THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



Fig. 1404.— Ginseng plant. 



of previous years, thus telling the age of 

 the plant. It is believed that the root 

 does not increase materially in size after 

 the eighth year, though it lives to a con- 

 siderable age, for some have been found 

 having sixty-five of these scars. When 

 roots are eight years old, two years in 

 the seed bed and six in the permanent 

 bed, they wrill be considerably larger 

 than the average of those growing wild, 

 of the same or even greater age. Some- 

 times roots are found of the form shown 

 in Fig. 1405 ; these are highly valued 

 by the Chinese, and it is said are worth 

 their weight in gold Grosier says that 

 ginseng signifies resemblance to a man. 

 When the cultivated plants are seven or 

 eight years old they will be of the size in 

 which they undergo 



PREPARATION FOR MARKET. 



In taking the roots out of the ground 

 it is important that they should not be 

 cut or broken, for all cut or mutilated 

 roots are classed in a lower grade. They 

 are then to be washed perfectly clean, 

 without any trimming of the rhizome or 

 rootlets, and dried by spreading them 

 out on hurdles in the sun, or in an 

 evaporator ; if in the latter the heat 

 must be regulated so that the roots do 



not become scorched or 

 partially cooked. If 

 dried quickly without in- 

 jury they will look better 

 and sell better. 



When thoroughly 

 dried the wild roots loose 

 about one-third of their 

 weight, but the cultiva- 

 ted, according to Prof. 

 Butz, do not shrink so 

 much. They have then 

 only to be neatly and 

 securely packed in boxes 

 to be ready for market 

 That there is a 



CONSTANTLY INCREASING DEMAND 



will be seen from the statistics of the ex- 

 port from the United States, shewing 

 the number of pounds exported and the 

 average price per pound. 



Ten years, 1868-1877—3,881,539 lbs. at $1.09 per lb. 



" 1878-1887—3,690,360 lbs. at $1.75 " 



Nine years, 1888-1896 — 2,193063 lbs. at $3.04 " 



Consul Johnson in his report dated 

 Amoy, July 29th, 1897, states that it 

 sells in Amoy at from Si 2.50 to $17.50 

 per pound, that at these figures Amoy 

 handled in 1896, $88,517.34 worth of it 

 which came from America in addition 

 to the value of $44,222.80 from Korea. 



Fig. 1405. — Wild Root ; [Human form]. 



312 



