92 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
drying, and moistening process which causes the root to 
assume a cherry red color and a hard, glassy consistency. 
Sugar may or may not be added. 
All of the roots from certain districts in Korea are manu- 
factured into “white ginseng.” Formerly when the product 
was of higher quality two kinds of ‘white’ were produced, 
the “straight” and “bend.” Now, however, practically all 
of the raw material is made into “bend.” The best season 
for gathering the roots is about the last week in August, but 
if there is danger from disease the crop may be dug a month 
earlier. Early in the morning is supposed to be the most 
favorable time for removing the roots from the ground. 
They are immediately washed, then the outer skin peeled off 
with a — of bamboo, after which they are polished with 
hemp cloth and dried for a day in a shady place. By this 
process the branch roots become soft enough to be bent into 
the form of a man sitting with his knees against his stomach 
and they are bound in this position by means of a piece of 
tough grass or reed. Finally, the roots are dried in a sunny 
place, where the wind is not too strong, and packed ready for 
shipment. 
The collection of ginseng in the Garden will be found to 
the east of the herbaceous tract in the lath shed, constructed 
over the plants to — the necessary shade. The plants 
are three years old and consequently not ready to harvest, 
but a good idea may be obtained of the appearance of the 
wild ginseng by those who wish to be able to recognize this 
form growing in the woods. 
A GIANT CACTUS. 
There has just been received from Tucson, Arizona, a 
specimen of a giant cactus Carnegia gigantea (Cereus gigan- 
teus) which marks a noteworthy addition to the collection 
of succulent desert plants in the Garden. As will be seen 
from the accompanying plate, the plant consists essentially 
of a leafless columnar trunk provided with a regular succes- 
sion of vertical furrows and ridges, the latter each bearing 
a row of stout spines. In the desert the older plants usually 
produce branches which come out from the main trunk at first 
at right angles and then curve upward and grow parallel with 
the parent stem, giving the plant the appearance of a giant 
candelabrum. It was not attempted to ship such a plant to 
the Garden owing to the danger of breaking off the branches 
in transit. It is hoped, however, that the specimen received 
ll ultimately branch and give a complete idea of this 
striking southwestern-desert form. 
