60 ANNUAL REPORT. 



Can ginseng be cultivated? 1 am well aware that there is a com- 

 mon opinion that it cannot; that it has a spontaneous growth in 

 certain soils in the forests of the continent; but it appears to me 

 to be an erroneous opinion. It is so opposite to the experience 

 in everything else belonging to the vegetable kingdom that I am 

 rather inclined to think that the experiment has never been 

 made. My conclusions are, if it could be successfully cultivat- 

 ed, that the profits in raising it, in favorable localities in Min- 

 nesota, as well as in other Western states, would be very great. 

 I ask the society if any of its members have any experience in 

 regard to the habits of this plant ? If properly considered, and 

 the necessary experiments made, there might be a possibility 

 we could add an important diversity to our home products. As 

 an article of export there would be no danger but what it would 

 command a high price in the commercial world. Several thou- 

 sands of dollars' worth could be raised on an acre, provided it 

 could be made to grow as well in a cultivated state as it does in 

 a wild one. 



DISCUSSION. 



President Smith. You have heard the essay; remarks are now 

 in order. 



Col. Stevens. My attention was called to this by some friends 

 of mine living in Carver County, and it was requested that it 

 should be brought before the meeting at this time. 



Mr. Smith. Mr. President, in view of the fact, as I suppose, 

 that very few of the members of the horticultural society are 

 very well posted on ginseng, I would move the appointment of a 

 committee of three, whose duty it will be to inquire into this 

 subject, as to the cultivation of it, and make experiments dur- 

 ing the ensuing year, and report at our next meeting. I think 

 that is the best we can do in regard to it. 



Mr. Whipple. Mr. President, I think there are some mem- 

 bers present that have had some experience. I believe there are 

 several here that have lived in the ''backwoods," and I for one 

 have lived for thirty years on the products of ginseng to some 

 extent. I came to Northome in the year 1857, and that was 

 about all we had to live on in those days. We dug the ''sang" 

 for a living, and we made good wages at it. I have dug more or 

 less nearly every year until within two or three years, and have 

 taken as high as $6 a day for digging; but at that time the dry 



