Am.  Jour  Pharm. 
May,  1898. 
Editorial. 
251 
EDITORIAL. 
AMERICAN  GINSENG. 
The  output  of  literature  concerning  the  production  of  ginseng  during  the 
past  month  has  been  considerable.  Bulletin  No.  16  of  the  United  States  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  is  the  most  important  contribution,  but  two  others  in 
Consular  Reports  for  April  are  of  considerable  interest  ;  they  are  entitled 
"American  Ginseng  in  China  "  and  "  Ginseng  in  Korea."  It  is  interesting  to 
note  that  both  consuls  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  use  of  ginseng  among 
the  Chinese  is  almost  entirely  one  of  sentiment,  yet  every  man,  woman  and 
child  in  China  uses  it  not  only  as  a  cure  for  all  kinds  of  diseases,  but  also  as  a 
preventive  against  dreaded  ailments.  It  is  evident  that  the  American  product 
cannot  replace  that  from  Korea,  nor  compare  favorably  with  it  in  price,  as  the 
statistics  for  1896  show  importations  through  Chinese  customs  of  353>T47 
pounds,  valued  at  $656,515  gold,  or  about  $1.86  gold  per  pound,  while  the  im- 
portations from  Korea  for  the  same  period  amounted  to  14,987  pounds,  valued 
at  $247,137  gold,  or  $16.50  per  pound.  This  is  supposed  to  represent  only  about 
one-half  the  actual  importation,  as  smuggling  in  this  article  is  extensively  car- 
ried on.  Another  consular  statement  is  to  the  effect  that  the  American  ginseng 
readily  finds  sale  at  $3.00  to  $3.50  per  pound,  and  special  pieces  of  the  more 
desirable  shapes  might  be  sold  at  ten  times  that  price.  The  Bulletin  of  the 
Agricultural  Department  details  the  commercial  history  and  cultivation  of  gin- 
seng. Already  considerable  tracts  are  under  cultivation  in  this  country,  and  it 
is  evident  that  whatever  future  there  is  in  this  industry  must  come  from  the 
cultivated  article. 
SUCCESSFUL  TEA  GROWING  IN  AMERICA. 
This  is  the  title  of  a  paper  in  the  April  number  of  the  Cosmopolitan  Maga- 
zine, and  the  author,  Mr.  LaFayette  I.  Parks,  makes  out  a  case  which  justifies 
the  title.  It  appears  that  at  present  the  only  tea  plantation  in  the  United  States 
is  situated  at  Summerville,  South  Carolina,  and  is  the  property  of  Dr.  Charles 
U.  Shepard.  Last  season  upward  of  1100  pounds  of  the  finest  tea  obtainable 
was  marketed,  and  this  year's  crop  will,  he  states,  amount  to  more  than  2,000 
pounds.  As  long  ago  as  1877  the  Department  of  Agriculture  investigated  the 
possibilities  of  raising  tea  in  the  United  States,  and  "after  thorough  inspection 
of  Mr.  Shepard's  tea  plantation,  Mr,  Saunders  made  a  very  favorable  report, 
predicting  that  it  would  only  be  a  question  of  time  when  our  farmers  will  supply 
sufficient  tea  for  home  consumption."  Mr.  Shepard  calls  attention  to  the  fact 
that  this  undertaking  is  largely  experimental  in  character;  he  believes  the 
present  indications  promise  that  the  venture  will  prove  profitable,  although  the 
object  in  view  is  only  in  part  industrial.  One  of  the  chief  commercial  difficul- 
ties is  the  relatively  high  price  of  labor  in  the  United  States  compared  with  that 
in  the  countries  in  which  tea  is  produced  at  present. 
The  product  has  been  declared  to  be  equal  to  any  sent  to  the  United  States 
from  the  Orient.  All  that  has  been  offered  has  always  found  a  ready  sale.  Two 
photographic  reproductions  accompany  the  paper,  illustrating  the  process  of 
picking  the  leaves,  and  a  field  of  the  plants  two  years  old  raised  from  seeds. 
Almost  exactly  in  contradiction  to  the  foregoing,  is  a  statement  in  the 
Chemist  and  Druggist  for  April  2,  which  asserts  that  "tea  planting  in  the 
United  States  is  at  present  a  failure."    No  authority  for  this  sweeping  state- 
