Digitalis, or foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), is a fairly hardy European perennial, which has long been grown in flower gardens in this country as an ornamental plant. The leaves are used in medicine, those from plants of the second year's growth being required for the official drug.

Digitalis thrives in ordinary well-drained garden soils of open texture and reasonable fertility. Sowing the seed directly in the field occasionally gives good results, but is so often unsuccessful that it can not be recommended. The seeds are exceedingly small and do not germinate well except under the most favorable conditions. They should be mixed with sand, to insure even distribution in seeding, and sown as early as February in seed pans or flats in the greenhouses or in well-protected frames. When danger of frost is past the plants should be hardened off and transplanted to the field, where they may be set about a foot apart in rows spaced conveniently for cultivation.

The plants do not flower until the second year, and it is necessary to cultivate them frequently during the growing seasons of both the first and second year. In localities where the cold weather is severe it may be desirable to protect the plants during the first winter with a light mulch of straw or coarse farmyard manure.

The plants usually flower in June of the second year, and the leaves may then be collected. They are carefully dried in the shade and should be stored in such a manner that they will not be exposed to light and moisture. The results of experiments indicate that yields of 450 to 600 pounds of dry leaves per acre may be obtained under favorable conditions. In considering digitalis culture it should be borne in mind that the crop occupies the soil for the greater part of two seasons and demands even closer attention than many truck or garden crops.

In 1919 small areas of cultivated digitalis, ranging from one-half to 1 acre in extent, were harvested in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, California, and some other States. Several tons of digitalis leaves were also collected from plants of wild growth in the general region of the Coast Range of mountains on the Pacific coast. Digitalis is of great medicinal importance, but on account of its potency is administered in very small quantities; consequently, a few thousand pounds is sufficient to meet the annual market requirements. Before the war the price for digitalis leaves averaged about 15 cents a pound; in June, 1920, it was about 35 cents a pound.