. Production of drug and condiment plants. Medicinal plants; Herbs. used in soups and stews, and the so-called petals (ligulate florets) con- stitute the drug used in medicine. Calendula grows well on a variety of soils, but a moderately rich garden loam will give best results. The seed, which germinates rapidly, is sown in open ground early in spring in drills 18 inches apart. As soon as the seedhngs are established they are thinned to stand about 1 foot apart in the row. The plants blossom early and continue to bloom throughout the summer. The flowers are gathered at intervals of a few days
. Production of drug and condiment plants. Medicinal plants; Herbs. used in soups and stews, and the so-called petals (ligulate florets) con- stitute the drug used in medicine. Calendula grows well on a variety of soils, but a moderately rich garden loam will give best results. The seed, which germinates rapidly, is sown in open ground early in spring in drills 18 inches apart. As soon as the seedhngs are established they are thinned to stand about 1 foot apart in the row. The plants blossom early and continue to bloom throughout the summer. The flowers are gathered at intervals of a few days and care- fully dried. The ligulate florets can be removed either before or after the flower heads are dried. This must be done by hand, but it requires so much time that it is doubtful whether the drug can be produced at a profit in this country. No information on yields is available. Camomile (German, or Hungarian) German, or Hungarian, camomile {Matricaria chamomilla) (fig. 13) is a European annual herb cultivated in this country in gardens, from which it has escaped in some localities. The dried flower heads are used in medicine. This species does well on moderately heavy, rather moist, soil rich in humus. Since the plants bloom about 8 weeks after the seed is sown, a crop can be grown from seed sown either early in spring or late in summer, following early vegetable crops. Seed sown early in fall will give a good stand of plants that will produce a crop of flowers the next spring. The seed can be sown in drills and barely covered or broadcast, since the plants will soon occupy the ground and exclude the weeds. When the plants are in full bloom the flower heads are gathered and spread thinly on canvas sheets and dried in the sun. As hand picking is extremely tedious the use of some kind of box stripper is recommended. Even with such devices the cost of harvesting is excessive unless labor is very Figure 13.—Camomile (German, or Hungarian). 32. Please note that the
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1900, booksubjectherbs, booksubjectmedicinalplants
