with the plant, and with people employed in col- 
lecting it. He states that the root is found prin- 
cipally between the 39th and 47th degree of north 
latitude, in thick forests, upon the declivities of 
mountains, on thegbanks of torrents, and about 
the roots of trees. It never grows in the open 
plains or vallies, but always in dark, shady situa-. 
tions, remote from the sun’s rays. 
As the right of gathering this root is monop- 
olized by the emperor of China, the most exten- 
sive precautions are taken by him to prevent an 
encroachment on this privilege. The places 
where the Ginseng is known to grow are guarded 
with great vigilance, and a whole province, that 
of Quantong, bordering on the desert, is surround- 
ed by a barrier of wooden stakes, about which 
guards continually patrole, to keep the inhabitants 
within bounds, and prevent them from making 
excursions into the woods, in search of the pro- 
hibited drug. Notwithstanding this vigilance, 
their eagerness after gain incites the Chinese to 
wander by stealth in the desert, sometimes to the 
number of two or three thousand, in search of the _ 
root, at the hazard of losing their liberty, and all 
the fruits of their labour, if they are taken. The 
for the pur- 
emperor employs his own servants 
09, had ten 
pose of collection, and in the year 17 
