During my five years of practical experience in the cultivation of this plant I have learned the importance of well drained ground, with porous open sub-soil for the cultivation of Ginseng. My experience with clay hard-pan with improper drainage has been very unsatisfactory, resulting from the loss of roots by rot. Clay hard-pan sub-soil should be tile-drained.
Experience and observation have taught me that Ginseng seed is delicate stuff to handle and it is a hard matter to impress upon people the importance of taking care of it. I have always distinctly stated that it must not be allowed to get dry and must be kept in condition to promote germination from the time it is gathered until sown. Where a consider able quantity is to be cared for, the berries should be packed in fine, dry sifted sand soon after they are gathered, using three quarts of sand and two quarts of berries. The moisture of the berries will dampen the sand sufficiently. But if only a few are to be packed the sand should be damp.
Place one-half inch sand in box and press smooth. On this place a layer of berries; cover with sand, press, and repeat the operation until box is full, leaving one-half inch of sand on top; on this place wet cloth and cover with board. Place box in cellar or cool shady place. The bottom of the box should not be tight. A few gimlet holes with paper over them to keep the sand from sifting thru will be all right. Any time after two or three months, during which time the seeds have lost their pulp and nothing but the seed itself remains, seed may be sifted out, washed, tested and repacked in damp sand until ready to sow.
Since it takes the seed eighteen months to germinate, seed that has been kept over one season should be planted in August or September. I like to get my old crop of seed out of the way before the new crop is harvested, and also because my experience has been that early sowing gives better results than late.
One should be careful in building his Ginseng garden that he does not get sides closed too tight and thus prevent a free circulation of air going thru the garden, for if such is the case during a rainy period the garden is liable to become infected with the leaf spot and fungus diseases.
The drop in price of cultivated root was caused chiefly thru high manuring, hasty and improper drying of the root. In order to bring back the cultivated root to its former standing among the Chinese, we must cease high manuring and take more pains and time in drying the root, and then we will have a steady market for American cultivated root for years to come.
J. V. Hardacre, Geauga County, Ohio.
In 1900 I went to the woods and secured about fifty plants of various sizes and set them in the shade of some peach and plum trees in a very fertile spot. They came up in 1901, that is, part of them did, but the chickens had access to them and soon destroyed the most of them, that is, the tops.
In 1902 only a few bunches came up, and through neglect (for I never gave them any care) the weeds choked them and they did no good. In 1903 the spirit of Ginseng growing was revived in me and I prepared suitable beds, shade and soil, and went to work in earnest. I secured several more plants and reset those that I had been trying to grow without care. In 1904 my plants came up nicely. I also secured several hundred more plants and set them in my garden.
The plants grew well and I harvested about 1,000 seed in the fall. Several Ginseng gardens were injured by a disease that seemed to scald the leaves and then the stalk became affected. In a short time the whole top of the plant died, but the root remained alive. My Ginseng was not affected in this way, or at least I did not notice it.
In 1905 I had a nice lot of plants appear and they grew nicely for a while, and as I was showing a neighbor thru the garden he pointed out the appearance of the disease that had affected most of the gardens in this county the previous year, and was killing the tops off of all the Ginseng in them this year. I began at once to fight for the lives of my plants by cutting off all affected parts and burning them.
I also took a watering pot and sprinkled the plants with Bordeaux Mixture. This seemed to help, and but few of the plants died outright.
I harvested several thousand seed. I placed the seed in a box of moist sand and placed them in the cellar and about one-third of them were germinated by the following spring, and there was not another garden in this vicinity, to my knowledge, that secured any seed. This fact caused me to think that spraying with Bordeaux Mixture would check the disease. It was certain that if the disease could not be prevented or quit of its own accord, Ginseng could not be grown in this county.
In 1906 my plants came up nicely and grew as in the previous season. I noticed the disease on some of the plants about the last of May so I began removing the affected parts, also to sprinkle with Bordeaux Mixture with about the same results as the year before. In the fall I harvested about twelve or fifteen thousand seed.
I might say here that I sprinkled the plants about every two or three weeks. I raised the only seed that was harvested in this vicinity, and most all the large "seng" was dried and sold out of their gardens.
Early in 1907 I secured a compressed air sprayer, for I had come to the conclusion that spraying would be lots better than sprinkling. On the appearance of the first plants in the spring I began spraying and sprayed every week or ten days until about the first of September. I saved the life of most of my plants.
For an experiment I left about five feet of one bed of two-year-old plants unsprayed. It grew nicely until about the 10th of June, then the disease struck it, and in about two or three weeks it was about all dead, while the remainder that was sprayed lived thru till frost, and many of them bore seed. I harvested about 20,000 seed in the fall.
I believe if I had not persisted in the spraying I would not have harvested one fully matured seed, for none of my neighbors secured any. In September, 1906, I dug one bed of large roots thinly set on a bed 4x16 feet which netted me $8.49.
In September, 1907, I dug a bed 4x20 feet which netted me $19.31.
This is my experience. Of course I have omitted method of preparing beds, shade, etc.
A. C Herrin, Pulaski County, Ky.
Many inquiries are continually being received concerning Ginseng, Some of the many questions propounded are as follows: Is Ginseng growing profitable? Is it a difficult crop to grow? How many years will it take to grow marketable roots? When is the best time to set plants and sow the seed? What kind of soil is best adapted to the crop? Does the crop need shade while growing? Do the tops of Ginseng plants die annually? Must the roots be dried before marketable? What time of year do you dig the roots? Does the cultivation of the plants require much labor? What are the roots used for and where does one find the best markets? About what are the dry roots worth per pound? How are the roots dried? How many roots does it take to make a pound? Have you sold any dry roots yet from your garden? How long does it take the seed of Ginseng to germinate?
Do you sow the seeds broadcast or plant in drills? How far apart should the plants be set? Do you mulch beds in winter? Is it best to reset seedlings the first year? How many plants does it require to set an acre? What is generally used for shading? Has the plant or root any enemies? When does the seed ripen? How wide do you make your beds? Do you fertilize your soil? Will the plants bear seed the first year? What price do plants and seed usually bring? What does the seed look like?
It will be almost impossible to answer all of the above questions, but will try to give a few points regarding Ginseng and Ginseng growing which may help some reader out. In the spring of 1899 I began experimenting with a few Ginseng plants, writes an Indiana party, and at present have thousands of plants coming along nicely from one to seven years old. Last fall I planted about eight pounds of new seed. The mature roots are very profitable at present prices. They are easily grown if one knows how. It takes about five years to grow marketable roots.
The seed is planted in August and September; the plants set in September and October. A rich, dark sandy loam is the most desirable soil for the crop, which requires shade during growth. The plants are perennial, dying down in the fall and reappearing in the spring. The roots must be dried for market. They should be dug some time in October. Cultivation of the crop is comparatively simple and easy. The crop is practically exported from this country to China, where the roots are largely used for medicinal purposes. The best prices are paid in New York, Chicago, Cincinnati and San Francisco. Dry roots usually bring $4.00 to $8.00 per pound as to quality. The drying is accomplished the same way fruit is dried. The number of roots in a pound depends on their age and size.
The seed of Ginseng germinates in eighteen months. Sow the seed in drill rows and set the plants about eight inches apart each way. Mulch the beds with forest leaves in the fall. The seedlings should be reset the first year. It requires about 100,000 plants to cover an acre. The shade for the crop is usually furnished by the use of lath or brush on a stationary frame built over the garden.
Moles and mice are the only enemies of Ginseng and sometimes trouble the roots, but are usually quite easily kept out. The seed of Ginseng ripens in August. Seed beds are usually made four feet wide. The best fertilizer is leaf mould from the woods. The plants will not bear much seed the first year. The price of both seed and plants varies considerably. The seed looks like those of tomatoes, but is about ten times larger.
Ginseng is usually found growing wild in the woods where beech, sugar and poplar grow. The illustration shows a plant with seed. Early in the season, say June and early July, there is no stem showing seed. (See cover.)
The plant usually has three prongs with three large leaves and has small ones on each stem. Note the illustration closely. Sometimes there are four prongs, but the number of leaves on each prong is always five — three large and two small.
The leading Ginseng states are West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. It is also found in considerable quantities in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, New York, and even north into Southern Canada. It is also found in other Central and Southern states.
During the past few years the wild root has been dug very close, and in states where two or three years ago Ginseng was fairly plentiful is now considerably thinned out. In some sections "sengers" follow the business of digging the wild root from June to October. They make good wages quite often. It is these "sengers" that have destroyed the wild crop and paved the way for the growers. The supply of wild root will no doubt become less each year, unless prices go down so that there will not be the profit in searching for it.
Cultivated root being larger than wild takes more care in drying. Improper drying will materially impair the root and lessen its value.
It is those who study the soil and give attention to their fruit that make a success of it. The same applies to growing Ginseng and other medicinal plants.
When buying plants or seeds to start a garden it will be well to purchase from some one in about your latitude as those grown hundreds of miles north or south are not apt to do so well.
Ginseng culture is now carried on in nearly all states east of the Mississippi River as well as a few west. The leading Ginseng growing states, however, are New York, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Minnesota.
Thruout the "Ginseng producing section" the plants are dug by "sengers" from early spring until late fall. The roots are sold to the country merchants for cash or exchanged for merchandise. The professional digger usually keeps his "seng" until several pounds are collected, when it is either shipped to some dealer or taken to the county seat or some town where druggists and others make the buying of roots part of their business. Here the digger could always get cash for roots which was not always the case at the country store.
Quite often we hear some one say that the Chinese will one of these days quit using Ginseng and there will be no market for it. There is no danger, or at least no more than of our people giving up the use of tea and coffee. Ginseng has been in constant use in China for hundreds of years and they are not apt to forsake it now.
The majority of exporters of Ginseng to China are Chinamen who are located in New York and one or two cities on the Pacific coast. There is a prejudice in China against foreigners so that the Chinamen have an advantage in exporting. Few dealers in New York or elsewhere export — they sell to the Chinamen who export.
The making of Bordeaux Mixture is not difficult. Put 8 pounds bluestone in an old sack or basket and suspend it in a 50-gallon barrel of water. In another barrel of same size, slack 8 pounds of good stone lime and fill with water. This solution will keep. When ready to use, stir briskly and take a pail full from each barrel and pour them at the same time into a third barrel or tub. This is "Bordeaux Mixture." If insects are to be destroyed at the same time, add about 4 ounces of paris green to each 50 gallons of Bordeaux. Keep the Bordeaux well stirred and put on with a good spray pump. Half the value in spraying is in doing it thoroughly.
It is our opinion that there will be a demand for Seneca and Ginseng for years. The main thing for growers to keep in mind is that it is the wild or natural flavor that is wanted. To attain this see that the roots are treated similar to those growing wild. To do this, prepare beds of soil from the woods where the plants grow, make shade about as the trees in the forests shade the plants, and in the fall see that the beds are covered with leaves. Study the nature of the plant as it grows wild in the forest and make your "cultivated" plants "wild" by giving them the same conditions as if they were growing wild in the forest. As mentioned in a former number, an easy way to grow roots is in the native forest. The one drawback is from thieves.
The above appeared as an editorial in the Hunter-Trader-Trapper, August, 1905.
Growing Ginseng and Golden Seal will eventually become quite an industry, but as we have said before, those that make the greatest success at the business, will follow as closely as possible the conditions under which the plants grow in the forests, in their wild state. Therein the secret lies. There is no class of people better fitted to make a success at the business than hunters and trappers, for they know something of its habits, especially those of the Eastern, Central and Southern States, where the plants grow wild. There is no better or cheaper way to engage in the business than to start your "garden" in a forest where the plant has grown. Forests where beech, sugar and poplar grow are usually good for Ginseng. The natural forest shade is better than the artificial.
This is a business that hunters and trappers can carry on to advantage for the work on the "gardens" is principally done during the "off" hunting and trapping season.
The writer has repeatedly cautioned those entering the business of Ginseng culture to be careful. The growing of Ginseng has not proven the "gold mine" that some advertisers tried to make the public believe, but at the same time those who went at the business in a business-like manner have accomplished good results — have been well paid for their time. In this connection notice that those that have dug wild root for years are the most successful. Why? Because they are the ones whose "gardens" are generally in the forests or at least their plants are growing under conditions similar to their wild state. Therein the secret lies.
The majority of farmers, gardeners, etc., know that splendid sweet potatoes are grown in the lands of the New Jersey meadows. The potatoes are known thruout many states as "Jersey Sweets" and have a ready sale. Suppose the same potato was grown in some swampy middle state, would the same splendid "Jersey Sweet" be the result? Most assuredly not. If the same kind of sandy soil which the sweet potato thrives in in New Jersey is found the results will be nearer like the Jersey.
Again we say to the would-be grower of medicinal roots or plants to observe closely the conditions under which the roots thrive in their wild state and cultivate likewise, that is, grow in the same kind of soil, same density of shade, same kind and amount of mulch (leaves, etc.) as you observe the wild plant.
The growing of medicinal plants may never be a successful industry for the large land owner, for they are not apt to pay so much attention to the plants as the person who owns a small place and is engaged in fruit growing or poultry raising. The business is not one where acres should be grown, in fact we doubt if any one will ever be successful in growing large areas. The person who has acres of forest land should be able to make a good income by simply starting his "gardens in the woods." The shade is there, as well as proper mulch, etc. In fact it is the forest where most of the valuable medicinal plants grow of their own accord. The conditions of the soil are there to produce the correct flavor. Some of the growers who are trying to produce large roots quickly are having trouble in selling their production. The dealers telling them that their roots have not the wild natural flavor — but have indications of growing too quickly and are probably cultivated.
While plants can be successfully cultivated by growing under conditions similar to the forest yet if there are forest lands near, you had better make your "gardens" there. This will save shading. In the north, say Canada, New England and states bordering on Canada, shading need not be so thick as farther south. In those states, if on high land, even a south slope may be used.
In other states a northern or eastern slope is preferred, altho if the shading is sufficiently heavy "gardens" thrive. Read what the various growers say before you start in the business, for therein you will find much of value. They have made mistakes and point these out to others.
From 1892 to 1897 the writer was on the road for a Zanesville, Ohio, firm as buyer of raw furs, hides, pelts and tallow. The territory covered was Southern Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Northern Kentucky. During that time Ginseng was much more plentiful than now. Once at Portsmouth a dealer from whom I occasionally bought hides, had 21 sugar barrels full of dried seng — well on to 3,000 pounds. It was no uncommon thing to see lots of 100 to 500 pounds. I did not make a business of buying seng and other roots, as it was not handled to any great extent by the house I traveled for, altho I did buy a few lots ranging from 5 to 100 pounds, The five years that I traveled the territory named I should say that I called upon dealers who handled 100,000 pounds or 20,000 annually. This represented probably one-fifth of the collection. These dealers of course had men out.
Just what the collection of Ginseng in that territory is now I am unable to say as I have not traveled the territory since 1900, but from what the dealers and others say am inclined to think the collection is only about 10% what it was in the early '90s.
This shows to what a remarkable extent the wild root has decreased. The same decrease may not hold good in all sections, yet it has been heavy and unless some method is devised the wild root will soon be a thing of the past.
Diggers should spare the young plants. These have small roots and do not add much in value to their collection. If the young plants were passed by for a few years the production of the forest — the wild plant — could be prolonged indefinitely.
A root buyer for a Charleston, W. Va., firm, who has traveled a great deal thru the wild Ginseng sections of West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana and Ohio says: The root is secured in greatest quantities from the states in the order named. Golden seal is probably secured in greatest quantities from the states as follows: West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri, Pennsylvania. A great deal is also secured from Western States and the North.
The "sengers" start out about the middle of May, altho the root is not at the best until August. At that time the bur is red and the greatest strength is in the root.
Many make it a business to dig seng during the summer. Some years ago I saw one party of campers where the women (the entire family was along) had simply cut holes thru calico for dresses, slipping same over the head and tied around the waist — not a needle or stitch of thread had been used in making these garments.
Some of these "sengers" travel with horses and covered rig. These dig most of the marketable roots. Others travel by foot carrying a bag to put Ginseng in over one shoulder and over the other a bag in which they have a piece of bacon and a few pounds of flour. Thus equipped they stay out several days. The reason these men only dig Ginseng is that the other roots are not so valuable and too heavy to carry. Sometimes these men dig Golden Seal when near the market or about ready to return for more supplies.
Some years ago good wages were made at digging wild roots but for the past few years digging has been so persistent that when a digger makes from $1.00 to $2.00 per day he thinks it is good.
Some say that the Ginseng growing business will soon be overdone and the market over-supplied and prices will go to $1.00 per pound or less for dried root. If all who engage in the business were able to successfully grow the plant such might be the case. Note the many that have failed. Several complain that their beds in the forests are infested with many ups and downs from such causes as damp blight, root rot, animals and insect pests. A few growers report that mice did considerable damage in the older beds by eating the neck and buds from the roots.
There seems to be a mistaken idea in regard to "gardens in the forest." Many prepare their beds in the forests, plant and cultivate much the same as the grower under artificial shade. While this is an improvement over the artificial shade, fertilized and thickly planted bed, it is not the way that will bring best and lasting results.
Why? Because plants crowded together will contract diseases much sooner than when scattered. One reason of many failures is that the plants were too thick. Those that can "grow" in the forests are going to be the ones that make the greatest success. Farmers, horticulturists, gardeners, trappers, hunters, guides, fishermen who have access to forest land should carefully investigate the possibilities of medicinal root culture.
Those who have read of the fortune to be made at growing Ginseng and other medicinal roots in their backyard on a small plat (say a rod or two) had best not swallow the bait. Such statements were probably written by ignorant growers who knew no better or possibly they had seed and plants for sale. Ginseng growing, at best, should be done by persons who know something of plants, their habits, etc, as well as being familiar with soil and the preparation of same for growing crops.
In reply to E. T. Flanegan and others who wish to know how to use Ginseng as a medicine, I will suggest this way for a general home made use, says a writer in Special Crops. Take very dry root, break it up with a hammer and grind it thru a coffee mill three or four times till reduced to a fine powder. Then take three ounces of powder and one ounce of milk sugar. To the milk sugar add sixty drops of oil of wintergreen and mix all the powders by rubbing them together and bottle. Dose one teaspoonful, put into a small teacupful of boiling water. Let it stay a little short of boiling point ten minutes. Then cool and drink it all, hot as can be borne, before each meal. It may be filtered and the tea served with cream and sugar with the meal. Made as directed this is a high grade and a most pleasant aromatic tea and has a good effect on the stomach, brain and nervous system. To those who have chronic constipation, I would advise one fourth grain of aloin, taken every night, or just enough to control the constipation, while taking the Ginseng tea. If the evening dose of Ginseng be much larger it is a good safe hypnotic, producing good natural sleep.
The writer prefers the above treatment to all the whiskey and patent medicine made. To those who are damaged or made nervous by drinking coffee or tea, quit the coffee or tea and take Ginseng tea as above directed. It is most pleasant tasted and a good medicine for your stomach. I do not know just how the Chinese prepare it into medicine, but I suppose much of it is used in a tea form as well as a tincture. As it is so valuable a medicine their mode of administration has been kept a secret for thousands of years. There must be some medical value about it of great power or the Chinese could not pay the price for it. It has been thought heretofore that the Chinese were a superstitious people and Used Ginseng thru ignorance, but as we get more light on the medical value of the plant the plainer it gets that it is us fellows — the Americans — that have been and are yet in the "shade" and in a dark shade, too. We think the time not far off when it will be recognized as a medical plant and a good one, too, and its great medical value be made known to the world.
For several years past I have been experimenting with Ginseng as a medical agent and of late I have prescribed, or rather added it, to the treatment of some cases of rheumatism. I remember one instance in particular of a middle-aged man who had gone the rounds of the neighborhood doctors and failed of relief, when he employed me. After treating him for several weeks and failing to entirely relieve him, more especially the distress in bowels and back, I concluded to add Ginseng to his treatment. After using the medicine he returned, saying the last bottle had served him so well that he wanted it filled with the same medicine as before. I attribute the curative properties of Ginseng in rheumatism to stimulating to healthy action of the gastric juices; causing a healthy flow of the digestive fluids of the stomach, thereby neutralizing the extra secretion of acid that is carried to the nervous membranes of the body and joints, causing the inflammatory condition incident to rheumatism.
Ginseng combined with the juices of a good ripe pineapple is par excellent as a treatment for indigestion. It stimulates the healthy secretion of pepsin, thereby insuring good digestion without incurring the habit of taking pepsin or after-dinner pills to relieve the fullness and distress so common to the American people. The above compound prepared with good wine in the proper way will relieve many aches and pains of a rebellious stomach; and if I should advise or prescribe a treatment for the old "sang digger" who is troubled with dyspepsia or foul stomach, I would tell him to take some of your own medicine and don't be selling all to the Chinamen.
I want to repeat here what I have often said to "sengers" of my acquaintance, especially those "get-rich-quick" fellows who have been dumping their half-grown and poorly cured Ginseng on the market, thereby killing the good-will of the celestial for a market and destroying the sale of those who cultivate clean and matured roots; they had much better give their roots time to mature in their gardens and if the market price is not what it ought to be to compensate for the labor, they had better hold over another season before selling. I have all the product of last season in Ginseng and Golden Seal in my possession, for the reason that the price did not suit me. Drug manufacturers ask $7.00 per pound for Fluid Extract Golden Seal wholesale. When they can make from one-half pound dried root one pound Fluid Extract Golden Seal costing them 75 cents, that's a pretty good profit for maceration and labeling.
Ginseng has been used to some extent as a domestic medicine in the United States for many years. As far as I can learn, the home use is along the line of tonic and stimulant to the digestive and the nervous system. Many people have great faith in the power of the Ginseng root to increase the general strength and appetite as well as to relieve eructations from the stomach. As long ago as Bigelow's time, some wonderful effects are recorded of the use of half a root in the increase of the general strength and the removal of fatigue. Only the other day a young farmer told me that Ginseng tea was a good thing to break up an acute cold and I think you will find it used for rheumatism and skin diseases. It undoubtedly has some effect on the circulation, perhaps thru its action on the nervous system and to this action is probably due its ascribed anti-spasmodic properties.
The use of Ginseng has largely increased within the last few years and several favorable reports have been published in the medical journals. One physician, whose name and medium of publication I cannot now recall, speaks highly of its anti-spasmodic action in relieving certain forms of hiccough. If this is true, it places it at once among the important and powerful anti-spasmodics and suggests its use in other spasmodic and reflex nervous diseases as whooping cough, asthma, etc.
I have practiced medicine for eight years. I sold my practice one year ago and since have devoted my entire attention to the cultivation of Ginseng and experimenting with Ginseng in diseases and am satisfied that it is all that the Chinese claim for it; and, if the people of the United States were educated as to its use, our supply would be consumed in our own country and it would be a hard blow to the medical profession.
It would make too long an article for me to enumerate the cases that I have cured; but, I think it will suffice to say that I have cured every case where I have used it with one exception and that was a case of consumption in its last stages; but the lady and her husband both told me that it was the only medicine that she took during her illness that did her any good. The good it did her was by loosening her cough; she could give one cough and expectorate from the lungs without any exertion. I believe it is the best medicine for consumption in its first stages and will probably cure.
I wish the readers of Special Crops to try it in their own families — no difference what the disease is. Make a tea of it. A good way is to grate it in a nutmeg grater. Grate what would make about 15 grains, or about one-fourth to one-half teaspoonful and add half a pint or less of boiling water. The dose to be taken at meal times and between meals. In a cold on the lungs it will cure in two or three days, if care is taken and the patient is not exposed.
My theory is that disease comes from indigestion directly or indirectly. Ginseng is the medicine that will regulate the digestion and cure the disease no difference by what name it is called; if the disease can be cured. Ginseng will cure it where no other drug will.
I will cite one case; a neighbor lady had been treated by two different physicians for a year for a chronic cough. I gave her some Ginseng and told her to make a tea of it and take it at meal times and between meals; in two weeks I saw her and she told me that she was cured and that she never took any medicine that did her so much good, saying that it acted as a mild cathartic and made her feel good. She keeps Ginseng in her house now all the time and takes a dose or two when she does not feel well.
I am satisfied that wonderful cures can be made with Ginseng and am making them myself, curing patients that doctors have given up; and if handled properly our supply will not equal the demand at home in course of five or six years, thus increasing the price.
At the last annual meeting of the Michigan Ginseng Association, Dr. H. S. McMaster of Cass Co. presented a paper on the uses of this plant, which appeared in the Michigan Farmer. He spoke in part as follows:
"Ginseng is a mild, non-poisonous plant, well adapted to domestic as well as professional uses. In this respect it may be classed with such herbs as boneset, oxbalm, rhubarb and dandelion. The medicinal qualities are known to be a mild tonic, stimulant, nervine and stomachic. It is especially a remedy for ills incident to old age.
"Two well-known preparations made — or said to be — from Ginseng root are on the market. One of these, called "Seng," has been for many years on druggists' shelves. It is sometimes used for stomach troubles and with good results. I think it is now listed by the leading drug houses.
"Another called 'Ginseng Tone' is a more recent preparation, and is highly spoken of as a remedy. But for home or domestic use we would suggest the following methods of preparing this drug:
"1st. The simplest preparation and one formerly used to some extent by the pioneers of our forest lands, is to dig, wash and eat the green root, or to pluck and chew the green leaves. Ginseng, like boneset, aconite and lobelia, has medicinal qualities in the leaf.
"To get the best effect, like any other medicine it should be taken regularly from three to six times a day and in medicinal quantities. In using the green root we would suggest as a dose a piece not larger than one to two inches of a lead pencil, and of green leaves one to three leaflets. These, however, would be pleasanter and better taken in infusion with a little milk and sweetened and used as a warm drink as other teas are.
"2nd. The next simplest form of use is the dried root carried in the pocket, and a portion as large as a kernel of corn, well chewed, may be taken every two or three hours. Good results come from this mode of using, and it is well known that the Chinese use much of the root in this way.
"3d. Make a tincture of the dried root, or leaves. The dried root should be grated fine, then the root, fiber or leaves, separately or together, may be put into a fruit jar and barely covered with equal parts of alcohol and water. If the Ginseng swells, add a little more alcohol and water to keep it covered. Screw top on to keep from evaporating. Macerate in this way 10 to 14 days, strain off and press all fluid out, and you have a tincture of Ginseng. The dose would be 10 to 15 drops for adults.
"Put an ounce of this tincture in a six-ounce vial, fill the vial with a simple elixir obtained at any drug store, and you have an elixir of Ginseng, a pleasant medicine to take. The dose is one teaspoonful three or four times a day.
"The tincture may be combined with the extracted juice of a ripe pineapple for digestion, or combined with other remedies for rheumatism or other maladies.
"4th. Lastly I will mention Ginseng tea, made from the dry leaves or blossom umbels. After the berries are gathered, select the brightest, cleanest leaves from mature plants. Dry them slowly about the kitchen stove in thick bunches, turning and mixing them until quite dry, then put away in paper sacks.
"Tea from these leaves is steeped as you would ordinary teas, and may be used with cream and sugar. It is excellent for nervous indigestion.
"These home preparations are efficacious in neuralgia, rheumatism, gout, irritation of bronchi or lungs from cold, gastro-enteric indigestion, weak heart, cerebro-spinal and other nervous affections, and is especially adapted to the treatment of young children as well as the aged. Ginseng is a hypnotic, producing sleep, an anodyne, stimulant, nerve tonic and slightly laxative."
With the exception of tea, says the Paint, Oil and Drug Review, Ginseng is the most celebrated plant in all the Orient. It may well be called the "cure-all" as the Chinese have a wonderful faith in its curative and strengthening properties, and it has been appropriately called the "cinchona of China." It is considered to be a sovereign cure for fevers and weaknesses of all kinds, and is, indeed, the chief and most costly medicine of the Chinese Empire.
Ginseng is found wild in the mountain forests of eastern Asia from Nepa to Manchuria. It once grew in Fukien, Kaighan and Shansi, but was supplanted by the Manchuria wild root. The root is carefully hunted for by the Manchus, who boast that the weeds of their country are the choice drugs of the Chinese, a boast which has much foundation in fact. Of the thirty-seven ports in China where the imperial maritime customs are established to import Ginseng, imports during 1905 were as follows: Shanghai, 103,802 pounds; Wuhu, 2,374; Kiuhiang, 2,800; Hankow, American clarified, 34,800; Wenchau 9,100; Chungking, American clarified, 6,200; Chefoo, 80,408; Canton, 75,800, and Foochow, 15,007.
The total importation at these ports for the last four years were: 1902, 407,021 pounds; 1903, 404,000 pounds; 1904, 313,598 pounds, and 1905, 331,381 pounds. These figures, however, by no means cover all the Ginseng entering China, as much of it comes thru the native custom houses, which keep no tabulated data of exports and imports, and great quantities of it are smuggled into the country, especially over the Korean boundary line. Niuchwang is the one Chinese port which exports native Ginseng. Its exports for the last four years were, respectively, 228,000, 215,000, 57,000 and 160,900 pounds.
To give an accurate price for Ginseng would be impossible, so greatly does it differ from the variety of the root offered to consumers. Some wild roots have been known to realize their weight in gold; while the cultivated variety can be purchased from 5 cents a pound up. Generally speaking, the present average prices are, for the best Ginseng, $12.00 a pound; for fair quality, $6.50, and for the ordinary, 50 cents to $1.00. Japan sends to China the cheapest Ginseng, a great deal of which is used to adulterate the highest quality from Korea.
In values and quality of the root the four principal producing countries rank as follows: Manchuria, Korea, America and Japan. Prices often vary in accordance with the method used in clarifying the root. Some Chinese provinces prefer it white, others reddish and still others require it of a yellowish tinge. The Korean root is reddish in color, due, some say, to the ferruginous soil on which it grows, and, according to others, to a peculiar process of clarifying. Most of the Korean product goes to southern China by way of Hongkong.
Wild Ginseng, from whatever country, always commands a better price than the cultivated article, chiefly because of Chinese superstition, which prefers root resembling man or some grotesque creature to that of the regular normal roots which cultivation naturally tends to produce. Chinese druggists, when questioned as to the real difference between the Manchuria wild and the American cultivated Ginseng root, admit that the difference in quality is mostly imaginary, altho there is a real difference in the appearance of the roots.
But the Manchuria Ginseng comes from the Emperor's mother country and from the same soil whence sprang the "god of heaven" and therefore the Chinese regard it as infinitely more efficacious as a curative agent than any other Ginseng could possibly be. Many assert that the future demand for Ginseng will be a decreasing one, from the fact that its imaginary properties of curing every disease on earth will be dissipated in proportion to the advance of medical science. There can be no doubt, however, that Ginseng does possess certain curative properties and it can be safely asserted that it will require many generations, perhaps centuries, to shake the Chinaman's faith in his mysterious time-honored cure-all.
American Ginseng, of which large quantities are annually exported to China, is classed, as a rule, with hsiyang, that is, west ocean, foreign or western country Ginseng. The imports of this article at Niuchwang for 1905 amounted in value to $4,612 gold. The exports of Manchurian Ginseng thru Niuchwang to Chinese ports for 1905 aggregated in value $180,199 gold and for 1904, $205,431 gold. Wild Manchuria Ginseng is rare, even in Manchuria, and its estimated valuation ranges at present from $450 to $600 gold a pound.
The total imports of Ginseng into China for 1904 aggregated 277 tons, valued at $932,173.44 and for 1905 to 1,905 tons, valued at $1,460,206.59. The increased valuation of the imports of last year emphasizes the increased price of Ginseng in the Chinese market.
Hsiyang, or American Ginseng, is marketed in China largely thru Hongkong and Shanghai foreign commission houses. Importations of the American product are increasing in bulk with each succeeding year, and the business gives every indication of becoming a very large one in a short time.
In most of the booklets and articles we have seen on Ginseng, the writers quote exorbitant figures as to what the root sells for in China. A good many of them quote from reports received from U. S. Consuls, who, when they give prices, reckon on Mexican dollars which are only about half the value of ours and some of them go so far as to quote retail prices for very small quantities of extra quality root.
Some of the growers and dealers in this country, therefore, imagine that they are not paid what they should be for their stock and that there is an enormous profit for the men who ship to China. Such is an entirely wrong idea and can be best proven by the fact that during the past couple of years three of the leading export houses have gone out of business, owing to there being no money in it. We do not know of any business conducted on as small a percentage profit as Ginseng. Frequently prices paid in this country are in excess of the market in China.
This not only means a direct loss to the exporter on his goods but also the cost of making clean (removing fibres, siftings and stems) shrinkage, insurance and freight. Business is also conducted on different lines from years ago. Then the buyers in China bought readily, prices were lower and more people could afford to use it.
Today, prices are tripled and while the supply is smaller, the demand is very much less and Chinese buyers make the exporters carry it until they really need it, in a good many cases buying root and not taking it for three or four months, and consequently keeping the exporters without their money. The expense of carrying Ginseng is also heavy owing to the high rate of interest, which is 8% and over.
The folly of depending upon U. S. Consul reports is shown in the great difference in the figures which they send. Many of these men have but very little knowledge of business, most of them knowing more about politics. It is not likely that this class of men will spend very much time in investigating a subject of this character.
The market here for wild root since June 1st has been the dullest we have ever known and the same condition prevails in China. We are glad to state that cultivated root is selling at much better prices than last year. It is hard to account for the disfavor with which it was regarded a year ago in China, and the prejudice against it has been overcome more rapidly than we expected. At this time last year it was almost unsalable and we were buying as low as $3.00 to $4.00 per pound. Many houses declined to buy at all.
Now that the prejudice against it has sort of worn off, we look for a good market and consider the outlook very favorable and would advise people not to give up their gardens in too great a hurry. We make a specialty of cultivated root and will be pleased to give information as to handling, drying, etc., to any reader who desires it. We have been buying Ginseng for over thirty years.
Belt, Butler Co. New York.
Consul-General Amos P. Wilder of Hongkong, in response to numerous American inquiries as to the trade in Ginseng, with especial reference to the cultivated root, prices and importations, reports as follows:
The Ginseng business is largely in the hands of the Chinese, the firms at Hongkong and Canton having American connections. (The five leading Hongkong Chinese firms in the Ginseng importing business are named by Mr. Wilder, as also the leading "European" importing concern, and all the addresses are obtainable from the Bureau of Manufacturers).
I am authorized to say that American growers may correspond with the European concern direct relative to large direct shipments. They receive goods only on consignment and have some forty years' standing in this industry. This firm, as do the Chinese, buys in bulk and distributes thru jobbers to the medicine shops, which abound in all Chinese communities. The Cantonese have prestige in cleaning and preparing the root for market.
Last year the best quality of Ginseng brought from $2,000 to $2,300 Mexican per picul (equal to 133 1/2 pounds), but selected roots have brought $2,400 to $2,550. It is estimated here that growers should net about $7.25 gold per pound. The buying price of Ginseng is uncertain. There being no standard, no price can be fixed. The American-Chinese shippers have the practice of withholding the Ginseng to accord with the demand in China. Owing to failures among Chinese merchants since the war and the confusion in San Francisco, trade in this industry has been slack and prices have fallen off. If the root is perfect and unbroken it is preferred. Much stress should be laid on shipping clean, perfect and attractive roots. Size, weight and appearance are factors in securing best prices, the larger and heavier the root the better.
When the shipment arrives the importer invites jobbers to inspect the same. The roots are imported in air-tight casks in weight of about 100 pounds. It is certain that there are many different qualities of Ginseng and the price is difficult to fix (except on inspection in China).
As to wild and cultivated roots, two or three years ago when cultivated Ginseng was new, buyers made no distinction and the price ruled the same; but having learned of the new industry, experts here assure me the roots can readily be distinguished. They say that the wild root is darker in color and rougher. The wild is preferred. Experts now allege a prejudice against the cultivated root, affirming that the wild root has a sweeter taste. The cultivated roots being larger and heavier, they first earned large prices, but are now at a disadvantage, altho marketable.