CLIMATE, LOCATION AND SOIL. 19 



In choosing locations for beds, particularly in the 

 more southerly states, be sure to give the northern 

 exposure the preference, because the plants will do bet- 

 ter where the direct rays of the sun are more or less 

 overcome by the sloping of the land to the north. In 

 such exposures, too, the land is less robbed of moisture. 

 But if the soil and other conditions are unfavorable, or 

 where such an aspect cannot be secured, do not hesitate 

 because an eastern, a western, or even a southern aspect 

 must be utilized. Ginseng will prove profitable, as it 

 has in former cases, provided the necessary care be taken 

 to secure plenty of shade and moisture. Other condi- 

 tions being equal, however, the northern slope is best 

 and the southern poorest. 



SOIL. 



Having chosen the location for the bed, the next 

 question, or rather the one that must be considered at 

 the same time as the location question, is the choice of 

 soil. Choose almost any quality or texture, with the 

 exceptions of clay, heavy clay loam, light sand and 

 muck. These are not adapted to the requirements of 

 the plant and its best development. The best soil is a 

 good, friable loam, light rather than heavy, and well 

 supplied with decaying vegetable matter. It must be 

 clear of stones, clods, chunks of wood, tree roots and 

 other obstructions, so that the ginseng roots may have 

 free range to develop and not be robbed of food or be 

 distorted. If the soil be filled with obstructions the 

 roots will often be greatly branched, but if free they 

 will tend to be of more regular shape, and can thus be 

 much more easily dug when the time comes. The dif- 

 ference in shape, in size, and in earliness of maturity 

 between roots grown upon a deep, mellow loam, and 

 those grown upon a heavy soil, is so remarkable that an 

 inexperienced person might easily doubt that each lot 

 sprang from the same seed. 



