Book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1908. Excerpt: … CHAPTER XVII. GOLDEN SEAL CULTIVATION. Botanical Name: Hydrastis Canadensis. It has been proven beyond all doubt that Golden Seat will not grow in the open field. That being the case we have two general lines of cultivation open for us to follow. One is to use natural shade, which comprises forest shade and also orchard and vine shading, and, in fact, any kind of shading where plants, shrubs, vines or trees are used to make the shade. The other method is by purely artificial means and using materials for the shade proper that do not draw either moisture or fertility from the soil. This consists of wood, metal and in some cases, vegetable fiber. The only reason Golden Seal will not grow in the open field is that the plant needs and must have shade of some kind. Were it not for the lack of shade, seal would grow in any of our fields where our common grains will grow. When we follow nature closely we are less liable to be troubled with disease such as blight and other fungi. In the cultivations of this crop, we must bear in mind that nature in this case is very slow and if we follow nature we must expect also to go slow. I think, perhaps, it would be best to first consider the natural way of growing seal. Wild seal propogates in two ways, principally by the formation of new plants on the long slim fiber roots some distance away from the parent plant. The rhizome of the seal plant sends out, according to the vigor of the individual plant, from a half dozen up to as high as one hundred or more fiber roots, all nearly of one size and all very long and slim holding their full size to near the extreme end. Some of these roots are two feet in length and I have seen them over three feet. When the root becomes fairly matured small plants start on the long slim roots and after two or three seas…
