PREPARATION OF THE BEDS. 25 



will be more than double, on account of the larger num- 

 ber, greater strength and size of the roots that will have 

 developed. If attended to regularly each year, the work 

 will be slight and the benefit to the beds much greater. 

 In locating a bed in an orchard, it is best to avoid 

 proximity to cherry trees, as the plants, for some unex- 

 plained reason, do not thrive under this fruit tree. 

 They do well, however, under apple trees. When set 

 under these, it is better to put the bed under late 

 fall or winter apples, because these do not drop to the 

 ground so much during the growing season of ginseng 

 as early apples. Much breakage and consequent injury 

 to the plants may thus be avoided. 



PREPARATION OF PERMANENT BEDS. 



There need be little difference between the prepara- 

 tion of a permanent bed and that of a nursery bed. 

 The principal differences' are in the width of the beds 

 and the texture of the soil. The width of the perma- 

 nent beds may be as much as six or seven feet, the for- 

 mer width preferred if the beds are situated in the 

 forest, where space is unlimited. But in the garden or 

 in the orchard, where artificial shade must be provided, 

 and where, as a consequence, space must be economized, 

 make them seven or eight feet wide, and the paths 

 between them as narrow as possible. Eighteen inches 

 should be the widest limit. A garden plantation is 

 shown at Fig. 9, to which reference will be made later. 



If a wheelbarrow is to be taken into the plantation 

 and the path is not wide enough, the barrow may be 

 run over the beds if the ground be frozen hard enough 

 to bear it up. There will be no necessity to take a 

 wheelbarrow into the plantation at any time during the 

 growing season, because if properly managed there 

 should be no weeds to cart away and no manure to 

 apply. The manuring may all be done in the late fall. 



