1^6 



THE MUSEUM. 



THE MUSEUM. 



A Monthly Magazine devoted to Ornithology, 



Oology, Mollusca, Echinodermata, 



Mineralogy and Allied 



Sciences. 



Walter F. W^ebb, Editor and Manager 

 Albion, N. Y. 



Correspondence and items of interest on above top- 

 ics as well as notes on the various Museums of the 

 World— views from same, discoveries relative to the 

 handling and keeping of Natural History material, 

 desonptive habits of various species, are solicited 



Make articles as brief as possible and as free from 

 technical terms as the subjects will allow. All letters 

 will be promptly answered. 



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American Ginseng. 



For centuries Chinese ginseng (Pa- 

 na.\ ginsengj has been to China far 

 more than quinine has been to Amer- 

 ica. UnHke quinine, however, its use 

 has not been limited to certain classes 

 of disorders. It has been used in 

 America only as a,'_|demulcent, a mild 

 aromatic and stimulant, for which 

 purposes our materia medica recom- 

 mends many more effective drugs. 

 Not so in China; the conservatism of 

 the Mongolian and his belief in the 

 occult have maintained an exaggerat- 

 ed estimate of its efficacy. It has 

 been employed by the Chinese as a 

 specific for nearly every ailment that 

 ilesh is heir to, from the most trivial 

 to the most serious It is further 

 thought, such is the superstitious be- 

 lief, to procure and insure immunity 

 from all sorts of diseases and even to 

 possess the power of prolonging life. 

 It is well named panacea. 



The esteem, nay veneration, in 



which it is held and the high price 

 that it commands in the market have 

 naturally led to a thorough search for 

 a substitute, not only in eastern Asia 

 but in other paits of the world. Jap- 

 an and Korea have furnished lOots 

 that so closely resemble true ginseng 

 in form that their detection in samples 

 of the genuine is attended with great 

 difficulty. These roots are simply 

 adulterants, since they lack the offi- 

 cinial qualities of the true root. 

 America, however, produces a plant 

 (P. quinquefoliunij that not only re- 

 sembles the latter in appearance but 

 also in its properties, and that has 

 been an important article of commerce 

 for over a century and a half. 



In 1714 Father Jartoux, a mission- 

 ary in China, published "The Descrip- 

 tion of a Tartarian Plant called Gin- 

 seng" in the Philosophical Transac- 

 tions of the Royal Society of London. 

 A copy of this letter fell into the 

 hands of Father Lafitau, a missionary 

 among Iroquois Indians. In 17 16, 

 after diligent search and inquiry 

 among his flock, ha succeeded in find- 

 ing a plant near Montreal, Canada, 

 that answered well the description 

 given by Frther Jartoux. 



Samples of this root were collected 

 by the Indians and exported to China 

 by the French. These shipments 

 were so well received that a consider- 

 able trade was built up, much to the 

 profit of the traders In Quebec the 

 root was purchased at 2 francs a 

 pound; in China it was sold as high as 

 25 francs. Trade with China was at 

 that time controlled by the Company 

 of the Indies, which, believing that 

 the market demand was slight, at first 

 allowed its officers to handle ginseng 

 as a private speculation. In 1751, 

 however, seeing that the commierce in 

 this root was becoming important, the 

 company prohibited private ventures 

 on the part of its officers and assumed 

 control itself. In only a short time 

 the price was advanced from 12 francs 

 to 33 france a pound. But, in 1852, 

 owing to an excessive demand in 



