Ginseng and Other Medicinal Plants. A. R. Harding
Arbor Vitae (White Cedar)—The Leafy Tips.
Balmony (Turtle-head. Snakehead)—The Herb, free from large Stalks.
Beth Root (Trillium Erectum. Wake Robin. Birth-root)—The Root.
Birch Bark (Cherry Birch. Sweet Birch. Black Birch. Black Root (see culvers root)—The Bark of Tree.
Blackberry (High Blackberry)—The Bark of Root.
Black Willow—The Bark. The Buds.
Boneset (Thoroughwort)—The Herb, free from large Stems.
Broom Corn—The Seed.
Broom Top (Scotch Broom)—The Flowering Tops.
Bugle Weed (Water Horehound) The Herb, free from large Stems.
Butternut—Bark of Root.
Catnip—The Herb.
Chestnut—The Leaves, collected in September or October while still green.
Chicory (Succory)—The Root, cut into slices (Cross section.)
Corn Ergot (Corn Smut)—The Fungus, replacing the grains of corn.
False Bittersweet (Shrubby Bittersweet. Climbing Bittersweet. Wax-wort. Staff-tree)—The Bark of Tree.
Garden Lettuce—The Leaves.
Geranium (Cranesbill)—The Root of the wild Herb.
Gravel Plant (May Flower. Ground Laurel. Trailing Arbutus)—The Leaves.
Great Celandine (Garden Celandine)—Entire plant.
Hellebore, False (Adonis Vernalis)—The Root.
Hemlock—The Bark. The Gum.
Horse Nettle—The Berries. The Root.
Huckleberry—The Dried Berry.
Life Everlasting (Common Everlasting. Cudweed)—The Herb.
Life Root Plant (Rag-wort)—The Herb.
Lovage—The Root.
Maiden Hair—The Fern.
Milkweed (Pleurisy Root)—The Root cut into Sections lengthwise.
Motherwort—The Herb.
Mountain Ash (Mountain Laurel (See Sheep Laurel)—The Bark of Tree.
Mullein (Common Mullein)—The Leaves.
Pennyroyal—The Herb.
Peppermint The Leaves. — The Herb.
Pitcher Plant (Side-Saddle Plant. Fly Trap. Huntsman Cup. Water Cup)—The Plant.
Plantain (Rib-grass. Rib-wort. Ripple-grass)—The Leaves.
Poison Oak (Poison Ivy)—The Leaves.
Pumpkin—The Seed.
Queen of the Meadow (Joe-Pye-Weed. Trumpet-Weed)—The Root.
Ragweed (Wild Red Raspberry)—The Leaves.
Rosinweed (Polar plant. Compass plant)—The Root.
Rue—The Herb.
Sage—The Leaves.
Scouring Rush (Horsetail)—The Herb.
Sheep Laurel (Laurel. Mountain Laurel. Broad-leafed Laurel. Calico Bush. Spoon Wood)—The Leaves.
Sheep Sorrel (Field Sorrel)—The Leaves.
Shepherd's Purse—The Herb.
Skunk Cabbage—The Root.
Spikenard—The Root.
Stone Root—The Root.
Tag Alder—The Bark.
Tansy (Trailing Arbutus. See Gravel Plant)—The Herb.
Veratrum Viride (Green Hellebore. American Hellebore)—The Root.
Vervain (Blue Vervain)—The Herb.
Virginia Stone Crop (Dutch Stone Crop)
Wafer Ash (Hop Tree. Swamp Dogwood. Stinking Ash. Scrubby Trefoil. Ague Bark)—The Bark of Root.
Water Avens (Throat Root. Cure All. Evan's Root. Indian Chocolate. Chocolate Root. Bennett Root)—The Root.
Water Eryngo (Button Snake Root. Corn Snake Root. Rattle Snake's Weed)—The Root.
Water Hemlock (Spotted Parsley. Spotted Hemlock. Poison Parsley. Poison Hemlock. Poison Snake Weed. Beaver Poison)—The Herb.
Watermelon—The Seed.
Water Pepper (Smart Weed. Arsmart)—The Herb.
Water Ash—The Bark of Tree.
White Oak (Tanners Bark)—The Bark of Tree, Rossed.
White Ash—The Bark of Tree.
White Poplar (Trembling Poplar. Aspen. Quaking Asp)—The Bark of Tree.
Wild Lettuce (Wild Opium Lettuce. Snake Weed. Trumpet Weed)—The Leaves.
Wild Turnip (Indian Turnip. Jack-in-the-Pulpit. Pepper Turnip. Swamp Turnip)—The Root, sliced.
Wintergreen (Checkerberry. Partridge Berry. Teaberry. Deerberry)—The Leaves.
Witch Hazel (Striped Alder. Spotted Alder. Hazelnut)—The Bark. The Leaves.
Yarrow (Milfoil. Thousand Leaf)—The Herb.
Yellow Parilla (Moon Seed. Texas Sarsaparilla)—The Root.
Yerba Santa (Mountain Balm. Gum Plant. Tar Weed)—The Leaves.
CHAPTER III.
CULTIVATION OF WILD PLANTS.
The leading botanical roots in demand by the drug trade are the following, to-wit: Ginseng, Golden Seal, Senega or Seneca Snake Root, Serpentaria or Virginia Snake Root, Wild Ginger or Canada Snake Root, Mandrake or Mayapple, Pink Root, Blood Root, Lady Slipper, Black Root, Poke Root and the Docks. Most of these are found in abundance in their natural habitat, and the prices paid for the crude drugs will not, as yet, tempt many persons to gather the roots, wash, cure, and market them, much less attempt their culture. But Ginseng, Golden Seal, Senega, Serpentaria and Wild Ginger are becoming very scarce, and the prices paid for these roots will induce persons interested in them to study their several natures, manner of growth, natural habitat, methods of propagation, cultivation, etc.
This opens up a new field of industry to persons having the natural aptitude for such work. Of course, the soil and environment must be congenial to the plant grown. A field that would raise an abundance of corn, cotton, or wheat would not raise Ginseng or Golden Seal at all. Yet these plants grown as their natures demand, and by one who "knows," will yield a thousand times more value per acre than corn, cotton or wheat. A very small Ginseng garden is worth quite an acreage of wheat. I have not as yet marketed any cultivated Ginseng. It is too precious and of too much value as a yielder of seeds to dig for the market.
Some years ago