50 GINSENG. 



CHAPTER XV!I. 

 QINSENQ. 



How TO Grow Good Roots. 



REMOVAL OF SEED BUDS. To grow the best root the plant 

 should not be allowed to bear seed. To prevent this the buds 

 should be removed early in summer. This can easily be done 

 with the aid of a pair of small scissors. The practice is not 

 generally known to growers, but those who have made experi- 

 ments along this line have found results very satisfactory. 

 If the plant is not allowed to produce seed, the root will grow 

 much larger, is more vigorous, and has a much better disease- 

 resisting power, and will not shrink so much in drying. In 

 addition to this gain, the root is of better quality and will bring 

 a higher price in the market. This method of improving the 

 root originated in China. We are told that in the provinces 

 of Manchuria and Korea, where ginseng has been grown for 

 centuries, the growers, in order to produce the best root, do 

 not let the roots which they grow for the market, bear seed. Such 

 being the case it is very probable that those growers of this coun- 

 try who are allowing their plants to produce seed year after year, 

 will find that their roots will degenerate, so that in a number of 

 years hence they will have an inferior article. Growers, in order 

 to produce sufficient seed to restock their gardens, should allow a 

 few of the most vigorous plants to bear seed. The selection of 

 the seed bearing plants should not be made by the appearance of 

 the tops, but at digging time, by selecting the roots of the desired 



