Professor said to me: "If I were twenty-five and knew what I know
about drugs and the market for them, I should go into the
drug-raising business. But I should expect to lose money for some
years. If I were a small clerk, say, or an old man who wanted to get
out of city life, and I had $500 I really wanted to venture in drug
raising, I should divide it in half--half I should put in the bank
and the other half I should throw into the Hudson River. Then I
should be sure of $250 instead of being drawn on to spend it all."

"Most of the people who have been in the business, notably the
Shakers, who used to do the most of it, are gradually getting out of
it. The few men who make money raising drugs keep it to themselves."

In many cases when weeds have been dug the work of handling and
curing them is not excessive and can readily be done by women and
children.

Too much emphasis cannot be placed upon the importance of carefully
and thoroughly drying all crude drugs, whether roots, herbs, leaves,
barks, flowers, or seeds, and putting them under cover at nightfall.
If poorly dried, they will heat and become moldy in shipping, and
the collector will find his goods rejected by the dealer and have
all his trouble for nothing. Leaves, herbs, and flowers should never
be washed.

It is important also to collect in proper season only, as drugs
collected out of season are unmarketable on account of inferior
medicinal qualities, and there will also be a greater shrinkage in a
root dug during the growing season than when it is collected after
growth has ceased.

The roots of annual plants should be dug in the autumn of the first
year just before the flowering period, and those of biennial and
perennial plants in the fall of the second or third year, after the
tops have dried.

After the roots have been dug the soil should be well shaken from
them, and all foreign particles, such as dirt, roots, and parts of
other plants, should be removed. If the roots cannot be sufficiently
cleared of soil by shaking, they should be thoroughly washed in
clean water. Drugs must look wholesome at least. It does not pay to
be careless in this matter. The soil increases the weight of the
roots, but the purchaser is not willing to pay by weight for dirt,
and grades the uncleaned or mixed drugs accordingly. It is the
bright, natural looking root, leaf, or plant that will bring a good
price.

After washing, the roots should be carefully dried by exp