30 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



A TI.MHEI! ASSEMBLING VAHli IN Till: CIIACO 



THE SAMIIir. A I'E( TI.IAR TYPE OF THEE 



panying illustrations sliow the type of labor 

 and manner of living in vogue throughout 

 this section. Nevertheless, along the shores 

 of the rivers, settlements are springing up 

 in which white men of all countries are 

 inaugurating paying enterprises. As much 

 of the Chaco is inundated during the sum- 



mer season, the places desirable for form- 

 ing colonies are very few, but the great 

 open spaces between forests are well fitted 

 for stock raising and cultivation. But the 

 chief wealth is, of course, the timber, and 

 the variety of shrubs and trees is marvelous. 



A. E. GoRnoN. 



Ginseng and Its fifarket 



The diminutive ginseng, while not exactly 

 what could be termed a forest product, is 

 undoubtedly of more or less interest to the 

 hardwood lumberman of the North and the 

 South, growing as it does in the timber 

 lands of Kentucky, Tennessee and North 

 Carolina in the South, and in the northern 

 states of Minnesota and Wisconsin. There 

 is nothing about this herb which under ordi- 

 nary circumstances would indicate that it is 

 any more valuable than the surrounding 

 vegetation, but nevertheless it has brought 

 considerable wealth to the mountaineers of 

 the South and to the exporters as well as 

 to the Chinese merchants who are chietly 

 responsible for its distribution. 



The shrub, for such it really is, grows in 

 cool, moist woodlands, mostly in the moun- 

 tainous countries of those southern states 

 mentioned and also in the woods of the 

 northern hardwood section. It grows close 

 to the ground and can be identified by its 

 compound leaves, which are divided into five 

 long-stalked leaflets. There are numerous 

 species which are closely allied, but the true 

 ginseng is botanically known as aralia 

 quinqucfoJia, which always has live leaflets. 

 Its greenish white flower appears in .July, 

 and its berry-like fruit in the fall. The 

 roots of this plant are perennial and arc 

 large, spindle shaped and often forked. 

 From the root, a stem about a foot higli 

 supports the leaves, and tlie root, stem and 

 bark serve as an easy mark of identifica- 

 tion on account of their aromatic taste. 



The Chinese market, which comprises the 

 entire field of consumption for this herb, 

 as American phj'sicians attribute little value 

 to it, is unusually good at present. There 

 is a vigorous demand for some grades of 

 the American species, and high market 



prices prevail. There has been a steady in- 

 crease in the export for several years, and 

 in 1909 the total shipment into China aggre- 

 gated 404,801 pounds, which at an average 

 jiricc of .$2.70 per pound, cost over a mil- 

 lion dollars. The average price is extremely 



variable, going as high as $3.92 in 1907. 

 However, these figures are based on cus- 

 toms reports, which, though based on mar- 

 ket prices, are not the actual market prices 

 obtaining at that time. They do not indi- 

 cate, either, the entire consumption in the 

 Chinese empire. 



The city of Hongkong is the main dis- 

 tributing center for ginseng, and from here 

 are sent out consignments of the herb, not 

 only to every point in China, but all over 

 ihe world where Chinese are to be found. 

 .-Vdding this foreign reconsignment to the 

 home consumption, the average annual con- 

 sumption of ginseng has been 330,000 pounds 

 at an average price of $2.75. 



The various species of the genera aralia, 

 which are of commercial importance, are 

 widely divergent as to values. The size and 

 shape of the root and its preparation to the 

 market are also active factors in determin- 

 ing its ultimate worth. As an illustration, 

 ill 190S the 278,000 pounds imported were 

 valued at $2.11 each, while some 18,000 

 pounds which was re-exported were worth 

 $8.73. 



Illustrative of the profit in the sale of 

 ginseng, an Anglo-American firm states that 

 good qualities of the root from Wisconsin, 

 Minnesota or Iowa, where the best species 

 grow, could be sold at a price which, after 

 allowing for all discounts' and charges, 

 should net the shipper a return of about 

 $7.12 a pound. 



There seems to be au organization of 

 Chinese dealers at present who control the 

 business from that country, but several for- 

 eign commission firms are ready to handle 

 shipments of American ginseng on commis- 

 sion, tluis making it highly probably that bet- 

 ter [irices will prevail in the near future. 



New Hardwood Lumber Company 



.V new concern to enter the hardwood lumber 

 Inisincss at Bristol. Tenn., is the Bristol Hard- 

 \v<ni(I Cnnipan.v. Its incorporators arc (Jeorge E, 

 Iiavis of Crorge K. Davis & Co., A. W. Troth 

 and .\. W. Kent of Philadelphia. The company 

 will do a general manufacturing and wholesale 

 liunher business. Mr. Davis is an experienced 

 Ininhprnnni and well known to tlie Bristol fra- 

 icrnii.v. 



