302 CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



earth to the depth of five feet the root was secured, having 

 the shape of a man, with four extremities perfect and complete; 

 and it was this that had been calling out in the night with a 

 man's voice. It was therefore called i |f| (T'u-ching), "spirit 

 of the ground." It is said that the best ginseng formerly came 

 from this Shangtang, but at present no true ginseng is 

 produced in that part of Shansi ; on the contrary, the place is 

 famous for its production of "bastard ginseng" from Adeno- 

 piiora (which article see) and other campanulaceous plants. 

 The ginseng which is considered to be the best is the wild 

 growing variety of Manchuria, and the next in repute is that 

 coming from Korea. The former is practically all reserved 

 for Imperial use, while the ordinary qualities of the latter are 

 the best that appear on the general market. Japanese and 

 American ginseng are also found in quantities, but these, 

 especially the latter, are considered to be much inferior to the 

 Korean kind. American ginseng is considered by Western 

 physicians to have no medicinal virtues worth mentioning, 

 and is thought to be a superfluous member of the Pharmaco- 

 poeia. But entirely apart from ideas of its astral relations, 

 true Chinese ginseng is persistently held by the Chinese to 

 have stimulant, tonic, and restorative properties, which give it 

 its high place in their pharmacology. It is probable that the 

 Manchurian drug has not been carefully studied by any Euro- 

 pean observer on account of its scarcity, the Imperial mo- 

 nopoly, and its exceeding high price ; this best quality being 

 valued at Taels 6,400 a picul, and the superior sort costing as 

 much as 250 times its weight in silver. For these reasons 

 also only two or three complete herbarium specimens of the 

 Manchurian wild ginseng plant are to be found in the 

 museums of Europe. The ordinary ginseng of the markets 

 has been studied and has not been found to possess any impor- 

 tant medicinal properties. But the Chinese describe cases in 

 which the sick have been practically in articulo mortis, when 

 upon the administration of ginseng they were sufficiently restored 

 to transact final items of business. Much of the ginseng on 

 the market consists of campanulaceous roots, substituted for 

 those of the araliaceous Panax. The former roots, while in a 

 general way resembling those of the true ginseng, are more or 



