Rocky Ford enterprise., 1910-12-16
Cultivate. Poisonous Plants.

dustry and most profitable one. 1t
will pay any one with common
sense knowledge of the science OF
making the earth bring forth her in
rease, or even with plain common
sense and knowledge of farming. to
try raising plants for medicinal use
The time is ripe, for the continual
Training of the resources of field ana
swamp for material to alleviate hui
man ills has resulted at last in drug
famine, and the plants that have
heretofore grown wild must now be
cultivated.
The pioneer in this new farming
industry is weather-beatcn little
man who will answer to the name OF
Hellerman, but who has done enough
for suffering humanity to entitle rim
to the full benefit of his complete pat
ronymic of Lewis Elwood Heller
man. His drug farm is at Fox Chase,
near Philadelphia, and to this novel
cultural establishment journey medi-
cine men and druggists in quest oi
material for their medicaments and
also with roots and seeding plants for
experimental purposes.
The experimental drug plants are
farmer, who knows exactly where ;C
give them their start in life. whether
they need shade or sun for their con-
tinued nell being and where and un-
der what conditions they are likely to
reach the state where it is profitable
to return them to the dispenser oi
medicines.
1t is a curious looking farm, like
no other agricultural reservation IA
miliar to rural eyes. Row after row
of strange plants inspire the inquisi-
tive visitor to question the drug
farmer concerning the purpose Of
their culture. Hellcrman is always
glad to give information.
There" said he, pointing to long
row of innocent looking green plants,
is bed of the most deadly poison
known to the druggist. Never mind
the Latin name The popular name
is hemlock, and it will cure human
ton of rattlesnake's bite 1t poi
ducing death from paralysis in a par
ticularly ugly form. Socrates. wasn't
| it, who committed suicide with hem
loeks Yet. like many deadly poisons.
n the proper hands and administered
n minute doses, il is a valuable REM
.dy. Hemlock is profitable drug to
'ultivate. as it is not plentiful and the
prices obtained are high.
"A novelty over in that corner is
| obacco. ! grow it solely for mcdici-
,al purposes. A small quantity is all
hat is needed. and only grow i,
because. ! am occasionally asked for
and don't want to be shy of any
irug plant required by my customers
Here is drug that I am cultivatine
o take the place of aconitc. Its full
,ame is too long to repeat on a warm
lay like this. but call it anguish.
Ola. which is near enough for the
ceasion. This also is four-year
'lant. It's long time between
.rops. admit. but what do you think
i ginseng. which takes eight years
o bring to maturity? With plants a.
imc drug farms were started every.
where to save the inevitable famine
n material for medicine.
Just to give you some slight idea
the enormous increase in the value
4 drugs. owing to the growing scare.
ty of wild material. take the hydras.
is. II seems impossible to find any
more growing wild. and the price has
ldvanced from IS cents a pound to
he enormous sum of S2!oo a pound
With the demand still exceeding the
upply. 1t is difficult to cultivate
'ydrastis. The conditions of soil
emperaturc. etc. must be just right
"Some experiments with drug
'lants have proved total failure in
his country. We have never been
bic to get the seed OF the aconite
'ryonia to germinatc here. There
re climatic reasons why it refuses TO
hrive. 1t can be grown from balb.
ut not from seed. and this restric-
ion has prevented our adding it to
ie rest of the happy family of do
lestic drug plants in the little farm
Most of the plants you see grow
1g here sell for 10 cents a pound.
nd find the profit well rcpays the
rouble of cultivation. Some sell for
1ore satisfactory prices. For in
tance, there is a bed OF pudsatilla.
REMEDY that is used to alleviate
atarrhal troubles. II sells for so
'en;s a pound and there is an ever
:idening market for it as the natural
upply gets scarccr. Over there i
ome felix mass. 4 drug used for tape
Wild state in this country. and should
&C raised prohtably in all the states
Nso the spigclla marilandica. a most
-aluablc drug. which we are trying to
'ultivate here. II has ceased to exist
a wild state. The botanists who
unit drugs for the market have
'ooted out about the last plant. and
is worth no ones while to search for
any more. 1t must be cultivated or
he druggist will have to find sub
titutc for IL in compoundinp prescrip-