Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-26
FINANCIAL BILITIES
IN CULTIVATION OF DRUGS

ut is a matter of official record that
something like S16,000,000 worth Of
crude drugs are imported by this
~ country every year and 1t Is likewise
.r matter Of which the government
has recently taken due notice that many
million dollars Of this expensive importa-
tton might be saved to our own people
by tho cultivation here in America Of
such Of these drugs as adapt themselves
to our soil and climate. 1t is while cogl-
tating over these facts that Uncle Sam, in
. bulletin of the Department of Agricul-
ture, suggests to the farmers OF the land
the great financial possibilities in the culti-
walton Of drugs. He broadly hints that In
some localities there are more profitable
opportunities In herb culture than In the
rearing Of expensive crops of other denom-
nations, and that the hauling of a few cart
loads of medicinal roots to the side door
OF a pharmacy will insure better returns
than the shipping of carloads OF agricul-
tural products in which there is a greater
competition.
The visitor to the modern drug store. who
gazes with unconcealed awe upon the long
rows of mysterious multi-colored liquids
which are contained IN Jars, bottles and
walls on the surrounding shelves generally
has little conception of the whereabouts of
their origin. He has an idea that these
connections, designed to allay the miseries
of mankind, are the extracts of something
or other, but as to from what they came
and from where they came he concerns
himself little.
In point of fact, many Of these COM
pounds are from what are commonly re-
Rarded weeds, ignored and trod upon by
stroyed by the farmer when found shooting
out their leaves among those of his crops.
of which he possesses a greater knowledge
and higher opinion.
1t is not true that the cultivation Of drug
plants is wholly neglected in the United
States, for there are sections where vast
quantities are systematically cultivated. 1t
has been stated by an authority that North
Carolina alone has shipped several million
tons OF crude drugs to market annually.
and other states have furnished large
amounts. But observations OF the govern
ment indicate that those regions which
: have been most prolific Of these crops show
gradual falling of. and there Is no gen.
eral disposition to enter the field by agri-
culturalists--surely not sufficient inclination
lars of annual importations.
With the decrease In the acreage or drug
plants prices have naturally tended up
ward. and the values OF those In which
pronounced shortages have been noted have
risen briskly. Take the case Of the COM
mon golden seal, sometimes known as
orange root, or ground raspberry. ana con-
coctions of which are utilized for the treat
ment Of dyspepsia and for ailments affect
ing the mucous surfaces. Once very album
dant in the Ohio valley and eastward, II
has become SO scarce as 10 pc oincudt 20
obtain In commercial quantities. Three
years ago It was deemed expensive In
wholesale lots at 70 cents per pound. To-
! day we find the quotation: Golden SEAL
81 IS to $1.45," and II Is very difficult to 90
tain II at that in commercial quantities.
Take. too, seneca snakeroot, which, after
going through the pharmacists hands be-
comes an emetic, cathartic. exI ectorant or
diuretic. as he DEGREES. The story Is abou,
a repetition of that OF golden seal.
Government experts believe that the
scientific cultivation of golden seal would
| DO productive OF profit. providing that II
| was not grown in such excessive quantities
| as to seriously affect the market prices.
! While both OF the plants referred to grow