USDA Drug and Poisonous Plant Investigations Photograph Collection

Collection

Identifier: MS0274

Staff Only

Content Description

The USDA Drug and Poisonous Plant Investigations Photograph Collection consists of black-and-white lantern slides with images from research projects conducted by the Drug and Poisonous Plant Investigations division of the Bureau of Plant Industry. Some of the slides feature images of medicinal plant gardens at various institutions across the United States. Other subjects include drug plant field plots at the USDA South Farm in Beltsville, Maryland; drug plant specimens; distribution charts of plant species; and a few color slides of paintings of drug plants. Images of poisonous plant research mainly depict effects of plant poisons on livestock. Most of these slides show livestock that have ingested toxic plants. Many include labels containing the scientific name of the plant, the animal type, animal number, and the date and time of photograph. Sequences of photos follow the course of a particular animal's reaction to a plant toxin. A few of the slides show poisonous plants in their native landscapes. Some images show charts, tables, and figures related to poisonous plant research.

The collection also includes a set of images taken at various botanic gardens in the United States and other countries. These images show garden plans, features, and plant specimens.

Dates

Creation: 1902-1943

Conditions Governing Access

Contact Special Collections for access.

Organizational History

The USDA's Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) consolidated its medical and poisonous plant research in 1905 under the Division of Drug and Poisonous Plant Investigations. Botanist Rodney H. True directed this research. Among the division's goals was to promote cultivation of medicinal plants in the United States in order to rely less on imported plants. Division scientists studied the culture of belladonna, digitalis, stramonium, hyoscyamus, aconite, arnica, licorice, and opium poppy. They developed small field plots in different geographic areas to observe the influence of climate and latitude on plant growth and on the production of the plants' active substances. State experiment stations were located at Puyallup, Washington, and Burlington, Vermont. Experiments were also conducted on the Potomac Flats and Arlington Farm near Washington, D.C.

Total Size of Collection

11 boxes (1 box, 8.5 x 12.5 x 5.25; 10 boxes, 4.75 x 10.75 x 4.5)

5 Linear Feet (11 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Bibliography

Powell, Fred Wilbur. The Bureau of Plant Industry: Its History, Activities and Organization. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1927.

United States Department of Agriculture. Annual Reports of the Department of Agriculture. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1902.

United States Department of Agriculture. Annual Reports of the Department of Agriculture. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1903.

United States Department of Agriculture. Annual Reports of the Department of Agriculture. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1905.