Part 6

Roman camomile (also called English camomile, Anthemis nobilis) is a European perennial herb of the aster family, frequently cultivated in gardens in this country and sometimes found growing wild. In America, camomile is grown chiefly as an ornamental plant, especially for use in borders, since the plants blossom from midsummer until killed by frost. The dried flower heads from cultivated plants are used in medicine.

Camomile grows well in almost any good, rather dry soil which has full exposure to the sun. The plants may be grown from seeds or propagated by dividing the roots early in the spring. The divisions of the root may be planted 9 inches apart in rows spaced according to the method of cultivation to be used. When planted on a small scale the divisions, or offsets, may be set 9 inches apart each way in carefully prepared soil. Hand weeding is necessary, but since the plants soon spread and fully shade the ground, weeds usually have small chance of becoming troublesome.

The flower heads are gathered just as they open, either by hand or by means of a flower picker, and are dried in the open in bright weather or, when necessary, on canvas trays in a heated room. Rapid drying is essential, as it is desirable to retain the white color as far as possible.

The yield is variable, but from 400 to 600 pounds of dried flowers per acre may be expected. The prices for Roman camomile quoted in the wholesale drug markets of this country prior to the war usually ranged from about 10 to 12 cents a pound. The prices in June, 1920, were 18 to 20 cents a pound. Since this crop requires much hand labor, its cultivation in this country on a commercial scale does not promise to be very profitable.

CAMPHOR.

The camphor tree (Camphora officinalis) is a large evergreen, native to Asia. It is hardy in situations where the winter temperature does not fall below 15° F., and for many years has been grown as an ornamental in the southern and southwestern United States. Young trees suitable for planting as ornamentals may usually be obtained from the nurseries in Florida and other parts of the South, or they can be easily grown from fresh seed.

For culture on a commercial scale the climatic requirements of camphor are practically the same as those of citrus fruits. The tree can be grown in almost any soil, but the maximum growth is secured in soils which are rich and well drained. When planted for commercial cultivation new land is preferable. The following statements are based upon actual experiments and observations on the growing and production of camphor under conditions found in Florida.

Camphor seeds ripen about the middle of October and should be planted while fresh, a better germination being obtained when the pulp is removed. The seed bed should be selected with care and the precaution taken to have one that will give sufficient moisture during the dry season and yet be well drained. For small seed beds of 2 or 3 acres or less it may be practicable to provide irrigation. Excellent stands of seedlings have been obtained on slightly rolling land which originally was covered with "blackjack" oak.

About the first of September, or somewhat earlier if conditions permit, the land should be well plowed and thoroughly worked down with a disk harrow. Just before the seeds are planted it should again be worked over and all roots of Bermuda grass or other weeds removed, since rapidly growing grasses or weeds will absorb so much moisture from the soil that the seeds can not germinate.

The seeds begin to ripen during the first part of October and are usually in a fairly well ripened stage by the last of that month. From this time until the heavy frosts they can be gathered and planted with safety. Seeds gathered after heavy frosts have been planted successfully, but it is not advisable to take the risk of too hard a freeze. In determining the time to gather seed a simple test is sufficient. Seeds that fall into the hand when the cluster is slightly twisted are ripe enough to plant.

In planting, a cotton-dropping machine, modified somewhat to meet the new requirements, may be used. The machine is set to plant the seeds 2 or 3 inches apart and cover them 1 inch deep in rows far enough apart to permit horse cultivation. The plants begin to come up in about three months, but four or five months are often required for a full stand. As soon as the plants can be distinguished in the rows cultivation is begun, which at first is done by hand with either a wheel or hand hoe. Later, as the plants attain size, a horse cultivator can be used, but a certain amount of handwork is necessary throughout the time the plants remain in the seed bed. When the plants are well started they should receive a good application of sheep or goat manure or of high-grade fertilizer.

The first season a growth of from 3 to 18 inches may be expected, the irregularity of development depending on the vitality of the seed, variation in the soil, and numerous other factors. The plants are allowed to grow in the seed bed usually for a year and are then transplanted to the field. In transplanting it is customary to separate the plants into two grades, "sturdy" and "weak," planting each grade in a field by itself. By doing this the replanting is simplified, since the sturdy stock requires but few trees for replanting and the weak stock, which will require considerable replanting, is all in one section.

Previous to transplanting, the land is well prepared by deep plowing and thorough harrowing, and rows are laid off 15 feet apart. The young trees are set in these rows 4 feet apart, either by hand or with a tree-setting machine. This machine is simply a tobacco-setting machine fitted with a trench opener set to open a furrow 8 inches deep, in which the trees are placed. The trees used for transplanting are headed back to within 1 inch of the crown, and the lower end of the taproot and all large laterals are removed. The taproot of the tree as planted is thus reduced in length to 8 or 10 inches and varies in diameter according to the vitality and previous growth of the seedling. Transplanting should be done in the winter months, when the trees are dormant.

Cultivation is begun as soon as the trees put forth shoots in the spring and continued until the rainy season of each year. After the rainy season the plants are again cultivated and all grass and weeds removed. At times cultivation is necessary during the rainy season in order to keep the trees from becoming smothered and killed by the fast-growing weeds. One-horse cultivators drawn by mules or a gang cultivator drawn by a light tractor may be used.

In three or four years, after transplanting, the trees should be from 7 to 8 feet high. They are then trimmed by means of a special machine to form an =A=-shaped hedge and the trimmings distilled for the oil and camphor gum. Trimming is carried on when the trees are in the dormant stage, which is twice each year, usually November to January and May to June. The summer dormant season is somewhat irregular and governed entirely by local conditions.

A detailed description of this machine is given in U. S. Dept. of Agr. Cir. 78, entitled "A Machine for Trimming Camphor Trees." 1920.

The cuttings are hauled from the field to the distilling plant, and if many large branches are present they are run through a heavy ensilage cutter. For distillation they are packed in large iron retorts, to which steam is admitted at the bottom. The outlet pipe of the retort is connected with a specially constructed condensing apparatus in which the oil and camphor carried over by the steam are condensed and partly collected. Portions of oil and camphor not collected in the condenser are caught in a tub fitted with an outlet siphon which carries away the excess condensed steam but leaves the oil and camphor behind.

When removed from the condenser the product is very crude, consisting of a mixture of oil, water, and camphor. This mixture is either thrown into a centrifuge and the oil and water removed or it is placed in large cylindrical vats and the oil and water allowed to drain out. The oil is then separated from the water by means of a siphon. The camphor and oil are marketed separately.

The annual yield of cuttings has varied from 2 to 5 tons per acre, which should give approximately 40 to 100 pounds of marketable camphor. At present the planting of small areas does not seem advisable, in view of the heavy outlay required for the machinery necessary to produce camphor gum at a profit. An area of less than 500 acres would probably not warrant the installation of the machinery necessary for the commercial production of camphor, and 1,000 acres or more will doubtless give a greater net return per acre. Although the crop is a low-priced one, under favorable conditions it is estimated that a fair return per acre may be expected, but the data so far accumulated are not sufficient to warrant specific statements concerning the profitableness of the industry.

Camphor oil, or the oil from which camphor has been removed, is used in Japan for illuminating purposes, and as a solvent for resins in the manufacture of lacquer. It is used in Europe for its safrol content, and may probably be utilized for the same purpose in this country. There exists already in the American market a demand for the Japanese oil at prices ranging from 11 to 14 cents per pound.

Camphor imports into the United States usually exceed 3,000,000 pounds annually; hence, it does not seem probable that there is any danger of overproduction in the Southern States. However, it is possible that at times camphor may be imported at a price so low as to render production in this country financially unprofitable.

CANNABIS.

The drug cannabis or Indian hemp (Cannabis sativa), consists of the dried flowering tops of the female plants. It grows well over a considerable portion of the United States, but the production of the active principle of this plant is believed to be favored by a warm climate. For drug purposes, therefore, this crop appears to be adapted to the Southern rather than to the Northern States.

Cannabis is propagated from seeds, which should be planted in the spring as soon as conditions are suitable, in well-prepared sandy of clayey loam at a depth of about an inch in rows 5 or 6 feet apart. The seeds may be dropped every two or three inches in the row or planted in hills about a foot apart in the row, 6 to 10 seeds being dropped into each hill. Two or three pounds of seed per acre should give a good stand. About half the seeds will produce male plants, which must be removed before their flowers mature; otherwise, the female plants will set seed, thereby diminishing their value as a drug. The male plants can be recognized with certainty only by the presence of stamens in their flowers.

Ordinary stable or barnyard manure plowed in deeply is better for use as a fertilizer than commercial preparations and may be safely applied at the rate of 20 tons per acre. However, good results may be obtained with commercial fertilizers, such as are used for truck crops and potatoes, when cultivated in between the rows at the rate of 500 or 600 pounds per acre.

When the female plants reach maturity, a sticky resin forms on the heavy, compact flower clusters, and harvesting may then be begun. The tops of the plants comprising the flower clusters are cut and carefully dried in the shade to preserve the green color as far as possible. Drying can best be done, especially in damp weather, by the use of artificial heat, not to exceed 140° F.

For several years cannabis of standard (U. S. P.) quality has been grown on a commercial scale in this country, chiefly in South Carolina and Virginia. After the flowering tops are harvested they are thoroughly dried under cover, then worked over by hand, and all the stems and large foliage leaves removed. This process gives a drug of high quality but greatly reduces the net or marketable yield per acre, which usually ranges from 350 to 400 pounds. Some growers do not remove the stems and leaves, thus increasing the acreage yield but reducing the market value of their product. The quality of cannabis can be determined only by special laboratory tests, which most dealers are not equipped to make; consequently, they are usually unwilling to pay growers as high prices as they would if the low-grade cannabis were kept off the market.

The market price in June, 1920, for tested (U. S. P.) domestic cannabis was 30 to 35 cents; for nontested, 20 to 25 cents a pound.