No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 801 



tho time of ripeiiiny,- and plaiiliug just as iiiauy liorticnlt lual seeds 

 are handled. The hith liouse so essential to the j^rowing of the 

 root is just such a liouse as commonly used to shelter and shade 

 azaleas, rhododendrons and other shade-loving j)lants dining the 

 hot months of summer. Under the lath house it is very cool and 

 owing' to the partial shade the weeds do not grow as thrifty as 

 in the full sunlight, but the ginseng thrives under these conditions. 

 If it is planted in the open field it would grow for a few weeks then 

 as the sun becomes warm the leaves would turn yellow and the plant 

 eventuallv would die. 



One of the first questions arising when one considers the culture 

 of such a crop, is whether there is a market for it. I take it for 

 granted that you are aware of many facts about ginseng, having 

 read more or less of the literature on the subject recently distrib- 

 uted. The dried root is all exported to China, where 40(),00(),00() 

 Chinamen are using this drug as commonly as we Americans use 

 tobacco, and though our physicians count it worthless as a medicine, 

 it is no more likely to be dropped by the Chinaman than that the 

 American will drop tobacco. The collected wild root of America 

 has been exported ever since the middle of the 18th century and in 

 recent years has amounted to about |1, 000, 000.00 worth of dried 

 root. Owing to the eager search for the wild root the native prod- 

 uct is rapidly diminishing and the price per pound is correspond- 

 ingly increasing, so that the profitableness of the garden culture 

 of this plant is pressing it hard upon the attention of those inter- 

 ested in the plant, and since it is not likely that the Chinaman will 

 ever discard it, the market for the cultivated root will exist as 

 long as the Chinaman exists. 



Owing to the high price obtained for ginseng, immense profits are 

 estimated upon its culture. When the wild root was first collected 

 in this country 150 years ago it sold to the exporters for 50 cents 

 per pound. As its value became known and the wild product began 

 to diminish the price rose to .f2.00, |:5.00 and |4.00 per pound, when 

 ten years ago the early attempts at cultivation were made. Now 

 16.00 is being paid for the wild root and for the cultivated root, 

 which is much superior to the wild root, such prices as $8.00, |10.00 

 and $12.00 are realized, and last fall the price of |13.00 per pound, 

 was paid for 344 pounds of dry cultivated root grown in the old gar- 

 dens of Geo. Stanton, at Apulia, N. Y. This was sold at auction, 

 several exporters bidding and cost the successful bidder close on to 

 15,000.00. This quantity of root was grown on one-eighth of an 

 acre, making the probable income from an acre nearly |40,000.{)0. 

 It requires 5 years to grow a crop from two-year old roots. In the 

 small experiment conducted at the State Experiment Station, which 

 was the first official experiment in the United States, about 6 

 51—6—1903 



