III. INDIGENOUS DRUGS.

Very few native drugs are commercially cultivated in the United States. Several hundred botanical products have been collected on a commercial scale, but at present comparatively few are of real importance, and the list seems unlikely to be greatly enlarged in the near future. The greater number of items enter trade from the Southern Appalachian region, where they have been extensively collected, chiefly by women and children at odd times. The industry has been dependent on cheap labor of this class which, previous to the war, had relatively little other remunerative outlet. Prewar prices were extremely low, and offered little inducement to systematic collection, even in this region where labor returns were probably lower than elsewhere in the United States. During the war, the draft and new industrial opportunities claimed many of the men of the region, and the women and children, in large part, were forced to take their places in farm labor, or were drawn into industries in the towns. Increased prices for farm produce, and increased wages have rendered the workers more or less independent of their former desultory occupation of drug gathering. Collections have accordingly fallen off, even though the prices of botanicals, stimulated by war demand, influenza, and lack of foreign materials, have risen far above previous quotations. Prices still rule high, and have shown little of the tendency to decrease which has been manifested by some other medicinals.

GINSENG.

The ginseng plant formerly grew wild throughout the forests of the Eastern, Central, and Southern States. Extensive collection almost extirpated the wild plant, however, and supplies are now drawn chiefly from eastern and southern New York, the Dakotas, and Minnesota, and to a less extent from the Southern Appalachians. Considerable cultivation has also been practiced. Ginseng requires especially expensive methods of cultivation; a few growers have reaped large profits, but many plantations have failed entirely. The wild root brings a much higher price than the cultivated, and has reached $15 per pound at a time when the cultivated was selling for about $5 per pound. Prices for the different varieties of ginseng are shown in Table 41. Ginseng is collected exclusively for the Chinese trade; occidental therapeutists deem it valueless. Imports of ginseng have been very small and statistics are not published in Commerce and Navigation of the United States. Exports since 1909 have averaged about 195,000 pounds valued at over a million dollars. Over 95 per cent of the exports are shipped to China as may be noted in Table 42.

No exact statistics of exportation or production of other individual American crude drugs are available. Values of "All other roots, herbs, and barks" exported for the years 1909-1918 are given in Table 43. These products in prewar years went chiefly to Germany. Since the war, England has greatly predominated in our export trade, Canada ranking second.

TABLE 41.-Wholesale prices of ginseng at New York, 1912–1920.

TABLE 43.-Domestic exports of all other crude roots, herbs, and barks, 1909–1918.

Cascara sagrada is the bark of a small tree native to the Pacific slope. In therapeutic importance it probably ranks first among American native medicinals. No statistics of production are available, but the United States Dispensatory has estimated that 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 pounds are annually collected from the uncultivated trees. As yet the commercial cultivation of cascara is merely experimental, but the present rate of collection is expected to make serious inroads upon the wild supply within a few years. Cascara is used as a laxative and cathartic; its medicinal action is closely allied to that of imported rhubarb and senna. Import and export statistics are not shown separately. The wholesale prices of cascara sagrada, which are shown in Table 44, have ranged in recent years from 7 cents to 20 cents per pound.

TABLE 44.-Wholesale prices of cascara sagrada, New York, 1912–1919.

The wild goldenseal or hydrastis plant was formerly abundant in the Ohio Valley, but is now becoming rare. Cultivation is practiced to some extent in the United States and has also received some attention in Austria and Italy. Apparently, however, no commercial supplies are yet forthcoming from foreign sources. From 200,000 to 300,000 pounds of the underground stem and roots are said to be collected annually (U. S. Dispensatory). It owes its medicinal value to the alkaloids, hydrastine, and berberine, which are prepared from it. Hydrastis is chiefly used in catarrhal affections of the mucous membrane. Prices of powdered goldenseal root have shown but slight variation since 1912; the lowest price was $4 per pound quoted in July, 1913, and the highest $6.50 in October, 1916.

OTHER AMERICAN DRUGS.

Wild cherry bark. This is the bark of the black cherry, a valuable lumber tree. It is extensively collected in the Southern Appalachians, for use in cough mixtures.

White pine bark. This is the bark of young trees of the white or Weymouth pine, the species chiefly valued for timber. It is used in cough medicines. Both it and wild cherry bark were in unusual demand during the war, especially during the influenza epidemic.

Podophyllum or mandrake.—The underground stem and roots of a small, herbaceous plant, which grows wild in the Central and Eastern States, are commonly known as mandrake. Considerable quantities are used as a cathartic, usually in mixtures with aloes and cascara.