Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-08-08
No Drug Farmers
Needed
By Frederic ]. Haskin


and come to the rescue of their country
periousy in need Of digitalis, bella donna
and certain other drugs.
| MANY people took this advice % heart.
! DR. Stockbergor, the drug expert Of the
| Bureau of Plant Industry of the Depart
ment of Agriculture, is still getting
rises from would-be drug farmers.
Only n week after its publication the
doctor was visited by delegation Of
wealthy American women, who announced
that they would be delighted 10 turn their
greenhouses over to tho government, or,
il possible, they would grow the drugs
themselves Reluctantly, DR.. Stock
berger explained that the government
was not in need Of greenhouses and that
the said ladies could render a much more
valuable service by growing vegetables
than they could by growing drugs
The truth of the matter ~ that few
hundred acres Of land suffice 10 raise all
the medicinal plants that this country
needs, but tho bureau OF plant industry
has never been able 10 convince American
journalists Of this At intervals just as
. surely as the coming Of rain after y pro
lonrcd dry spell, comes an article about the
need for more American drugs, about tho
money to be made in growing them, or
about the delightful occupation to he
had i'm their culture Dr Stockberger has
n scrap-book with dozens of printed
heads pasted in il. which he cherishes as
specimens, not Of drug literature, but OF
the American imagination running on all
six cylinders Millions TO be made
in growing weeds, reads ono Of these
heads; Large profits IN drug-groWing,
another announces, and doctor makes
$4,000 by growing weeds, reads third.
Ono page, evidently clipped from some
| rps sntn
nm imaginative text, but imaginative
sketches of n particularly startling char
acfcr One of these shows a drug plant,
unknown 10 science, starting life hs the
humble occupant Of someone's hack
ward. Immediately hourshnR all the
way across the page and finally entering
little boys sick-room.
At first. these articles used to annoy
Dir Stockberger, because nc had evidence
that go many people believed them
After each one appeared the bureau ot
plant industry would be kept busy
answering letters from enthusiastic m
dlvlduaIs in all parts of the country
eager to begin at once the remuneratlve
pursuit Of drugfarming. Now the bureau
, has Il circular letter arranged 20 ~ to
answer all inquiries, although occasional
ly special letters are required Tor persons
} who have inquired too late after having
made their initial Investment. For
example, n letter was recently received
from an old lady in the middle west who,
nj an expenditure Of over Sl00, had plant
cd an acre or two in bella donna Upon
irving To sell her plants TO drug manu-
facturers. however, she was informed
+. that they were worthless that they did
not come up 10 specifications.
: Had the old lady investigated the mat
ter before rushing into the drug business,
:, she would have found that the bella
donna plants bought by the drug manu-
facturcrs are no common weeds growing
graf tuitousy wherever planted. They must
lie grown from seed sown in the green
. houses during the middle Of the winter ard
! transplanted into small pots, very much
! the same as tomato plants are treated, so
: that they NAV be placed IN the field as
soon as the danger of frost Is over IN the
n spring. Statistics have never been
: gathered as 10 the exact quantity Of
bella donna used in the United States,
but drug men estimate It at approx
matelv 300. 900 pounds. 1T thus rate,
since the average yield is 600 pounds Of
leaves TO the acre, 500 acres would more
than fill the demand. Since the war has
cut off all importations OF this drug II
has been necessary to plant iew more
acres. and this has been done chiefly 10y
drug manufacturers themselves, who are
IN a very good position TO keep track 81
the demand.
MANY ARE DISAPPOINTED.
A few persons, OF course. have made
money in growing bella donna, especially
since the war They are individuals who
have raised 1t for wears, who have made 3
special study Of the drug market, anc
know its requirements In the SAINT
way a few persons have also made money
III growing digitalis, but only few
Many more are experiencing bitter dis
appointment. having planted large crop
OF this drug plant during the past year
which they are now unable to sell. A
the beginning of the war there was s
scarcity of digitalis, which sent the prlc'
OF the drug way up, but, inasmuch a.
the plant grows wild over extensive arcas
of Oregon and Washington the scarcity
was soon relieved and the price agar
dropped.
Time was when drugs were part @
every American garden like fruits ant
vegetables Then every house VII
was a sort OF combination sorcerer ant
trained nurse who grew her own mys
tcrious healing herbs and brewed them
Later. the early apothecarles held loca
monopohes In drug-growing With tn
NGNt1oDillt4lN OA AAAtAk NOAAAAARNANN1 AZ "
r ever. it became possible to obtain supple
= of crude drugs from Europe at price
= much less than it cost to produce them a
X home
+ And that is how the situation stand
+ today American drug manufacturer
+ can still buy their supplies of herbs fror
y Europe much cheaper than they ca
+ grow or buy them at home In Europ
r wages are much lower. Women an
Il children pick and dry the leaves of tn
+ drug plants for n wage that would b
r considered an insult here in AmerlcS
+ While few medicinal products, such q
r peppermint, spearmint, wormwood, WORN
r seed and tansy, which may also be use
r III the manufacture of volatile oils, ar
r grown IN this country on protitabl
r. basis, tho majority of the drugs found /
r the American pharInacopoeIa are grow
= on other continents.
r Nevertheless, the bureau of plan
y industry is constantly expeTlmentn
n with drug products III the hope that |
X may vet come across a drug of industrIs
+ as we'll as medicinal value, which ma
r be turned into profitable America
+ industry. One hundred and twenty
r five drug plants are now being cultivate
X ut the government experimental tarn
r Many Of these have been brought frol
II the tropics and are definite failures !
r their new surroundings. Others hay
II | 4br;1-aI wonderfully, b,lt becafisa of tl