30 THE GINSENG INDUSTRY. 



tinct advantage they possess over beds set with wild 

 roots, which generally suffer considerably from injuries 

 to their fibrous roots, with which they are usually rather 

 poorly supplied. 



.TREATMENT OF PERMANENT BEDS. 



The treatment of the permanent bed differs little 

 from that of the nursery bed. The roots must, how- 

 ever, be set farther apart. It has been found that, for 

 roots from two to four years old, a distance of about five 

 inches apart each way is sufficient. For older roots 

 increase the distance. A common garden trowel is the 

 best tool for setting the plants, and the tool illustrated 

 in Fig. 11, but with the pegs made longer and set 

 farther apart, will be found useful in marking the posi- 

 tion of the plants in the beds. After setting the roots 

 the beds must be kept clear of weeds, mulched with 

 leaf mold or muck, like the nursery beds, and covered 

 with brush each autumn, as before. It will usually 

 take from three to five years from the transplanting of 

 the two-year-old seedlings to obtain marketable roots. 

 With certain specimens and under certain cultural con- 

 ditions this time will be greater and the profit will 

 consequently be less. This question will, however, be 

 more fully discussed under the heading, Selection, for 

 Improvement. 



ARTIFICIAL PROPAGATION. 



It has already been shown that ginseng propagates 

 itself only by means of its seeds. But a method of 

 artificial propagation may often be practiced with the 

 older roots. After three years of growth in the culti- 

 vated beds they frequently develop side roots near the 

 crown, as already shown in Fig. 7, which, if carefully 

 removed with a sharp knife and planted immediately, 

 may be made to grow. When they succeed, which they 

 will do if properly handled, they may produce seed the 



