FUR FACTS 225 



$24,000.00 per acre, so that it can be readily seen that a successful 

 crop of ginseng is a very profitable undertaking. In fact there is no 

 other crop that will return as big a dividend if it is brought to a 

 successful issue. 



The seed also is a big source of profit to the grower. They are 

 sold by the thousand and vary in price from two to four dollars per 

 thousand. It takes about 8000 seeds to weigh a pound. Plants 

 that are five years old will produce an average of fifty seeds annually. 



The Department of Agriculture has this to say about ginseng. 

 They are usually stratified in moist sand, old sawdust, or woods 

 earth and stored in a damp cool place until cracked by incipient 

 germination, which may be considerably delayed and usually does 

 not occur until the year following their ripening. The subsequent 

 development of the plant is also relatively slow, as it requires from 

 five to seven years to grow marketable roots from seeds or young 

 roots. Under favorable circumstances the plants begin to fruit 

 about the third year and when over 5 years old may produce as many 

 as 50 seeds annually. 



The older roots possess the most substance and when properly 

 cured realize the highest prices. It appears almost useless to offer 

 for sale 3 year or 4 year roots, even if well grown and of good size, 

 as buyers for the Chinese market have learned to discriminate against 

 them. 



Starting the Plantation 



In planting ginseng beds it has been found desirable to start with 

 both young roots and seeds. By securing roots three or more years 

 old a moderate seed crop may be had the first season. A stock of 

 1-year or 2-year roots set at the same time will start the rotation, 

 and it is well to plant seeds also if germinated ones are available. 



As the output of seeds is likely in time to exceed the capacity of 

 the plantation, it is well to restrict the production by nipping the 

 flower heads, unless a good market for the seeds is assured. Roots 

 gain more rapidly in size and weight if the plants are not permitted 

 to seed. 



While small dooryard and woodland plantings may be grown with 

 Uttle outlay, ginseng culture on a large scale is quite expensive. The 

 cost of equipping the starting ginseng beds on a commercial basis 

 does not appear under present conditions to fall short of $1,500 per 

 acre, exclusive of the v'alue of tjie land. 



