The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1942-07-08

ITe rush some
years ago to raise ginseng. Some
folks really made small fortunes
and the acreage that proved mar
ketable was very valuable one.
/ have just read in the paper of
a neighbor farmer who is raising
bella donna. / might explain that
from the stems and leaves OF this
plant,S we derive q mild narcotic
that is much used in cures for neu-
ralgic pain. It is also a specific used
by opticians for dilating the pupil
of the eye for the purpose of exam
ination.
New Sources Developed
Formerly we got our supply of
bella donna from Balkan countries,
where production costs were low.
1t was impossible for this country
to compete with that source. Now
the United States has set up four
experimental or test regions in this
country, which are being developed
under the direction Of the Depart
ment of Agriculture. A section Of
100 hundred acres OF tobacco land
In my own county has been made
one of these four regions. Most
growers are cultivating several
acres, but from one to Ave acres is
the usual range.
The government Is spending
about 500 an acre to provide the
plants by growing them in green
houses near these sections. Our own
source of supply Is in a greenhouse
at the edge Of town. where the
plants are grown from seed, and
reset in flats like cabbage or to-
mato plants.
The leaves Of the bella donna
plants. from which the drug is
made, are much the same color as
tobacco plants, but are set more
thickly. The chief characteristic of
the herb is the heavy rootage. The
underground growth is so heavy
that the plants cannot be pulled up
and reset like the usual garden
plants. They must be dug up. and
in resetting by hand. trowel in
stead of pointed stick must be
used to make a place for the roots.
The bulk of the planting, however.
is done with a planter like tobacco
and tomato plants, the rows and
spaces between plants being about
the same as tobacco. The prepara-
ton of the soil is similar, along with
the use of about 400 pounds of
fertilizer to the acre. The cultiva-
ton is likewise similar. with dust
ing and spraying to protect the
plants from worms and insects.
While the usual root system makes
it more difficult to set and cultivate
the bella donna plant, 1t gives the
growth an easier start.
Problem in Harvesting
The plant was grown first on an
experimental basis last year near
indianapolis. when IL acres yielded
10000 pounds of the medical crop.
That is fair start for anybody. It
is possible to get as many as four
cuttings off of a planting in year,
but two crops is more ordinary
amount.
I didn't learn much about the
best way Of harvesting the bella
lonna growth. There is a problem
In cutting it so the plants are not
bruised and the essence lost. An
ordinary mower damages the green
plants.
! am still more interested in
finding out how We are going to get
the drug supply we shall need in
increasing quantities. since our for
eign sources are being so complete
~ cut off, / understand that one
pharmaceutical company has con-
tracted for the entire output of the
local acreage Of bella donna. when
ready for market. And the Depart
ment of Agriculture. since it has
underwritten the cost Of plants,
will likely want some Of the prod
uct. AS a matter Of conservation OF
space. some farmers expect TO dry
their green bella donna in their
tobacco sheds. or in the hybrid corn
dryers before other crops are ready.