Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 230, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 October 1918 — Growing Drugs a New Industry [ARTICLE]

Growing Drugs a New Industry

Production of Herbs Necessary in Industrial Arts and Medicine is Daily Increaring.

That the growing of herbs, necessary in the industrial arts and in medicine, Is increasing by leaps and bounds in the United States is the opinion of members of the American Pharmaceutical association.' The war furnished the necessary stimulus when the most important drugs became otherwise unobtainable. Not all that is being doffe can be published, but rumor has it* that plants used in gas warfare are now being grown “somewhere in America.” The airplane industry, too, accounts for the high cost of castor oil, which is valuable since it does not gum. Castor beans are being extensively grown in Florida, Texas and southern California. Japan, among the foreign countries, has most rapidly taken up this plant cultivation, according to Clare O. Ewing, acting pharmacognocist of the bureau of chemisty. Nippon now exports a huge amount of insect powder, besides furnishing the United States with castor beans, mustard seed and valerian. The plant industry is not primarily a commercial game, as it Is too sive, for the most part, to be profitable, say the growers, Much experimenting is being done today by the federal and state governments, by botanical gardens connected with the universities and colleges, by drug houses and Individuals. In the case of certain drugs they have succeeded in producing the best quality and at a profit. Doctor Rusby, dean of the College of Pharmacy, Columbia college, New York, and scientific director of the New York botanical gardens, said: “Success is possible, but is bound to be limited. Inexperienced and ignorant people will meet with failure. Special knowledge is needed to grow drugs. A good farmer is not enough. The man must be a trained botanist as well. Each separate drug must be studied and the methods of growing it be experimented with. Again, only a relatively small number of drugs can be grown in any one region.” " The most Important drugs now being produced in this country are: Digitalis, the well-known heart tonic, which was found to be growing wild on the Western coast and is now collected. The University of Minnesota cultivates digitalis for the government. Belladonna, which was difficult to obtainfibut which is grown on a large scale today. Henbane leaf, which is still being experimented with by many. It is difficult to get, but is valuable in both medicine and the Industrial arts. Of the less important plants which are being cultivated, there are: Golden seal, a rare and expensive d|ug, difficult to grow. Twenty-five years ago it sold at 15 cents a pound. Today it is $5 and $6 a pound. Sage, peppermint, burdock root and Indian hemp, a narcotic,