either in the sun or with mild artificial heat is essential; otherwise, the roots will mold when stored.

The high prices paid for belladonna during the war greatly stimulated the cultivation of this crop, which had previously been grown with some success in California, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and some other States. In 1918, 273 acres of belladonna were harvested, the total production being about 83 tons of herb (including leaves and stems), an average of 600 pounds per acre. From 136 acres 11 tons of root were harvested, an average of 164 pounds per acre. The marketing of this crop was followed by a decline in prices, the quotations in June, 1920, being 30 to 35 cents a pound for the herb and 55 cents a pound for the root.