Belladonna, or deadly nightshade (_Atropa belladonna_), is a large,
poisonous perennial which occurs wild in Europe, where it is also
cultivated. Both the leaves and the roots are important crude drugs. In
recent years it has been cultivated to some extent in this country, but
is likely to winterkill in the colder sections.
Belladonna may be propagated in a small way from cuttings of the young
shoots rooted in moist sand in the usual manner or from divisions of
the fleshy rootstocks made early in the spring, but it is most readily
grown from seeds which may be thinly sown in pots or well-drained boxes
in a cool greenhouse in midwinter or in a sheltered place in a garden
early in the spring. When the seedlings are large enough to handle they
should be transplanted singly to small pots or pricked out in flats or
shallow boxes of light, rich soil, placing them about 2 inches apart
each way, as with tomato or other vegetable plants intended for field
planting. In the spring, as soon as danger from frost is over, they
should be transplanted to the field and set about 20 inches apart in
rows 30 or more inches apart Sowing seeds in the field or transplanting
directly from the seed bed to the field has rarely given good results
in this country. Belladonna seeds are small, and if well handled under
glass or in protected seed beds 1 ounce should produce 10,000 or more
plants, sufficient to set an acre.
Belladonna thrives best in deep, moist, well-drained loam containing
lime, such as will under proper fertilization produce good garden
vegetables. The preparation of the soil should be very thorough
and consists of deep plowing, either in the fall or early spring,
and repeated working with the disk or spring-tooth and smoothing
harrows. Weeds should be kept under control at all times and the
soil stirred with a hoe or cultivator at intervals of about 10 days,
particularly after each hard rain, and shallow cultivation given in
hot, dry weather to conserve the natural moisture of the soil. Good
commercial fertilizers, such as are commonly used in truck gardens, are
beneficial. Those containing 8 per cent of phosphoric acid, 4 per cent
of nitrogen, and 4 per cent of potash are the most desirable and should
be applied at the rate of about 600 pounds per acre. Stable manure at
the rate of 12 to 20 tons to the acre may be used if plowed under when
the ground is prepared.
Belladonna is sometimes affected by a wilt disease, which is aggravated
by wet soils and fresh animal manures, and the foliage is greedily
attacked by the potato beetle. Dusting with lime, spot, or road dust
in the morning when the leaves are wet with dew is occasionally
effective. The destructive attacks of these pests are usually confined
to the seed bed or to first-year plantings, but the insects may be
controlled by the careful use of insecticides.
The leaves are picked when the plants are in full bloom. They should be
carefully handled, to avoid bruising, and dried in the shade in order
to retain their green color. A hundred pounds of fresh leaves yield
about 18 pounds when well dried. One crop only can be collected the
year of planting, but two crops are gathered in each of the next two or
three years, after which it appears better to market the roots and make
new plantings. While only the leaves should be collected for the best
pharmaceutical trade, the young growth, including the smaller sappy
twigs, has medicinal value and may be sheared from the plants and dried
in the same manner as the leaves. The ease of collection and increased
weight of material may render the latter method more profitable.
The roots alone are not as profitable as the leaves. The best roots
are those of the second and third year's growth. They are harvested in
the fall after frost, the tops being mowed and raked off and the roots
turned out with a deep-running plow, or with a potato fork if the area
be small. They are carefully washed and cut into about 4-inch lengths,
the larger pieces being split lengthwise to aid in drying. Thorough
drying either in the sun or with mild artificial heat is essential;
otherwise, the roots will mold when stored.
The high prices paid for belladonna during the war greatly stimulated
the cultivation of this crop, which had previously been grown with some
success in California, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and
some other States. In 1918, 273 acres of belladonna were harvested,
the total production being about 83 tons of herb (including leaves and
stems), an average of 600 pounds per acre. From 136 acres 11 tons of
root were harvested, an average of 164 pounds per acre. The marketing
of this crop was followed by a decline in prices, the quotations in
June, 1920, being 30 to 35 cents a pound for the herb and 55 cents a
pound for the root.