Part 9

Echinacea has not been cultivated on a scale large enough to give satisfactory data on the probable yield. The prewar wholesale price ranged from 22 to 60 cents a pound; in June, 1920, it was 60 to 65 cents a pound.

ELECAMPANE.

Elecampane (Inula helenium) Is a European perennial plant of the aster family, now growing wild along roadsides and in fields throughout the northeastern part of the United States. The root is used in medicine.

Elecampane will grow in almost any soil, but thrives best in deep clay loam well supplied with moisture. The ground on which this plant is to be grown should be deeply plowed and thoroughly prepared before planting. It is preferable to use divisions of old roots for propagation, and these should be set in the fall about 18 inches apart in rows 3 feet apart. Plants may also be grown from seeds, which may be sown in the spring in seeds beds and the seedlings transplanted later to the field and set in the same manner as the root divisions. Plants grown from seed do not flower the first year. Cultivation should be sufficient to keep the soil in good condition and free from weeds.

The roots are dug in the fall of the second year, thoroughly cleaned, sliced, and dried in the shade. The available data on yield indicate that a ton or more of dry root per acre may be expected. The price to producers usually ranges from 3 to 6 cents a pound. Upward of 50,000 pounds of elecampane root were annually imported into this country prior to the war.

FENNEL.

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is an Old World perennial plant of the parsley family, occasionally cultivated as a garden herb in the United States. The aromatic seeds (fruits) are used in medicine and for flavoring. The oil distilled from the seeds is used in perfumery and for scenting soaps.

Fennel grows wild in mild climates in almost any good soil and thrives in rich, well-drained loams containing lime. It is propagated from seeds, which may be sown in the open as soon as the ground is ready for planting in the spring. The seed is sown thickly In drills 2 to 3 feet apart and covered lightly. From 4 to 5 pounds of seed should sow an acre. When well established the plants may be thinned to stand 12 to 15 inches apart in the row. Plants may also be started in a seed bed from seed sown either in drills 6 inches apart or broadcast. When the seedlings are three or four inches high they are transplanted to the field and set 12 to 15 inches apart in rows. The cultivation is the same as for ordinary garden crops.

Frequently, very little seed is formed the first year, but full crops may be expected for one or two succeeding years. The seed is gathered in the fall before it is fully ripe and may be harvested like anise or coriander. A yield of 600 to 800 pounds of seed, per acre may be expected. During recent years about 275,000 pounds of seed have been imported annually. Owing to the war, prices for the seed and oil have about doubled. The prices in June, 1920, for the seed were 11 to 12 cents a pound; for the oil, $2.75 to $3 a pound.

GENTIAN.

The common or yellow gentian (Gentiana lutea) is the only species recognized in American medicine, although the roots of several other species are found in the drug trade. The plant grows wild in the mountains of central and southern Europe, but it has proved very poorly adapted for cultivation in situations beyond its natural range. For its best development under cultivation, partial shade, similar to that required by ginseng and goldenseal, seems necessary. The plants are said to flower when about 6 years old; hence, several years must elapse after sowing the seed before the roots reach a marketable size. Apparently there have been no attempts to cultivate gentian commercially in this country. The prewar wholesale price of imported gentian root ranged from 4½ to 8 cents a pound. The price in June. 1920, was 12 to 13 cents a pound.

GINSENG.

Ginseng (Panax quinquefolium) is a fleshy-rooted herbaceous plant native to this country and formerly of frequent occurrence in shady, well-drained situations in hardwood forests from Maine to Minnesota and southward to the mountains of Georgia and the Carolinas. It has long been valued by the Chinese for medicinal use, though rarely credited with curative properties by natives of other countries. When placed under cultural conditions, ginseng should be shielded from direct sunlight by the shade of trees or by lath sheds. The soil should be fairly light and well fertilized with woods earth, rotted leaves, or fine raw bone meal, the latter applied at the rate of 1 pound to each square yard. Seed should be planted in the spring as early as the soil can be worked to advantage, placed 6 inches apart each way in the permanent beds or 2 by 6 inches in seed beds, and the seedlings transplanted to stand 6 to 8 inches apart when 2 years old. Only cracked or partially germinated seed should be used.

Ginseng needs little cultivation, but the beds should at all times be kept free from weeds and grass and the surface of the soil slightly stirred whenever it shows signs of caking. A winter mulch over the crowns is usually essential, but it should not be applied until freezing weather is imminent and should be removed in the spring before the first shoots come through the soil.

The roots do not reach marketable size until about the fifth or sixth year from seed. When dug they should be carefully washed or shaken free from all adhering soil, but not scraped. Curing is best; effected in a well-ventilated room heated to about 90° F. Nearly a month is required to properly cure the larger roots, and great care must be taken in order to prevent molding or souring. Overheating must also be avoided. When well cured the roots should be stored in a dry, airy place until ready for sale. A market may be found with the wholesale drug dealers, some of whom make a specialty of buying ginseng root for export.

The price of cultivated ginseng roots, as quoted in wholesale drug lists, ranges from $1.50 to $8 a pound, according to quality and freedom from disease.

Further details respecting the culture of ginseng are given in a Farmers' Bulletin now in press, entitled "Ginseng Culture," and in Farmers' Bulletin 736, entitled "Ginseng Diseases and Their Control."

GOLDENSEAL.

Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) is a native perennial, formerly quite abundant in open woodlands having ample shade, natural drainage, and an abundance of leaf mold. Its range is from southern New York and Ontario west to Minnesota and south to Georgia and Kentucky.

When grown under cultivation the soil should be well fertilized, preferably by decaying vegetable matter, such as woods soil and rotting forest leaves, which should be well worked in to a depth of 10 inches or more. Raw bone meal and cottonseed meal are also favorable in their action. Seed may be sown in October in a well-prepared seed bed. It may be scattered broadcast or dropped one-half inch apart and covered with fine leaf mold to the depth of 1 inch. During the winter the seed bed should be protected with burlap or fertilizer sacks, and should also be guarded against encroachment of moles or mice. Plants may be set 6 to 8 inches apart each way and the rootstocks covered to a depth of about 2 inches. For satisfactory growth goldenseal requires about 75 per cent of shade during the summer, which should be provided by a lath shade or by cloth, brush, or vines. The soil should be kept free from weeds and the plants liberally watered throughout the growing season, but good drainage is necessary, since goldenseal does not thrive in boggy ground.

Under favorable conditions goldenseal reaches its best development in about, five years from seed, or, in a year or two less when grown from root buds or by divisions of the rootstocks. The root is dug in the autumn after the tops have withered. They are washed clean of all soil, sticks, etc., and dried on lath screens in an airy place in mild sunlight or partial shade, or indoors on a clean, dry floor. When dried in the open they should be protected from rain and dew. The cured root is kept in loose masses until marketed, since close packing may cause attacks of mold. The dried leaves and stems of goldenseal, commonly known as "seal herb," are also a marketable product.

The prices in June, 1920, ranged from $5 to $6 a pound for the roots and from 40 to 70 cents a pound for the herb.

HENBANE.

Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) is a poisonous annual or biennial herb of the nightshade family, introduced into this country from Europe and occasionally found as a weed in a number of the Northern States. The leaves, flowering tops, and sometimes the seeds are used medicinally.

Henbane is propagated from seeds, but when these are sown in the open field germination is uncertain, and a very poor stand or total failure is a frequent result. Germination is usually much more certain when the seeds are sown under glass, but the plants do not readily stand transplanting and often die after they are set in the open. Very good results have been secured by sowing the seed in small pots under glass in January, transferring the seedlings to 3-inch pots in March, and transplanting in May to the field, where the plants may be set at least 15 inches apart in rows. In handling the plants care should be taken to disturb the soil about the roots as little as possible. The soil requirements and method of cultivation are practically the same as for belladonna.

The leaves of henbane usually suffer severely from attacks of the potato beetle, especially during the first year, and the crop is very likely to be destroyed if grown within the range of this insect.

Ordinarily the plants blossom about August of the second year and die after ripening their seed, but individual plants started early frequently bloom and set seed the first year. The leaves and flowing tops are collected when the plants are in full bloom and are carefully dried in the shade.

The American crop of henbane has never much exceeded 10 acres. The yield under favorable conditions is estimated at about 6,000 pounds per acre. The wholesale price in June, 1920, was 35 to 38 cents a pound.