18 THE GINSENG INDUSTRY. 



the entrance of rain or other water. The soil and the 

 seeds must not be allowed to become too wet, since the 

 latter may rot. 



When the seeds have been stored a year, sift them 

 out, as described below. As some few of the smaller 

 o^es may pass through the sieve, the earth in which 

 they have been stored should be scattered over the seed 

 bed in order that they may not be wasted. 



An important thing, in the cultivation of this plant, 

 is the annual setting of a seed bed. This must be done 

 regularly, as the plantation grows in extent and age, 

 since neglect to plant only one seed bed will mean the 

 loss of one, perhaps two, or even three crops, because 

 many roots require one or two years longer to attain a 

 marketable size. It will be economy in the end to 'pur- 

 chase seed in any one year that furnishes only a small 

 supply or none at all. Under ordinary circumstances, 

 however, this necessity should not occur more than once 

 or twice, and then only in the first few years while the 

 industry is getting upon its feet and before the beds 

 commence to bear seed in any quantity. 



CLIMATE AND LOCATION. 



From what has been said of the natural home of 

 the plant it may be seen that ginseng will succeed over 

 a wide range of territory. It must not, however, be 

 inferred from this that it can be grown anywhere in this 

 territory. Efforts to grow it in the low lands of the 

 southern states are almost sure to meet with failure, or 

 when failure be prevented it will be at the cost of so 

 much effort that there will- be no profit or pleasure in it. 

 The phmt demands a cool climate, such as is found in the 

 northern states and in the high lands of both the north 

 and the south. In such places it will grow as easily in 

 cultivated areas as in the forest, provided the proper 

 conditions be furnished. 



