Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-07-06
Large and Promising Field
Open to Farmers Of the
United States
CERTAIN WEEDS ARE VALUABLE
Il is Declared That If the Advice of
Plant Specialists Of the Government
+ ls Needed, Many New Industries May
Flourish On Land Now Considered
Worthless.

Washington. July ST have often
Wondered remarked Secretary of Ag-
riculture Wilson the other day. why
some of our wide awake and resource
full farmers have not gone in for drug
plant cultivation. The United States
last wear bought s64,O0O,OOO worth of
drugs and dyes and nearly every dol
lars worth of this material could have
been secured from plants and weeds
grown in the United States. A large
and promising field here has been neg
lected by our people,
Some of the experts of the depart
ment of agriculture have been investi-
eating the question of the extent to
which drugs now imported from abroad
at high prices may be grown in the
United States. Their studies have
produced facts calculated to encourage
4 the cultivation ON large scale of
+ shrubs and weeds which are now look
ed upon as WORTHLESS and troublesome,
while in reality thss possess great val
ue If properly treated.
In fact, the average farmer has riches
lying unnoticed about his fies.s in the
shape of noxious weeds which, instead
Of being utilized, remain to cucumber
the land andimpbverish the owner. The
value of certain of these native drug
plants has been recognized by some col
lectors with the result that they have
been we'll nigh exterminated.
Japan Has camphor Mo--poly.
IS Camphor is nov selling at the enor-
NOUS price of $1.a5 pound, and in
spite Of this not an ounce is produced
In this country, tho the government
has demonstrated that camphor trees
will grow here. "A few years ago cam
phor was 80 and 40 cents pound, but
Japan has monopoly of the worlds
supply ana is boosting prices at will.
Dealers say that camphor will sch for
81 pound next year.
The annexation by Japan of the Is
land Of Formosa removed the only
competitor the raikado has in the
camrhor- raising business. Thus it
! happens that single government has
exclusive control Of the substance
which is nct only important medicin-
ally. but also necessary in various tech
: meal processes connected with the
other products derived from nitrated
cellulose.
Americans annually buy s1.0OO.0OO
worth of crude and refined camphor. At
various times In the past the depart
ment of agriculture has imported cam
phor trees, which have been distributed
thruout the various parts of the south.
and it has been practically demon-
& - Yo1 hot n ~ Ia
Of the warmer portions of this country
camphor viii grow well. 1t has also
been established by .ex- 'mental dis
citations made from a god number Of
trees in several localities in Florida, in
different seasons, that the leaves and
twigs obtained by pruning trees of va
cent Of crude camphor, calculated on
the fresh weight of the clippings.
licorice Root Will Grow Here.
The annual Importation of licorics
root and licorice paste is valued at be-
tween 100000 and $1,000,000. The
sum paid for the paste-between $50
600 and 500, ooo-leaves the great bulk
OF the purchase In the form of the
crude root Experiments in licorice
cultivation by the bureau Of plant in
dustrys Of the department of agricui-
ture and by private parties show pretty
clearly that altho the imported articis
comes chiedy from the eastern end Of
the Mediterranean sea. the licorice
plant is hardly as far north as Penn
& sylvania. 1t will succeed best. how
ever, in somewhat warmer regions. Il
maintains Itself wild in some parts of
California in which it has escaped Gull
tod
from England made good growth at
Washington until interfered with by
accidental conditions. In South Caro-
lima an experimental planting has thus
far made good growth 1t is, however.
too early for complete report
Among the important minor crude
drug impor.ations are belladonna and
1lgitalis. The belladonna plant sup
plies the leaf and root drugs known
under this name, and is the source of
the important principle known as
atropine Since these products are not
itemized in the government reports on
imports there is no official source
from which the magnitude of the de-
rnand in America can be accurately de-
termined.
BeIIadonna Does WE'LL
Belladonna, however, is a standard
drug widely used, arid a very consider
3 able surn is paid annually for the pro-
ducts of this plant. Experiments with
belladonna have been in progress at
the Washington gardens of the govern
ment for about four years and it has
been found to do well in a good gar
den soil. After the first year the roots
become valuable and may be dug in the
late autumn or early spring. 1t is de-
sirable that they should not be allowed
to become too woody before digging.
They are cut up and cured. The Gull
tivation of belladonna on commercial
scale has been taken up successfully
during the past twdfyears by an AM
erican firm using this drug.
At the present Nine a small but
growing market exists in this country
for ground paprika pepper, prepared
from the pods Of slender fruit growa
especially in Hungary. This product is
imported in, both the whole and the
ground condition, chiefly in the latter
state. During the last two seasons
small experimental paintings have been
made by the government al Ebenezer.
S. G. Three acres grown during <ae
last season have yielded between 5000
and $500 pounds of dried pepper pods,
for which profitable price has been
received. In spite OF the fact that the
ripe fruit was picked weekly and cured
out in a tobacco barn over artificial