BOTANY OF THE PLAHT. 13 



lings. It seems possible, too, that the rootstocks might 

 be made to produce roots in the same manner as ordi- 

 nary cuttings. This, so far as can be learned, has not 

 yet hgen done. 



From what has been said, it is clear that ginseng 

 must not be dug in the summer, because if the roots be 

 harvested before the seed is ripe the latter will be lost. 

 In the forest this is actually taking place, and is the 

 principal reason why the price of ginseng is rising year 

 by year; the pasturing of stock in the woods and the 

 destruction of the forests by widening agriculture or by 

 fire being the only other important influences toward 

 its extermination. 



The dealers claim that they are still able to obtain 

 the root in nearly the same quantity as formerly, but 

 they say that it is coming from places more remote each 

 year. The latter statement is certainly true, but a 

 glance at the export figures, given under the heading, 

 "Profits," will show that the former is probably over- 

 estimated, because the quantity sent abroad is decreasing 

 year by year. 



The principal agents in the extermination of the 

 native supply are the ginseng hunters, " sang-diggers " 

 they are called. They exercise no judgment whatever 

 in collecting. They take even the tiniest roots when- 

 ever they see them, whether in April, June or Novem- 

 ber, and the plants are thus given no chance to reproduce 

 themselves. It is of little consequence to these shiftless 

 people to be arrested and jailed according to the laws of 

 the two Virginias and of Ontario. They take the matter 

 coolly and live at % the expense of the state until the end 

 of their sentence, and go back to dig as before. When 

 the plant is cultivated it will be to the grower's interest 

 to dig at the proper season, and to prevent, as much as 

 possible, the digging of the wild root in his locality dur- 

 ing the spring and summer. 



