Part 5

DISPOSAL OF THE DRUGS.

Samples representative of the lot of drugs to be sold should be sent to the nearest commission merchant, general store, or drug store, for inspection and for quotation on the amount of drug that can be furnished, or for information as to where to send the article. The size of the sample depends, of course, upon the kind of drug; from 3 to 4 ounces—or, say, at least a good handful—should be submitted. The package containing the sample should be plainly marked as regards contents, and the name and address of the sender given. In writing to the different dealers for information and prices, it should be stated how large a quantity of a particular drug can be furnished and how soon this can be supplied, and postage should always be inclosed for reply. In no case should the entire lot of collected drugs be sent to dealers without preliminary correspondence. The collector should bear in mind that freight is an important item, and it is best, therefore, to address such dealers as are nearest to the place of production. When ready for shipment, crude drugs may be tightly packed in burlap or gunny sacks, or in dry, clean barrels.

DESCRIPTIONS OF PLANTS.

The plants included in this bulletin are burdock, dandelion, the docks, couch grass, and pokeweed (principally root drugs); foxglove, mullein, lobelia, tansy, gum plant, scaly grindelia, boneset, catnip, hoarhound, yarrow, fleabane, blessed thistle, jimson weed, and poison hemlock (of which either the leaves, flowers, herb, or seeds are used in medicine); and also wormseed, and black and white mustards, of which the seeds only are used.

Descriptions of these plants follow, together with the common names by which they are known in different localities, the habitat (or, in other words, the kinds of places or soils in which they are likely to be found), their geographical range, information as to the parts to be collected, their uses, the extent to which they are imported and the prices usually paid by dealers.

The principal uses for which these plants are employed in medicine are briefly indicated, but none of the drugs mentioned should be taken without the advice of a physician.

With the exception of the figures for dandelion and mustard, which were obtained from the Bureau of Statistics of the Department of Commerce and Labor, the imports are based on estimates furnished by dealers, and the prices per pound, while serving to give an idea as to what may be expected for the drugs, will vary from year to year, depending principally upon supply and demand.

There are of course a large number of plants used in medicine that are not included in this bulletin, which is intended to cover only such medicinal plants as may be classed as weeds.

BURDOCK. Arctium lappa L.

=Other common names.=—Cockle button, cuckold dock, beggars’ buttons, hurr-bur, stick button, hardock, and bardane. (Fig. 1.)

=Habitat and range.=—Burdock is one of the most common weeds. It was introduced from the Old World, and is common and often very abundant in the Eastern and Central States and in some scattered localities in the West, growing along roadsides, in fields, pastures, and waste places.

=Description.=—This is a coarse, unsightly biennial weed of the aster family (Asteraceæ), which produces during the first year of its growth only a rosette of large, thin leaves (fig. 2) and a long, tapering root having a diameter of from one-half to 1 inch. When full grown it measures from 3 to 7 feet high. The round, fleshy stem is branched, grooved, and hairy, with very large leaves, even in the early stages of the growth of the plant, the lower leaves often measuring 18 inches in length. The leaves are alternate, on long, solid, deeply furrowed leafstalks; thin, roundish or oval, but usually heart-shaped; with even, wavy, or toothed margins; smooth above, and pale and woolly on the under surface. The flowers are purple, in small, clustered heads, appearing in the second year, from July to frost. These flower heads are armed with hooked tips, and the burs thus formed are a great pest, attaching themselves to clothing and to the wool and hair of animals. The seed of burdock is produced in great abundance, one plant bearing as many as 400,000 seeds.

=Parts used.=—The root alone is recognized in the United States Pharmacopœia, but there is a limited demand for burdock seed, and the leaves also are employed. Burdock roots and seeds are used in blood and skin diseases, and the leaves externally as a cooling poultice for swellings and ulcers, the latter being employed only in the fresh state.

Burdock has a large taproot, about 12 inches long, fleshy, the outside blackish-brown or grayish-brown, the inside light in color and spongy in the center. It is to be collected in the fall of the first year. The roots must be washed, split lengthwise, and carefully dried. Drying causes the root to lose about four-fifths of its weight, and to become scaly, and wrinkled lengthwise. Sometimes the bases of the leafstalks remain at the top of the root in the form of a small, white, silky tuft. The odor of the root is weak and unpleasant.

The seeds are oblong, curved, flattened, and angular, dark brown and sometimes spotted with black, and have no odor. These should be collected when ripe or nearly so.

=Imports and prices.=—About 50,000 pounds of lappa or burdock root are imported annually, and the best root is said to come from Belgium, where great care is exercised in its collection.

The price of the root ranges from 3 to 8 cents per pound, and that of the seed from 5 to 10 cents.

DANDELION. Taraxacum taraxacum (L.) Karst. (Taraxacum officinale Weber.)

=Other common names.=—Blow-ball, cankerwort, doon-head-clock, fortune-teller, horse gowan, Irish daisy, yellow gowan, one o’clock. (Fig. 3.)

=Range and habitat.=—Dandelion is distributed as a weed in all civilized parts of the world, and in this country is naturalized from Europe. With the exception of the South, it is very abundant throughout the United States in fields and waste places, and it is especially troublesome in lawns and meadows.

=Description.=—The dandelion is so well known a weed, especially in lawns, that it scarcely requires a description, almost everyone being familiar with its rosette of coarsely toothed leaves, golden-yellow flowers, and round fluffy seed heads. It is a perennial plant of the chicory family (Cichoriaceæ), and it may be said to be in flower throughout almost the entire year. In spring the young leaves are collected and used for greens or salad, but the part employed in medicine is the root. The flowering stem of the dandelion is usually longer than the smooth, shining green, coarsely toothed leaves, reaching a height of from 5 to 10 inches. It is erect, smooth, naked, and hollow, bearing at the summit a solitary yellow flower head, which opens in the morning and only in fair weather. The entire plant contains a white, milky juice.

=Part used.=—As already stated, the root of dandelion is used medicinally. It is a large taproot, sometimes 20 inches long, thick and fleshy, dull-yellow or brownish on the outside, white inside, practically without odor, and bitter. (Fig. 4.) Dandelion is often used as a tonic in diseases of the liver and in dyspepsia.

The best time for digging dandelion root is from July to September, during which time the milky juice becomes thicker and the bitterness increases. It should be carefully washed and thoroughly dried. Dandelion roots decrease considerably in size by drying, weighing less than half as much as the fresh roots and becoming wrinkled lengthwise. The dried root should not be kept too long, as drying diminishes its medicinal virtues.

=Imports and prices.=—During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1903, the imports of taraxacum or dandelion root into the United States amounted to 115,522 pounds. The price per pound ranges from 4 to 6 cents.

DOCKS. Rumex species.

Several species of docks possess medicinal properties. Among these are the yellow dock (Rumex crispus L.), the broad-leaved dock (R. obtusifolius L.), and the yellow-rooted water dock (R. britannica L.), all more or less abundant throughout the United States. Other species are also recognized as possessing value in medicine, but those above mentioned are the kinds generally collected.

Yellow Dock. Rumex crispus L.

=Other common names.=—Curled dock, narrow dock, sour dock. (Fig. 5.)