Aconite seems to thrive best in a rather cool climate and will grow in any rich garden soil, but a well-drained gravelly loam in an elevated situation appears most suited for the cultivation of this plant. It may be grown from seed sown in the open late in the fall or early in the spring, or plants may be started in a seed bed and the seedlings later transplanted and set about a foot apart in rows 2 feet apart. The preferable method of propagation is by division of the roots after the stems have died down in the fall, since thereby hybridization may be avoided.
The plants usually flower in the second year from seed, when the roots may be harvested. It is preferable, however, to defer harvesting until the stems have died down in the fall, when all the roots should be dug, the smaller reserved for planting and the larger ones washed, sliced lengthwise, and dried. The leaves are also harvested, but are not in much demand.
Reliable data on yield are not available, although some estimates place the yield at about 450 pounds of dry root per acre. The American market is supplied with imported aconite root, for which the prewar price ranged from about 9 to 15 cents a pound. The price in June, 1920, ranged from 60 to 62 cents a pound. The quantity imported in 1919 was about 35,000 pounds. The demand for this drug is limited, and this fact, together with the probable low yield, makes its profitable cultivation in this country very doubtful.
[ALTHAEA.]
Althaea, or marshmallow (Althaea officinalis), is a perennial herb introduced from Europe which now grows wild in marshy places near the sea in Massachusetts and along tidal rivers in New York and Pennsylvania. The root forms the official drug, but the leaves and flowers also are sometimes used medicinally.
Althaea will grow well in almost any loose garden soil of moderate fertility, but tends to winterkill in situations where the ground freezes to a considerable depth. The plants may be propagated from seeds or from divisions of the old roots made early in the spring. The seed may be sown in the open in shallow drills at least 3 feet apart, and the seedlings should be thinned to stand 16 inches apart in the row. Under good conditions the plants attain a height of 3 or 4 feet; therefore, close planting does not give sufficient room for full development.
In the second year of growth the roots are harvested, washed, peeled, cut into short lengths, and thoroughly dried. Yields at the rate of 800 to 1,000 pounds of dry root per acre have been obtained. The prewar wholesale price usually ranged from 12 to 20 cents a pound. The price in June, 1920, was 25 to 27 cents a pound. The annual importation of this root averages about 30,000 pounds. In view of the amount of hand labor required in preparing the root, the relatively low price, and the rather limited demand, the cultivation of this plant for profit is not very attractive.