Goldenseal (_Hydrastis canadensis_) is a native perennial, formerly
quite abundant in open woodlands having ample shade, natural drainage,
and an abundance of leaf mold. Its range is from southern New York and
Ontario west to Minnesota and south to Georgia and Kentucky.
When grown under cultivation the soil should be well fertilized,
preferably by decaying vegetable matter, such as woods soil and rotting
forest leaves, which should be well worked in to a depth of 10 inches
or more. Raw bone meal and cottonseed meal are also favorable in their
action. Seed may be sown in October in a well-prepared seed bed. It may
be scattered broadcast or dropped one-half inch apart and covered with
fine leaf mold to the depth of 1 inch. During the winter the seed bed
should be protected with burlap or fertilizer sacks, and should also be
guarded against encroachment of moles or mice. Plants may be set 6 to 8
inches apart each way and the rootstocks covered to a depth of about 2
inches. For satisfactory growth goldenseal requires about 75 per cent
of shade during the summer, which should be provided by a lath shade or
by cloth, brush, or vines. The soil should be kept free from weeds and
the plants liberally watered throughout the growing season, but good
drainage is necessary, since goldenseal does not thrive in boggy ground.
Under favorable conditions goldenseal reaches its best development
in about, five years from seed, or, in a year or two less when grown
from root buds or by divisions of the rootstocks. The root is dug in
the autumn after the tops have withered. They are washed clean of all
soil, sticks, etc., and dried on lath screens in an airy place in mild
sunlight or partial shade, or indoors on a clean, dry floor. When dried
in the open they should be protected from rain and dew. The cured root
is kept in loose masses until marketed, since close packing may cause
attacks of mold. The dried leaves and stems of goldenseal, commonly
known as "seal herb," are also a marketable product.
The prices in June, 1920, ranged from $5 to $6 a pound for the roots
and from 40 to 70 cents a pound for the herb.