98 PRESENT STATUS OF THE INDUSTRY. 



was in no hurry for its sale, I concluded to hold it, to 

 note the effect of the dry season upon it, and also to 

 give different Chinese buyers a chance to look it over 

 thoroughly. The lot proved far too small in bulk and 

 too mixed in grades to dispose of as a whole or to 

 thoroughly test the fluctuating market. The box con- 

 tained a few excellent pieces, some medium, much 

 small, some strings, and a fair proportion of broken 

 pieces known as dust. The lot therefore required 

 picking over and sorting into grades before the Chi- 

 nese would bid for it. Even the largest shipments of 

 ginseng are sold only after thorough inspection and 

 sorting. This is one of the rules of the trade, to 

 which there seems to be no exception. This practice, 

 I may add, has become general, in consequence, the 

 Chinese say, of the failure of American and Japanese 

 exporters to maintain the standard of their shipments. 

 They declare that their second and subsequent ship- 

 ments are never equal to their first ; so that any ginseng 

 that might be shipped would have to be sorted. There 

 is a very large business done here in ginseng, all of 

 which is in the hands of the Chinese. This being a 

 free port and without a custom house, no reliable 

 record is obtainable of the quantity imported, and the 

 Chinese never keep statistics. There is an endless 

 variety of ginseng used, but for convenience it may be 

 broadly classified as follows : 



"Yung Sum First quality from or near Pekin. 



"Korea Yung Sum Second quality from Korea. 



"Far Kee Yung Sum Third quality from 

 America. 



"It is estimated that last year about 3000 piculs 

 (400,000 pounds) of the first quality was imported, 

 about 500 to 600 piculs (66,666 to 80,000 pounds) of 

 the second, and some 3000 piculs of the third. The 

 Pekin ginseng is pinkish in appearance, very hard and 

 smooth, and is free from roots and small pieces. The 



