Ginseng has an annual stalk and perennial root. The first year the foliage does not closely resemble the mature plant, having only three leaves. It is usually in its third year that it a.s.sumes the characteristic leaves of maturity and becomes a seed-bearer. The photos which accompany give a more accurate idea of the plant"s appearance than is possible from a written description. The plants bloom very quickly after sprouting and the berries mature in August and September in most localities. When ripe, the berries are a rich deep crimson and contain usually two seeds each.
The seeds are peculiar in that it usually takes them about eighteen months to germinate and if allowed to become dry in the meantime, the vitality will be destroyed.
Western authorities have heretofore placed little value on Ginseng as a curative agent, but a number of recent investigations seem to reverse this opinion. The Chinese, however, have always placed the highest value upon it and millions have used and esteemed it for untold centuries. Its preparation and uses have never been fully understood by western people.
Our Consuls in China have at various times furnished our government with very full reports of its high value and universal use in the "Flowery Kingdom." From these we learn that "Imperial Ginseng," the highest grade grown in the royal parks and gardens, is jealously watched and is worth from $40.00 to $200.00 per pound. Of course its use is limited to the upper circle of China"s four hundred. The next quality comes from Korea and is valued at $15.00 to $35.00 per pound.
Its use is also limited to the lucky few. The third grade includes American Ginseng and is the great staple kind. It is used by every one of China"s swarming millions who can possibly raise the price.
The fourth grade is j.a.panese Ginseng and is used by those who can do no better.
Mr. Wildman, of Hong Kong, says: "The market for a good article is practically unlimited. There are four hundred million Chinese and all to some extent use Ginseng. If they can once become satisfied with the results obtained from the tea made from American Ginseng, the yearly demand will run up into the millions of dollars worth."
Another curious fact is that the Chinese highly prize certain peculiar shapes among these roots especially those resembling the human form. For such they gladly pay fabulous prices, sometimes six hundred times its weight in silver. The rare shapes are not used as medicine but kept as a charm, very much as some Americans keep a rabbit"s foot for luck.
Sir Edwin Arnold, that famous writer and student of Eastern peoples, says of its medicinal values: "According to the Chinaman, Ginseng is the best and most potent of cordials, of stimulants, of tonics, of stomachics, cardiacs, febrifuges, and, above all, will best renovate and reinvigorate failing forces. It fills the heart with hilarity while its occasional use will, it is said, add a decade of years to the ordinary human life. Can all these millions of Orientals, all those many generations of men, who have boiled Ginseng in silver kettles and have praised heaven for its many benefits, have been totally deceived? Was the world ever quite mistaken when half of it believed in something never puffed, nowhere advertised and not yet fallen to the fate of a Trust, a Combine or a Corner?"
It has been asked why the Chinese do not grow their own Ginseng. In reply it may be said that America supplies but a very small part indeed of the Ginseng used in China. The bulk comes from Korea and Manchuria, two provinces belonging to China, or at least which did belong to her until the recent Eastern troubles.
Again, Ginseng requires practically a virgin soil, and as China proper has been the home of teeming millions for thousands of years, one readily sees that necessary conditions for the plant hardly exist in that old and crowded country.
CHAPTER V.
GINSENG HABITS.
A few years ago Ginseng could be found in nearly every woods and thicket in the country. Today conditions are quite different. Ginseng has become a scarce article. The decrease in the annual crop of the wild root will undoubtedly be very rapid from this on. The continued search for the root in every nook and corner in the country, coupled with the decrease in the forest and thicket area of the country, must in a few years exterminate the wild root entirely.
To what extent the cultivated article in the meantime can supplant the decrease in the production of the wild root, is yet to be demonstrated. The most important points in domesticating the root, to my opinion, is providing shade, a necessary condition for the growth of Ginseng, and to find a fertilizer suitable for the root to produce a rapid growth. If these two conditions can be complied with, proper shade and proper fertilizing, the cultivation of the root is simplified. Now the larger wild roots are found in clay soil and not in rich loam. It seems reasonably certain that the suitable elements for the growth of the root is found in clay soil.
The "seng" digger often finds many roots close to the growing stalk, which had not sent up a shoot that year. For how many years the root may lie dormant is not known, nor is it known whether this is caused by lack of cultivation. I have noticed that the cultivated plant did not fail to sprout for five consecutive years. Whether it will fail the sixth year or the tenth is yet unknown. The seed of Ginseng does not sprout or germinate until the second year, when a slender stalk with two or three leaves puts in an appearance. Then as the stalk increases in size from year to year, it finally becomes quite a sizable shrub of one main stalk, from which branch three, four, or even more p.r.o.ngs; the three and four p.r.o.ngs being more common. A stalk of "seng" with eight well arranged p.r.o.ngs, four of which were vertically placed over four others, was found in this section (Southern Ohio) some years ago. This was quite an oddity in the general arrangement of the plant.
Ginseng is a plant found growing wild in the deep shaded forests and on the hillsides thruout the United States and Canada. Less than a score of years ago Ginseng was looked upon as a plant that could not be cultivated, but today we find it is successfully grown in many states. It is surprising what rapid improvements have been made in this valuable root under cultivation. The average cultivated root now of three or four years of age, will outweigh the average wild root of thirty or forty years.
When my brother and I embarked in the enterprise, writes one of the pioneers in the business, of raising Ginseng, we thought it would take twenty years to mature a crop instead of three or four as we are doing today. At that time we knew of no other person growing it and from then until the present time we have continually experimented, turning failures to success. We have worked from darkness to light, so to speak.
In the forests of Central New York, the plant is most abundant on hillsides sloping north and east, and in limestone soils where ba.s.swood or b.u.t.ternut predominate. Like all root crops, Ginseng delights in a light, loose soil, with a porous subsoil.
If a cultivated plant from some of our oldest grown seed and a wild one be set side by side without shading, the cultivated one will stand three times as long as the wild one before succ.u.mbing to excessive sunlight. If a germinated seed from a cultivated plant were placed side by side under our best mode of cultivation, the plant of the cultivated seed at the end of five years, would not only be heavier in the root but would also produce more seed.
In choosing a location for a Ginseng garden, remember the most favorable conditions for the plant or seed bed are a rich loamy soil, as you will notice in the home of the wild plant. You will not find it on low, wet ground or where the Water stands any length of time, it won"t grow with wet feet; it wants well drained soil. A first-cla.s.s location is on land that slopes to the east or north, and on ground that is level and good. Other slopes are all right, but not as good as the first mentioned. It does not do so well under trees, as the roots and fibers from them draw the moisture from the plant and r.e.t.a.r.d its growth.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Garden Grown Ginseng Plant.]
The variety of soil is so much different in the United States that it is a hard matter to give instructions that would be correct for all places. The best is land of a sandy loam, as I have mentioned before.
Clay land can be used and will make good gardens by mixing leaf mold, rotten wood and leaves and some lighter soil, pulverize and work it thru thoroughly. Pick out all sticks and stones that would interfere with the plants.
Ginseng is a most peculiar plant. It has held a place of high esteem among the Chinese from time immemorial. It hides away from man with seeming intelligence. It is shy of cultivation, the seed germinating in eighteen months as a rule, from the time of ripening and planting.
If the seeds become dry they lose, to a certain extent, their germinating power.
The young plant is very weak and of remarkably slow growth. It thrives only in virgin soil, and is very choice in its selection of a place to grow. Remove the soil to another place or cultivate it in any way and it loses its charm for producing this most fastidious plant.
It has a record upon which it keeps its age, or years of its growth, for it pa.s.ses a great many years in the ground, dormant. I have counted the age upon the record stem of small roots and found their age to be from 30 to 60 years. No plant with which I am acquainted grows as slowly as Ginseng.
A great many superst.i.tious notions are held by the people, generally, in regard to Ginseng. I think it is these natural peculiarities of the plant, together with the fancied resemblance of the root to man, and, also probably its aromatic odor that gives it its charm and value. Destroy it from the earth and the Materia Medica of civilization would lose nothing.
I notice that the cultivated root is not so high in price by some two dollars as the wild root. If the root is grown in natural environment and by natural cultivation, i. e., just let it grow, no Chinaman can tell it from the wild root.
We have at present, writes a grower, in our Ginseng patch about 3,500 plants and will this year get quite a lot of excellent seed. Our Ginseng garden is on a flat or bench on a north hillside near the top, that was never cleared. The soil is a sandy loam and in exposure and quality naturally adapted to the growth of this plant. The natural growth of timber is walnut, both black and white, oak, red bud, dogwood, sugar, maple, lin, poplar and some other varieties.
We cultivate by letting the leaves from the trees drop down upon the bed in the fall as a mulch and then in the early spring we burn the leaves off the bed. Our plants seem to like this treatment very well.
They are of that good Ginseng color which all Ginseng diggers recognize as indicative of good sized, healthy roots.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Northern Ginseng Plant in Bloom--June.]
I have had much experience in hunting the wild Ginseng roots, says another, and have been a close observer of its habits, conditions, etc. High shade is best with about one-half sun. The root is found mostly where there is good ventilation and drainage. A sandy porous loam produces best roots. Plants in dense shade fail to produce seed in proportion to the density of the shade. In high one-half shade they produce heavy crops of seed. Coa.r.s.e leaves that hold water will cause disease in rainy seasons. No leaves or mulch make stalks too low and stunted.
Ginseng is very wise and knows its own age. This age the plant shows in two ways. First, by the style of the foliage which changes each year until it is four years old. Second, the age can be determined by counting the scars on the neck of the bud-stem. Each year the stalk which carries the leaves and berries, goes down, leaving a scar on the neck or perennial root from which it grew. A new bud forms opposite and a little above the old one each year. Counting these stalk scars will give the age of the plant.
I have seen some very old roots and have been told that roots with fifty scars have been dug. The leaf on a seedling is formed of three small parts on a stem, growing directly out of a perennial root and during the first year it remains that shape. The second year the stem forks at the top and each fork bears two leaves, each being formed of five parts. The third year the stem forks three ways and bears three leaves, each formed of five parts, much like the Virginia creeper.
Now the plant begins to show signs of bearing seed and a small b.u.t.ton-shaped cl.u.s.ter of green berries can be seen growing in the forks of the stalk at the base of the leaf stem. The fourth year the perennial stalk grows as large around as an ordinary lead pencil and from one foot to twenty inches high. It branches four ways, and has four beautiful five-pointed leaves, with a large well-formed cl.u.s.ter of berries in the center. After the middle of June a pale green blossom forms on the top of each berry. The berries grow as large as a cherry pit and contain two or three flat hard seeds. In September they turn a beautiful red and are very attractive to birds and squirrels. They may be gathered each day as they ripen and should be planted directly in a bed, or put in a box of damp, clean sand and safely stored. If put directly in the ground they will sprout the first year, which advantage would be lost if stored dry.
A word to trappers about wild roots. When you find a plant gather the seed, and unless you want to plant them in your garden, bury them in the berry about an inch or inch and a half deep in some good, rich, shady place, one berry in each spot. Thus you will have plants to dig in later years, you and those who come after you. Look for it in the autumn after it has had time to mature its berries. Do not take up the little plants which have not yet become seed bearers.
CHAPTER VI.
CULTIVATION.
The forest is the home of the Ginseng plant and the closer we follow nature the better results we get. I am growing it now under artificial shade; also in the forest with natural shade, says an Ohio party. A good shade is made by setting posts in the ground, nail cross-pieces on these, then cover with brush. You must keep out the sun and let in the rain and this will do both. Another good shade is made by nailing laths across, allowing them to be one-half inch apart. This will allow the rain to pa.s.s thru and will keep the sun out. Always when using lath for shade allow them to run east and west, then the sun can"t shine between them.
In selecting ground for location of a Ginseng garden, the north side of a hill is best, altho where the ground is level it will grow well.
Don"t select a low marshy piece of ground nor a piece too high, all you want is ground with a good drainage and moisture. It is the opinion of some people that in a few years the market will be glutted by those growing it for sale. I will venture to say that I don"t think we can grow enough in fifty years to over-run the market. The demand is so great and the supply so scarce it will be a long time before the market will be affected by the cultivated root.
The market has been kept up entirely in the past by the wild root, but it has been so carelessly gathered that it is almost entirely exhausted, so in order to supply this demand we must cultivate this crop. I prepare my beds five feet wide and as long as convenient. I commence by covering ground with a layer of good, rich, loose dirt from the woods or well-rotted manure. Then I spade it up, turning under the rich dirt. Then I cover with another layer of the same kind of dirt in which I plant my seed and roots.
After I have them planted I cover the beds over with a layer of leaves or straw to hold the moisture, which I leave on all winter to protect them from the cold. In the spring I remove a part of the leaves (not all), they will come up thru the leaves as they do in their wild forest.
All the attention Ginseng needs after planting is to keep the weeds out of the beds. Never work the soil after planting or you will disturb the roots. It is a wild plant and we must follow nature as near as possible.
Ginseng can be profitably grown on small plots if it is cared for properly. There are three things influencing its growth. They are soil, shade and treatment. In its wild state the plant is found growing in rich leaf mold of a shady wood. So in cultivation one must conform to many of the same conditions in which the plant is found growing wild.
In starting a bed of Ginseng the first thing to be considered is the selection of soil. Tho your soil be very rich it is a good plan to cover it with three or four inches of leaf mold and spade about ten inches deep so that the two soils will be well mixed. Artificial shade is preferable at all times because trees take nearly all the moisture and strength out of the soil.
When the bed is well fitted, seed may be sown or plants may be set out. The latter is the quicker way to obtain results. If seeds are sown the young grower is apt to become discouraged before he sees any signs of growth, as it requires eighteen months for their germination. The cheapest way to get plants is to learn to recognize them at sight, then go to the woods and try to find them. With a little practice you will be able to tell them at some distance. Much care should be taken in removing the plant from the soil. The fewer fibers you break from the root, the more likely it will be to grow.
Care should also be taken not to break the bud on top of the root. It is the stalk of the plant starting for the next year, and is very noticeable after June 1st. If it be broken or harmed the root will have no stalk the next season.
It is best to start a Ginseng garden on a well drained piece of land, says a Dodge County, Wisconsin, grower. Run the beds the way the hill slopes. Beds should only be four to five feet wide so that they can be reached, for walking on the beds is objectionable. Make your walks about from four to six inches below the beds, for an undrained bed will produce "root rot." The ground should be very rich and "mulchy."
Use well rotted horse manure in preparing the beds, for fresh manure will heat and hurt the plants. Use plenty of woods dirt, but very little manure of any kind.