THE MUSEUM. 



137 



I'rance, a large (]uantity of the root 

 was dug out of season and improperly 

 dried in ovens. When this reached 

 China it was found to be of such poor 

 quality that it was refused. This 

 practically ruined the Canadian trade. 



The New I'^n<:;land States, and lat- 

 er, the sister states as far west as the 

 borders of the Mississippi, profited by 

 the misfortune of their northern neigh- 

 bors and gradually built up a trade 

 with the Chinese that in 1S58 amount- 

 ed to 366,053 pounds, valued at 

 $'93,736. or about 52 cents a pound. 

 Since then the industry has continued 

 to advance until, in 1896, the e.xpor- 

 tation reached 199,436 pounds, val- 

 ued at $770,673. or an average price 

 of $3.86 a pound. It will at once be 

 noticed that the quantity e.xported in 

 1896 is only about half as much as 

 was shipped in 1S58, but that the 

 average price has increased more than 

 seven times. This increase is due to 

 the market demand and an inadequate 

 supply; the decrease in quantity to 

 improper methods of digging more 

 than anything else. (The figures for 

 the exports of 1897 have not yet been 

 tiiade publicly known.) 



American ginseng is a perennial 

 herb indigenous in almost all of the 

 States east of the Mississippi, in the 

 first tier of States west of that river 

 and in Canada It is of very slow 

 growth e\en under tht; most favorable 

 conditions, reaching a commercial size 

 not sooner than the fourth year. In 

 the forest, its native haunt, it rarely 

 produces seed before that time, and 

 even when older this is borne in com- 

 paratively small quantities, seldom be- 

 ing more than fifty seeds to a plant. 

 In a state of nature its only means of 

 propogation is by means of seeds. 

 Tiiese ripen in September. If, there- 

 fore, the plant be dug prior to the rip- 

 ening of the seed, it is deprived of its 

 only msins of perpetuating itself. 

 Yet this is the very thing that hap- 

 pens. The "sang" diggers, a class of 

 people that eke out a livelihood by 

 hunting this root, trapping and shoot- 



ing, e.xerrisc no judgment as to the 

 season of digging. The plant is dug, 

 as soon as found, whether in A[iri], 

 August or November. It is little or 

 nothing to them that the quality is 

 poorer and that the shrinkage is great- 

 er than when dug in season. It is al- 

 so of small moment that the two Vir- 

 ginias have passed laws to prevent the 

 digging until after the fall of the seed. 

 Thtir nomadic life insures them 

 against capture and if tiiey are acci- 

 dentally caught they live at the ex- 

 pense of the State and go back to 

 their old tricks as soon as released. 

 The only other causes of the lessened 

 supply of this root arc the clearing of 

 forest lands and the browsing and 

 trampling of stock [lastured in the 

 woods. 



The visible decrease in the supply 

 of the wild root and the constant in- 

 crease in the market price have led to 

 many experiments in the cultivation 

 of ginseng. But so frequent has been 

 the failures that its culture has been 

 declared impossible. Such is, how- 

 ever, not the case, since with proper 

 attention to its peculiarities, it may 

 be grown successfully and profitably. 

 It is of prime importance that the 

 conditions of the forest be closely im- 

 itated. In fact the best place to lo- 

 cate the plantation is in the woods, 

 although if provided with artificial 

 shade, such as is provided by an open 

 lattice roof, the plots may be located 

 in the garden or the orchard. It is 

 essential that the beds be made in 

 loose soil retentive of moisture and 

 well supplied with humus, that they 

 be kept* free from tree roots, well 

 shaded, fenced off to protect them 

 from stock and covered in the winter 

 with a mulch to prevent damage by 

 severe frost. The seed must never be 

 allowed to become dry or it will fail 

 to germinate. The risk is all the 

 greater since the seed must be 

 protected until eighteen months old, 

 as it will not sprout sooner; i. e. , seed 

 ripened in the autumn of 1897 will not 

 germinate until the spring of 1S99. 



