ginseng harding 3

8/6/2019 Ginseng Harding 3

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CHAP TER VII .

SHADING AND BLIGH T.

In several years experience growing Ginseng, says a well knowngrower, I have had no trouble from blight when I shade and mulchenough to keep the soil properly cool, or below 65 degrees, as you willfind the temperature in the forests, where the wild plants grow best,even dur ing summ er days.

Some years ago I allowed the soil to get too warm, reaching 70 degreesor more. The blight at ta cked ma ny plants th en. This proved to me tha tgrowing th e plan ts u nder t he proper. tempera tu re ha s mu ch t o do withblight.

When fungus diseases get upon wild plants, that is plants growing inth e forest , in most cases it can be t ra ced to openings, forest fires a nd t hewoodma n's ax. This allows too mu ch su n t o str ike the plan ts a nd groun din which they are growing. If those engaged, or about to engage, inGinseng growing will study closely the conditions under which the wildplants flourish best, they can learn much that they will only find outafter years of experimen ting.

Mr. L. E. Turner in a recent issue of Special Crops says: We cannotdepend on shade alone to keep the temperature of the soil below 65

degreesthe shade would have to be almost total. In order to allowsufficient light and yet keep the temperature down, we must cover thegroun d with a litt le mulch. The m ore t horoughly th e light is diffused t hebetter for the plants. Now, when we combine sufficient light with sayone-half inch of clean mulch, we are supplying to the plants theirna tu ra l environm ent , ma de more perfect in th at it is everywhere alike.

The mulch is as essential to the healthy growth of the Ginseng plant ascloth ing is to the comfort an d welfar e of man ; it can th rive with out it n omore than corn will grow well with it. These are plants of opposite

na tu re. Use the mu lch a nd r educe the sha de to th e proper density. Themu lch is of the first import an ce, for th e plan ts will do mu ch better withthe mulch and little shade than without mulch and with plenty ofshade.

Ginseng is truly and wholly a savage. We can no more tame it than we

Ginsen g and Other Medic ina l P lan t s - Har d ing - Pa ge 60


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can the partridge. We can lay out a preserve and stock it with Ginsengas we would with partridges, but who would stock a city park withpar tr idges an d expect th em t o rema in th ere? We can not ma ke a properGinseng preserve under conditions halfway between a potato patch anda wild forest, but this is exactly the trouble with a large share of

Ginseng gar dens. They are just a litt le too mu ch like the potat o pat ch t obe exactly suited to the nature of Ginseng, The plant cannot thrive andremain perfectly healthy under these conditions; we may applyemu lsions an d ph ysic, but we will find it t o be just like a person with anun derm ined const itut ion, it will linger along for a time subject to everydisease tha t is in t he air a nd at last some new and m ore subtle maladywill, in spite of our effor ts , close its ear th ly career .

Kind r eader s, I a m in a position to kn ow t horoughly whereof I write, forI have been intimate for many years with the wild plants and withevery shade of condition under which they manage to exist. I havefound them in the valley and at the hilltop, in the tall timber and thebrambled slashing, but in each place were the necessary conditions ofshade and mulch. The experienced Ginseng hunter comes to know by akind of instinct just where he will find the plant and he does not waste

time searching in unprofitable places. It is because he understands itsenvironment. It is the environment he seeksthe Ginseng is thenalready found. The happy medium of condition under which it thrivesbest in t he wild st at e form th e process of healthy cultur e.

Mr. Wm E. Mowrer, of Missouri, is evidently not in favor of the clothshading. I think if he had thoroughly waterproofed the cloth it would



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have withstood the action of the weather much better. It would haveadmitted considerably less light and if he had given enough mulch tokeep the soil properly cool and allowed space enough for ventilation, hewould not have found the method so disastrous. We will not liken histrial to the potato patch, but to the field where tobacco is started under

can vas. A ten t is a cool place if it is open a t th e sides an d h as openingsin the top and the larger the tent the cooler it will be. Ginseng doessplendidly under a t ent it th e tent is built expressly with regard t o th erequ iremen ts of Ginseng.

In point of cheapness a vine shading is yet ahead of the cloth system.The wild cucumber vine is best for this purpose, for it is exactly suitedby nature to the conditions in a Ginseng garden. It is a native of moist,shady places, starts early, climbs high and rapidly. The seeds may beplanted five or six in a hill in the middle of the beds, if preferred, at

intervals of six or seven feet, and the vines may be trained up a smallpole to the arbor frame. Wires, strings or boughs may be laid over thear bor fra me for th e vines t o spread over. If th e sha de becomes t oo densesome of the vines m ay be clipped off and will soon with er awa y. Anoth eradvantage of the wild cucumber is that it is very succulent, taking anabundance of moisture and to a great extent guards against excessivedampness in the garden. The vines take almost no strength from thesoil. The exceeding cheapness of this method is the great point in itsfavor. It is better to plant a few too many seeds than not enough, for itis easy t o reduce th e sha de if too dense, but difficult to increa se it in th e

sum mer if too light.

This disease threatens seriously to handicap us in the raising ofGinsen g, sa ys a wr iter in Special Cr ops. It does down, but is giving ustr ouble all over t he coun tr y. No section seems t o be immu ne from it, th oall seem to be spraying more or less. I know of several good growerswhose gardens have gone down during the last season and this, andthey state that they began early and sprayed late, but to no decidedbenefit. What are we to do? Some claim to have perfect success withspraying as t heir Supposed prevent ion.

Three years ago I began to reason on this subject and in my rambles inth e woods, I h ave wat ched car efully for th is disease, as well as oth ers onthe wild plant, and while I have now and then noted a wild plant thatwas not entirely healthy, I have never seen any evidence of blight orother real serious disease. The wild plant usually appears ideallyhealthy, and while they are sma ller t ha n we grow in our gardens, they



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ar e gener ally str ikingly health ful in color a nd general a ppear an ce. Whyis this so? And why do we have such a reverse of things among ourgardens?

I will offer m y ideas on t he subject a nd give my t heories of th e causes of

the various diseases and believe that they are correct and time willprove it. At least I hope these efforts of mine will be the means ofhelping some who are having so much trouble in the cultivation ofGinseng. The old saw that the proof of the pudding is in chewing thebag, may be amply verified by a visit to my gardens to show how wellmy theories have worked so far. I will show you Ginseng growing in itshighest state of perfection and not a scintilla of blight or any species ofalternaria in either of them, while around me I scarcely know ofanother healthy garden.

To begin with, moisture is our greatest enemy; heat next; the twocombined a t t he sa me t ime form ing th e chief cau se for most diseases ofthe plant .

If the soil in our gardens could be kept only slightly moist, a s it is in t hewoods, and properly shaded, ventilated and mulched, I am sure such ath ing as blight a nd k indred diseases would never be known. The reasonfor this lies in the fact that soil temperature is kept low and dry. Theroots, as is well known, go away down in the soil, because the



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temper at ur e lower down is cooler t ha n a t t he su rface.

Here is where mulch plays so important a part because it protects theroots from so much heat th at finds its way between th e plan ts t o th e topof the beds. The mulch acts as a blanket in keeping the heat out and

protecting th e roots t her eby. If an y one doubts t his, just tr y to ra ise theplants without mulch, and note how some disease will make itsappea ra nce. The plan t will sta nd considera ble sun , however, with h eavyenough mulch. And the more sun it can take without harm, the betterth e root gr owth will be. Too mu ch sha de will show in a spind ling top andslender leaves, and invariable smallness of root growth, for, let it beborn e in mind a lways, th at th e plant mu st d erive more or less food fromthe top, and it is here that the fungi in numerous forms proceed toattack.

The plant will not grow in any other atmosphere but one surchargedwith a ll kinds of fun gi. This is the na tu ra l environment of th e plan t a ndthe only reason why the plants do not all become diseased lies in theplain fact th at its vita lity is of such a high cha ra cter th at it can resistth e disease, hence th e ma in th ing in fight ing disease is t o obta in for t heplant the best possible hygienic surroundings and feed it with the bestpossible food a nd th us nourish it t o the h ighest vita lity.

I am a firm believer in spraying of the proper kind, but spraying willnot keep a plant free from disease with other important conditions

lacking. Spra ying, if hea vily ap plied, is known a s a positive injury to th eplant, despite the fact that many claim it is not, and the pity is weshould have to resort to it in self-defense. The pores of the leaflets areclogged up t o a great er or less extent with th e deposited solution an d th eplant is dependent to this extent of its power to breat he.

Coat a few plants very heavily with spray early in the season and keepit on and note how the plants struggle thru the middle of a hot day toget their breath. Note that they have a sluggish appearance and areinclined to wilt. These plants are weakened to a great extent and if an

excess of moistu re a nd h eat can get to them , they will perha ps die down.Another t hing: Take a plan t t ha t is ha ving a h ar d time to get a long an ddisturb the root to some extent and in a day or two notice spots comeupon it a nd t he leaves begin to show a wilting. Vitality distur bed again.

The finest plants I have ever found in the woods were growing aboutold logs an d st um ps, where th e soil was hea vily enr iched with decaying



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wood. A good cool spot, generally, and more or less mulch, and if not toomuch shade present. Where the shade was too dense the roots werealways small. I have in some instances found some very fine rootsgrowing in the midst of an old stump with no other soil save thepartially rotted stump dirt, showing thus that Ginseng likes decaying

wood matter. Upon learning this, I obtained several loads of old rottensawdust, preferably white oak or hickory and my bed in my gardens iscovered at least two inches with it under the leaf mulch. This acts as amulch and natural food at one and the same time. The leaves decaynext t o th e soil an d th us we supply leaf mold.

This leaf mold is a natural requirement of the plant and feeds it alsoconstantly. A few more leaves added each fall keep up the process andin t his way we ar e keeping th e plant , wild, which we mus t d o to succeedwith it, for Ginseng can not be greatly changed from its nature without

suffering the consequences. This is what is the matter now with soma ny of us. Let's go back to nat ur e an d sta y ther e, an d disease will notgive us so mu ch tr ouble again.

One more chief item I forgot to mention was the crowding of the plantstogether. The smaller plants get down under the larger and morevigorous a nd h ave a h ar d str uggle for existence. The r oots do not ma kemuch progress under these conditions, and these plants might as wellnot be left in the beds. And also note that under those conditions thebeds are badly ventilated and if any plants are found to be sickly they

will be these kind. I shall plant all my roots henceforth at least teninches apart each way and give them more room for ventilation andnourish men t. They get m ore chan ce to grow and will un doubt edly ma kefirm r oot developmen t a nd pa y lar gely bett er in t he end. Corn can not besuccessfully cultivated in rows much narrower than four feet apart andabout t wo sta lks to th e hill. All far mer s kn ow if th e hills a re closer a ndmore st alks to the hill the yield will be much less.

At this point I would digress to call attention to the smallness of rootdevelopment in the woods, either wild or cultivated, because the trees

an d tr ee roots sa p so mu ch su bsta nce from th e soil an d oth er weeds andplants help to do the same thing. The shade is not of the right sort, toodense or too sparse in places, and the plants do not make quick growthenough to justify the growing under such conditions, and whilesupposed to be better for health of plants, does not always prove to beth e case. I have seen some gar dens un der forest sha de tha t blighted asbadly as a ny gar dens.



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So ma ny speak of rem oving th e leaves an d mu lch in t he spr ing from th ebeds. Now, this is a bsolutely wrong, becau se t he m ulch an d leaves keepthe ground from becoming packed by rains, preserves an even moisturethru the dry part of the season and equalizes the temperature.

Temperatu re is as import an t a s sha de and th e plan ts will do better withplenty of mulch and leaves on the beds and considerable sun than withno mulch, dry hard beds and the ideal shade. Roots make but littlegrowth in dry, hard ground. Pull your weeds out by hand and protectyour garden from the seng digger thru the summer and that will beyour cultivation until September or October when you must transplantyour youn g roots int o perm an ent beds, dig and dr y the ma tu re r oots.

SHADING.

That Ginseng must have at least some shade is a foregone conclusionbut just the exact amount it needs is still debatable. From longexperience I find the more sun it has up to the point of turning thefoliage from green t o a r eddish or bronze cas t th e bett er will be th e rootgrowth . In N ew York sta te, we ha ve foun d th at mu ch less th an sevent y-five per cent of shade would allow so much sunshine as to turn theleaves to a sort of bronze green and sometimes a yellow and seriouslyinjure the plant. Farther south, I think, the shade should be greaterth an here. For pra ctical a ll ar oun d work about eighty per cent sha de isabout r ight for th is clima te. If the sha de is too dense, you will get more

seed an d less root growth .

Good r esults ha ve been secured from t ree sh ade, selecting deep r ootingtrees. but the tendency of all trees to throw their fiber roots up into themellow and enriched soil is so great that we hesitate to advise plant oftr ees for th is pur pose, Should our growers, however, decide to adopt th eKorean plan of lifting and resetting their gardens every year, theobjection to th e rootlet s from the t rees would be overcome a s t hey wouldbe kept back by the constant digging up of the beds. There is in mymind n o quest ion bu t green sh ade is t he coolest of an y sha de ever u sed.

Some r esort to vines, especially th e wild cucum ber a nd gra pe vines. Thewild cucumber is too late here in coming to a point where it reallysha des. The gra pe vine is objectiona ble as it sap s th e groun d worse t ha ntree shade does. The majority of growers adopt lumber in some form,varying from a lath to inch lumber. For lath shading a series of postsar e usua lly set in t he groun d an d th ese support a fram ework on whichpanels of lath are placed. These panels are made in various ways and



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sizes. Some are made by nailing lath on strips four feet long and stilloth ers on st rips m uch longer. Of cour se, the fra mework should be madeaccordin g to the length of panel used. If your lath ar e one a nd one-halfinches wide the space between each lath should be close to one-halfinch. This lath shading in the north where there is liable to be heavy

snows, would brea k it down. Car e should be used to have all sha ding atleast six feet a bove the ground a s low sha ding ma kes t he gar den t oo hotand causes blight and other diseases. Lath is also woven with wire, asused by some far mer s for fencing. When used t his wa y it is ma de in longrolls and rolled out on the framework overhead. Some of the oldergardens were shaded with brush and even old fence rails have beenused with success. Other hinge their lath panels to a horizontalscan tling, fast at th e top of th e posts, an d in su mm er h ook t he bott om ofone series of panels to the bottom of the next, making the shade in theform of th e lett er V, th e lower point of the V coming in t he pa th an d t he

posts from which the panels are suspended coming in the center of thebeds. In winter these panels are unhooked and allowed to swing besidethe posts to which they are hooked or tied to prevent swinging in thewind. This shade allows of a sun bath in summer as it is very quicklylowered or ra ised. This sha de is known a s th e Hetr ick sh ade a nd I th inkis pat ented.



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In th e Mar ch nu mber of Special Crops for 1912, J oseph Hines describeshis shade, which is similar to the Hetrick shade, but not patented. Wegive his letter .

The above is a rough illustration of the way I shade my Ginsenggarden.

I ma ke my beds four feet wide and h ighest in cent er of beds, ma king th epat hs lower th an th e sur face of the groun d an d about 18 inches wide.

The posts are set before the beds are made, the tops of the posts beingseven or eight feet a bove the su rface of th e groun d an d set 8 feet a par t,running lengthwise of the beds, and all posts in the center of the beds,

out of the way of wheelbarrow going through the paths. The posts willbe 5 1/2 feet a par t, r un ning crosswise from bed t o bed.

For th e fra mework on t op of th e posts , to support th e sha de, I use str ipsof boards 3 or 4 inches wide and 1 inch (or more) in thickness, nailingthe strips that run crosswise of beds, first, 2 or 3 inches below top of



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posts and then the strips that run lengthwise of beds to the top of postsresting the bottom of these strips on the upper edge of the strips thatrun crosswise. Then lay a board, flat, on top of the posts, across bothends of your beds and run a two-strand cable or fence wire over thecenter of your paths, letting the wire rest on the boards that run

crosswise of beds. Each end of the wire will be fastened to the boardswhich ar e na iled on top of the posts, crossing th e ends of the beds, an dshould be dra wn su fficiently tight t o prevent th e wire sagging too mu ch.

The sha de, or covering, is in sections , 4 feet long an d 2 feet 8 or 9 incheswide, one s ide being h ooked t o the board which ru ns over t he center ofthe bed and the other side is hooked up to the wire which runs over thecent er of th e pat h. The sha de ma y be un hooked from th e wire in t he fallan d allowed to ha ng dur ing the winter , avoiding th e dan ger of break ingdown when loaded with snow and permitting the sun to shine on the

beds dur ing the fall and spring when t he sha de is not required.

I use no side boards around my beds as I consider them a needlessexpense, a convenient harbor for snails and very much in the way ofcultivation.

My experience in Ginseng cultu re h as n ot been very extensive, an d I donot recommend my method of shading to anyone who knows ofsomething better. I am attending this convention hoping to learnsomething to my advantage, and we have been advised to come

prepared to give, as well as take, and if I have an idea of any value tooth ers t hey ar e welcome t o use it.Your s very t ru ly,

Athens, Pa . J OSEPH HINES

A GOOD SH ADE

The time for planting is here again and many growers will be building

additions to their gardens or re-arranging their old shade. The writergets ma ny inquiries relat ive to sha ding, an d most of our quest ioner s askfor the best shade. Now, I am not qualified to tell you which of manygood schemes for sha ding is th e best, a nd in fact, it is quite possible tha twhat would be the best shade for me would not be the best somewhereelse. Nearly all the soils near Skaneateles are of a heavy loam. Verylittle sa nd a nd ver y litt le heavy clay soils. But in pr actically a ll our fields



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her e after a h eavy rain t he soil will cru st over, an d in very dry weat her ,if not m ulched or cultivat ed, will crack open so you can pu t your fingersin the open crevices. With plenty of humus in the soil and under shadeth is soil ret ains m oistu re a nd becomes a t t imes quite wat er soaked. Thisis quite apt t o ha ppen in J un e and J uly, just th e time when blight is the

most pr evalent . This sha ding, you will notice, is so ar ra nged as to car rymost of th e ra infall int o th e path s. Tha t is what we need here.

You will see by the pictu re t ha t t his m eth od of sha ding, uses a series ofshed roofs all facing one way, and the high or open side should face thenort h. We ar ra nge our beds east an d west; sta rt ing on t he sout h side ofth e first bed we att ach a 2 x 4 scan tling to a line of posts set firm in t heground. This row of posts is for the fence that goes around the garden,but we use it t o at ta ch t he first support for t he r oof. After th is first rowof posts no more are used save at the ends of the beds, where again we

at ta ch t he r oof support s to th e posts. The upr ight s t ha t support th e roofar e 2x4 inch, eight feet long, ma de someth ing like t his:

The notches are cut into the upright two by four inches to receive the

pieces on which the roof boards are nailed. There are two lines ofstringers on each upright after the first one, the upper line-has theupper par t of th e roof of one bed n ailed to it, an d t he lower line ha s t helow side of th e roof of th e next bed na iled to it. Ea ch u pr ight is set u pona comm on br ick a nd is not let down int o th e groun d at all. The u pright sstand just in the edge of the bed. The low side of the roof boarding isallowed to project over the lower stringer just enough so the line ofuprights may stand in the edge of the bed and still the drip from theroof falls in t he pa th .

The uprights being eight feet long, gives six feet in the clear from thetop of the beds t o the lowest point of the sh ad ing. And , of cour se, in oursoil the pa th s a re s ix or eight inches below th e top of the beds. Then wehave two feet from lower to upper stringer, and on this two feet of openspace we depend for ventilation. This open space, as we have alreadysaid, opens t o th e north , and a s it is all open a nd t he r oof slan ts u p to it,it ma kes a n ideal ma nn er of getting r id of th e warm a ir. Of cour se, you



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all know warm air rises as it comes up to the underside of the roofboards, it very naturally follows them up until it comes to this openspace and t hen pa sses out .

We use hemlock lumber, one inch thick by four inches wide and eight

feet long an d place th ese boar ds about one an d one-four th inches a par t.The roof boards being eight feet long and one side of the roof two feethigher than the other side makes our beds about seven feet wide fromone r ow of upr ight s to the n ext, an d with th e pat h out of th is we ha ve abed not over six feet where the plants stand. This is easily reached forweeding. The uprights are braced by nailing a 1 x 4 inch board at anangle of forty-five to both the upper and lower roof stringers. Thismakes the posts stand upright and at the same time supports the roofstringers so there is no danger of snow breaking it down, even thoughthe garden is in a snowy country. We have had drifts between two and

three feet deep on our shading of this kind, but have never had anybrea ks. This sha de is ra th er costly but n ot a s mu ch so as one would firstth ink . In th is locality a ten -foot fence post will cost you from twen ty-fiveto thirty cents and in this shading, as a 2 x 4 scantling is all that isused, th e cost is only about ten cent s for each post or upr ight . Again, th elength of the roof boards (8 feet) is the cheapest length of lumber wehave. It being one inch thick gives it strength and stiffness as well asdurability. We have found that this high shade with the ventilation itgives and the fact that it throws a large part of the rainfall into thepat hs, ma kes a gar den a lmost blight proof without spr aying.

I think the Hetrick shade also gives all the advantages of this shadethat we have described, but aside from that I know of no shade thatsuits our soil and climate as well. I should imagine that a sandy soilwould not r equire th at ra infall to be turn ed to th e path s th e same a s oursoil does. No matter what the soil or what the shade, good drainage isabsolut ely essent ial.

EDITOR.

There is also another shade which the writer esteems very highly. Thiswas described in Special Crops, Septem ber 1912, as follows:

Cloth has been used as shading material, largely in the form of burlapsstretched over a framework. Any shading of this nature, however, willruin any garden, from lack of ventilation. I was in a garden of twoacres, once, all sha ded with bur laps, both on sides an d top and it was so



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warm in th ere an d th e air so humid, that I absolutely had t o get out ofth e gar den or faint. About two weeks after th at I lear ned th at th e plan tshad all gone down with blight, and a little later, still, a heavy windstorm t ook th e burlaps a ll off an d ended th is useless sh ade. No ma ter ialthat shuts out the air is desirable. The only way that I know of that a

cloth sha de can be used is t o dra w pieces of cloth th rough t he m eshes ofwire net ting. The sam e resu lt ma y be accomplished by weaving t hr oughth e meshes cat t ail flags, or, for th at ma tt er, almost a nything th at willstand the weather. The wire makes the foundation and I can wellbelieve, for a flat sh ade, th is to be th e peer of any, both in efficiency andcost.



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CHAP TER VIII .

DISEASES OF GINSENG.

The following is from an article on The Alternaria Blight of Ginsengby H. H. Whetzel, of Cornell University, showing that the author isfam iliar with t he subject:

SUSCEP TIBILITY OF GINSENG TO DISEASE.

The pioneer growers of Ginseng thought they had struck a bonanza.Here was a plant that seemed easily grown, required little attentionafter it was once plan ted, was a ppar ent ly free from all diseases to whichcultivated plants are heir and was, besides, extremely valuable Theirfirst few crops bore out this supposition. No wonder that a Ginseng

cra ze broke out an d th at men sa t u p night s to figur e out on pa per th evast fortunes that were bound to accrue to those who planted a fewhundred seeds at three cents each and sold the roots in five years at$12.00 a pound. Like many other grow-wealthy-while-you-waitschemes, nature herself imposed a veto. Diseases began to appear. Theprospective fortune shrunk, frequently dried up and blew away orrotted an d disappeared in t he ear th . Several factors cont ributed t o th isresult:

1. The removal of a wild plant from its natural habitat to an entirely

ar tificial one.

2. The encouragement by the application of manures and cultivation ofa rapidity of growth to which the plant was by inheritance an entirestr an ger, th us weakening its const itution an d depriving it of its na tu ra lability to withstand disease. Cultivated roots in three years from theseed attain greater size than they often would in twenty years in thewoods.

3. The failure in many cases to provide conditions in any degree

approximating the natural habitat, as, for example, the failure tosupply proper drainage that is in nature provided by the forest treeswhose roots cons ta nt ly remove the excess of rain fall.

4. The crowding of a large number of plants into a small area. This, initself, is m ore r esponsible for disease epidemics t ha n p erh aps an y oth er



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factor.

Of all the twelve or fifteen, now more or less known, diseases of thisplant one in particular stands out as the disease of Ginseng. Altho oneof th e lat est to mak e its appear an ce, it ha s in th ree or four year s spread

to nearly every garden in this state and its ravages have been mostsevere. This disease is th e well known Altern ar ia Blight .

THE MOST COMMON AND DESTR UCTIVE DISEASEO F G I N S EN G .

The disease manifests itself in such a variety of ways, depending uponth e par ts of th e plant at ta cked, tha t it is difficult t o give a descript ion bywhich it may always be identified. It is usually the spotting of thefoliage tha t firs t a tt ra cts t he grower's att ent ion. If examined ear ly in th emorning the diseased spots are of a darker green color and watery as ifscalded. They dry rapidly, becoming papery and of a light brown color,

definite in outline and very brittle. With the return of moist conditionsat night the disease spreads from the margin of the spot into thehea lthy tissu e. The disease progresses r apidly so th at in a very few daysthe entire leaf succumbs, wilts and hangs limp from the stalk. If theweather is wet, the progress of the disease is often astonishing, anentire garden going down in a day or two. Under such conditions the



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leaves may show few or no spots becoming thruout of a dark waterygreen a nd dr ooping as if dash ed with scalding water . All part s of th e topmay be affected. The disease never reaches the roots, affecting themonly indirectly.

CAUSE OF THE DISEASE.

The disease is the result of the growth of a parasitic fungus in thetissues of the Ginseng. This fungus is an Alternaria (species not yetdetermined) as is at once evident from an examination of its spores.These are in size and form much like those of the early BlightAlternaria of Potato. These spores falling upon any part of the plantabove the ground will, if moisture be present, germinate very quickly,sending out germ tubes which pierce the epidermis of the host. Thesemycelium t hr eads ra mify thr u t he t issues of th e leaf or st em a s th e case

ma y be, cau sing deat h of th e cells. From t he m ycelium th at lies nea r oron the surface arise clusters or short brown stalks or conidiopheres onthe apex of which the spores are borne in short chains. The sporesmature quickly and are scattered to healthy plants, resulting in newinfections. Only one form of spores, th e conidial, is at present kn own.

That th e Alterna ria is a tr ue par asite and t he cau se of th e disease therecan be no doubt. The fungus is constantly associated with the disease.Inoculation experiments carried on in the botanical laboratory thissummer show conclusively that the germ tube of the spore can

penetra te t he epiderm is of healthy Ginseng leaves an d stems an d by itsgrowth in such healthy tissue cause the characteristic spots of thedisease. This is of special interest as it adds another to the list ofpa ra sitic species of genu s long su pposed to cont a in only sapr ophytes.

Upon th e genera l appea ra nce of so destr uctive a disease, one of th e firstques tions of th e growers wa s wher e did it come from? Believing t ha t itwas a natural enemy of the wild plant, now grown overpowerful underconditions highly unnatural to Ginseng, I undertook to find proof of myth eory. I visited a wooded h illside where wild Ginsen g was st ill kn own t o

exist. After half a day's diligent search I obtained seventeen plants ofdifferent ages, one of which showed spots of the Blight. Examinationwith the microscope showed mycelium and spores of the Alternaria.Unfortunately I did not get pure cultures of the fungus from this plantand so could not by cross inoculations demonstrate absolutely theidentity of the Alternaria on the wild plant with that of the cultivated.So fa r, however, as cha racter of th e spots on t he leaves, size and form of



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th e spores a re concerned, th ey are t he sa me. This, I believe, an swers t hequestion of the source of the disease. Introduced into gardens on wildplants brought from the woods, it has spread rapidly under conditionsmost favorable to its development; namely, those pointed out in theear lier pa rt of th is paper.

The wind, I believe, is chiefly responsible for the dessemination of thespores wh ich a re very sma ll an d light. Not only does th e wind car ry t hespores from plan t to plan t th ru out th e garden, but no doubt frequent lycarries them for longer distances to gardens near by. The spores areproduced most abundantly under conditions favorable to suchdisseminat ion. Dur ing moist, cloudy weat her th e energies of th e fun gusare devoted to vegetative growth, the spreading of the mycelium in thehost tissues. With the advent of bright sunny days and dry weathermycelium growth is checked and spore formation goes on rapidly. These

spores are distributed when dry and retain their vitality for a longperiod. Spores from dried specimens in the laboratory have been foundto germinate after several months when placed in water. The diseasemight also be very readily carried by spores clinging to the roots orseeds, or possibly even by the mycelium in the seeds themselves. Thefungus very probably winters in the old leaves and stems or in themulch, living as a saprophyte and producing early in the spring a cropof spores from wh ich t he first infect ions occur .

SUMMER HISTORY OF THE DISEASE.

Altho it is on the foliage that the disease first attracts the attention ofth e grower, it is not here t ha t it r eally makes its first appear an ce in t hespr ing. The stem is the firs t pa rt of th e plan t t o come t hr u t he soil and itis the st em t ha t is first affected. The disease begins to show on t he st emsvery shortly after they are thru the soil, evident first as a rusty, yellowspot usu ally a sh ort dista nce above the sur face of the soil or mu lch. Thespot rapidly increases in size, becomes brown and finally nearly blackfrom the multitude of spores produced on its surface. The tissue of thestem at the point of attack is killed and shrinks, making a canker or

rotten strip up the side of the stem. Such stems show well developedleaves and blossom heads giving no evidence of the disease beneath.Occasionally, however, the fungus weakens the stem so that it breaksover. Growers h ave occasiona lly observed th is st em r ot but ha ve neverconn ected it with t he disease on t he leaves lat er in t he season.



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It is from the spores produced on these cankers on the stem that theleaves become infected. The disease begins to appear on the leaves sometime in July and by the middle of August there is usually little foliagealive. Infection frequ ent ly occur s a t th e point where th e five leaflets ar eat ta ched t o th e comm on pet iole. The sh ort leaf stem s a re k illed cau singthe otherwise healthy leaflets to droop and wilt. This manifestation ofthe disease has not generally been attributed to the Alternaria. The

seedlings are frequently affected in the same way causing what issomet imes k nown a s t he top blight of seedlings.

From the diseased leaves and stems the spores of the fungus find theirway to the seed heads which at this time are rapidly filling out by thegrowth of the berries. The compact seed heads readily retain moisture,fur nishin g most favora ble conditions for th e germ inat ion of an y sporesthat find their way into the center of the head. That this is the usualcourse of seed head infection is shown by the fact that it is the base ofthe berry on which the spots start. These spots, of a fusty yellow color,

gradually spread all over the seed which finally becomes shriveled andof a dark brown or black color. Spores in abundance are formed on thediseased berries. Affected berries shell from the head at the slightesttouch. This manifestation of the disease has long been known as seedblast. If the berr ies ha ve begun to color th e injury from t he disease willprobably be very slight. The blasting of the green berries, however,



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will undoubtedly reduce or destroy the vitality of the seed. There is astr ong probability tha t t he fungus m ay be car ried over in or on th e seed.

The roots are only indirectly affected by this disease. The fungus neverpenetr at es t o them. Roots from diseased tops will grow perfectly norma land healthy plants the following season. It is in the leaves of the plantth at pra ctically all of the su bsta nce of the r oot is ma de. The bulk of th issubstance is starch. The destruction of the foliage, the manufacturingpart of the plant, long before it would normally die means of coursesome r eduction in t he growth a nd s ta rch cont ent of th e root. However, itseems probable that the greater portion of root growth is made beforeth e blight at ta cks t he foliage. This seems born e out by th e fact th at evenblighted seedlings usually show nearly as good growth and bud

development as those not blighted. In the case of older plants this isprobably much more true as the latter part of the season is devotedlargely to growing and maturing the berries. The Alternaria blight isdreaded chiefly becau se of its dest ru ctive effects on th e seed crop.

P REV EN TI V E.

The first experimental work on the control of this disease so far as Iknow, was carried out by Dr. I. C. Curtis of Fulton, N. Y. Havingsuffered the total loss of foliage and seed crop during the season of

1904, Dr. Curt is determ ined to test th e efficacy of the Bordea ux m ixtu rethe following season as a preventive of the blight. The success of hiswork, together with this method of making and applying the mixture isgiven by him in Special Crops for J an ua ry, 1906.

Extensive experiments in spraying were carried out during the pastseason by th e Ginseng Compa ny a t Rose H ill, N. Y., un der th e direction



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of the writer. During 1905 their entire seed crop was completelydestroyed by the blight. Losses from the same disease the previousseason ha d been very heavy. Dur ing 1905 they ha d succeeded in sa vinga very large proportion of their seedlings by spraying them with theBordeau x mixtu re. En cour aged by this th ey began spra ying ear ly in th e

spr ing of 1906, just when t he plan t began to come t hr u t he ground. Thiswas r epeat ed near ly every week dur ing the season, th e entire ten acresbeing sprayed each time. On account of poor equipment the earliersprayings were not as thoroughly done as they should have been, andsome disease appeared on the stalks here and there thruout thegardens. A new pump and nozzles were soon installed and all parts ofth e plan t completely covered. P ra ctically no blight ever appea red on th efoliage. Ther e was some loss from blast of seed hea ds due to a failure tospray the seed heads thoroughly while they were filling out. The seedheads were doubtless infected from the diseased stalks that had not

been removed from the garden. A very large seed crop was harvested.The formula of the Bordeaux used at Rose Hill was about 4-6-40, toeach one hundred gallons of which was added a sticker made asfollows:

Two poun ds resin.

One pound sal soda (Cryst als).

One gallon wa ter .

Boiled together in an iron kettle until of a clear brown color. It isprobable that more applications of Bordeaux were given than wasnecessary, especially during the middle part of the season when littlenew growth wa s being ma de.

From these experiments it is evident that the problem of the control ofthe Alternaria Blight of Ginseng has been solved. Thorough sprayingwith Bordeaux mixture begun when the plants first come thru thegroun d a nd repea ted often enough t o keep a ll new growth s covered, will

insur e immu nity from t he blight. Thoroughn ess is th e chief factor in t hesuccess of th is tr eat men t. It is, however, useless t o begin spraying afterth e disease ha s begun to appear on t he foliage.



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To the President an d M em bers of the Missouri S tate Ginseng Growers'Association.

GENTLEME NIn r esponse t o a r equest from your secret ar y, I was sentear ly in August to investigat e your Ginseng gardens, a nd, if possible, to

give some help in checking a destructive disease which had recentlyappear ed and h ad in a sh ort time ru ined much of th e crop. Thr u t he aidof some of your as sociat ion, a t th e tim e of my visit t o Houst on, a nd sincethat time, I have been furnished with valuable data and specimens ofdiseased plant s.

The summer of 1904 was marked by a very abundant rainfall. Theshade of the arbors kept the soil beneath them moist, if not wet, forsevera l weeks at a t ime, This moist soil, rich in h um us a nd other organ icsubstances, formed an exceedingly favorable place for the growth of

fungi. Gardens under dense shade with poor drainage, suffered thegrea test loss. All ages of plan ts wer e at ta cked a nd seemed to su ffer a like,if t he conditions wer e favora ble for th e growth of fungi,

SYMP TOMS OF DISEASE AND NATURE OF TH E INJ URY.

Between the first and the fifteenth of May black spots having theappearance of scars appeared on the stems of the Ginseng plants. Allages of plants were at ta cked. The scars increased in nu mber a nd grewin size, somet imes encircling t he stem .

The first indication of injury was seen when one leaflet after anotherturned brown; from them the disease spread down the petiole to thema in sta lk. Other sta lks were a tt acked so badly that th ey broke off andfell over before the upper portions had even become withered. After theloss of the top from this disease the crown of the root was liable to beat ta cked by fun gi or bacteria, causing decay. I foun d little of th is in t hegardens at Houston. The greatest loss caused by this disease lies in thedestr uction of the seed crop.

I ha ve succeeded in isolat ing and st udying th e fun gus which causes th isdisease. The fun gus belongs t o the genu s Verm icular ia a nd occur s on anu mber of our comm on h erba ceous p lant s. I foun d it n ear Columbia t hisautumn on the Indian turnip. The fungus lives beneath the epidermisof the Ginseng plan t; break ing th e epiderm is to form th e black scar s inwhich th e spores, or r eproductive bodies, a re produced. The spores wh enripe ar e capa ble of germ inat ing and infecting oth er plan ts.



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TREATMENT.

Fortunately this disease can be effectually checked by the use ofBordeaux spraying mixture.

DAMP ING-OFF DISEASE.

Another source of loss was in the damping-off of young plants, Thefungus which causes this disease lives in the surface layer of the soilan d girdles the plan ts a t th e sur face layer of th e groun d, cau sing themto wilt and fall over. The trouble can be largely avoided by properdrainage and stirring the surface layer, thus aerating and drying thesoil.

THE WILT DISEASE.

By far the most destructive and dangerous disease remains to bedescribed. It made its appearance about the first week in July, causingthe leaves to turn yellow and dry up; the seed stem and berries alsodried up a nd died before r eaching mat ur ity. This was th e disease whichcaused the greatest loss; whole plantations often being destroyed in aweek. Neith er t he Bordeau x spraying mixtu re n or lime dust seemed tocheck its r ava ges.

I have succeeded in isolating the fungus which is the cause of thisdestru ctive disease a nd ha ve grown it in t he labora tory in pur e cultur esfor nearly five months. Cultures were made by scraping the dark spotson diseased stems with a sterile needle and inoculating sterilized beanpods or plugs of pota to with th e spores scraped from t he s tem . In two orthree days a white, fluffy growth appears on the bean pod whichrapidly spreads until it is covered with a growth which resembles aluxuriant mould. I have also isolated this fungus and made culturesfrom t he soil taken from diseased beds.

The fungus belongs to the genus Fusarium and is probably identicalwith the fungus which is so destructive in causing the wilt of cotton,watermelon and cowpeas, and which has been carefully studied bySmith a nd Ort on of th e United Sta tes Depart men t of Agricultu re.



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TREATMENT.

It will be seen from this brief description of the fungus that it is anexceedingly difficult disease to combat. Living from year to year in thesoil i t enters the plants thru the roots and spreads upward thru the

wat er-condu cting cha nn els. It does not once appea r on t he su rface un tilth e plan t is beyond recovery. Obviously we can not a pply any su bsta nceto kill th e fun gus without first killing t he plan t it infests.

There is but one conclusion to be drawn, viz.: That application offun gicides will not pr event t he wilt disease.

There a re, h owever, t wo met hods of procedur e in comba ting t he d isease:First, the use of precautions against allowing the fungus to get started;second, t he s election an d breeding of varieties which will with sta nd th e

disease.

From the very first the arbor should be kept free from all possibleinfection by the wilt fun gus.

Gardens should be small and located some little distance apart, then ifone becomes infected with the disease it can be taken up before thedisease infests a lar ger terr itory. If th e roots h ave reached mercha nt ablesize they had best be dried and sold, since they are likely to carry thedisease when transplanted. If they are transplanted they should be

car efully cleaned a nd r eset without br uising.

Pr oper dr aina ge is very necessar y for a successful Ginseng gar den. It isadvisable to locate the garden on a gentle slope if possible. In all casesth e groun d should be well drain ed.

The belief of many that the death of the Ginseng was due to the wetseason was without foun dat ion, becau se th e fun gus develops best in soilwhich is continually moist and shady. This also accounts for the well-known fact t ha t a ll rots, mildews and ru sts a re worse in a ra iny season

tha n in a dry one.

Ample ventilation mu st also be provided in building the ar bor. Man yar bors a re en closed at th e sides too tight ly.



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The material used for mulching should be of a sort which will notcontaminate the garden with disease. Some fungi will be killed if thegroun d is allowed to freeze before put tin g on t he m ulch.

The second and, to my mind, most promising mode of procedure lies inpropagating a variety of Ginseng which will be resistant to the wiltdisease. In every garden, no matter how badly diseased, there arecerta in plants which live th ru th e at ta cks of th e disease an d ripen seeds.These seeds should be saved and planted separately, the hardiest ofth eir offspr ing should be used t o propagat e seeds for fut ur e plant ing. Byth us s electing th e ha rdiest in dividuals year after year it will be possiblein tim e to origina te a var iety of para sitic fun gi. There seems to me to bemore hope in developing such a resistant variety of Ginseng than indiscovering some fun gicide to keep t he disease in check.



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BOR DEAUX MIXTUR E.

It is surpr ising th at an y considerable number of far mers, horticultur ists,Ginseng growers, etc., are ignorant of a preparation so necessary asBordeaux for profita ble cult ivation of ma ny crops. The following is t ak en

from Bulletin 194 of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.The advice given in this paper recently by Professor Craig is repeatedan d empha sized. Every far mer should ha ve the bulletins issued by theexperiment st at ion of his own sta te a nd h ave them with in easy reach atall times.

Bordeaux mixture derives its name from the place of its discovery,Bordeau x, Fran ce. It cons ists of copper su lfat e, which is comm only calledblue vitr iol or bluest one, fresh lime an d wat er.

Form ulas u sed-Several str engths of th e mixtu re a re u sed underdifferent cond itions :

1. (2:4:50) Copper Su lfa t e 2 lbs.Quick Lime 4 lbs.Water 50 gals.

2. (3:6:50) Copper Su lfa t e 3 lbs.Quick Lime 6 lbs.Water 50 gals.,

3. (4:4:50) Copper Sulfa t e 4 lbs.Quick Lime 4 lbsWater 50 gals.

4. (6:6:50) Copper Su lfa t e 6 lbs.Quick Lime 6 lbs.Water 50 gals.

Formula 1 is used for very tender foliage, as peach, plum, greenhouse

plan ts , ten der seedlings, etc.

Formula 2 which is a half stronger than the preceding has about thesam e use but for slightly less t ender leaves.

Formula 3 is the formula for general use on apples, pears, asparagus,grapes, toma toes, melons, st ra wberr ies, etc.



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wat er before a dding an y lime. This is import an t for if th e lime is a ddedto so strong a solution of sulfate of copper, a curdling process will follow.Stir t he wat er in th e lime bar rel so as t o ma ke a dilute m ilk of lime, butnever allow it to be dense enough to be of a creamy thickness. If of thelatter condition, lumps of lime will clog the spray nozzle. Continue to

add to the mixture this milk of lime so long as drops of ferrocyanide ofpota ssium (yellow pru ssiat e of pota sh) applied to the Bordeau x mixtur econtinue to change from yellow to brown color. When no change of coloris shown, add an oth er pa il of milk of lime t o ma ke t he n ecessar y amountof lime a sure thing. A considerable excess of lime does no harm. Thebarrel can now be filled with water and the Bordeaux mixture is readyfor u se.

The preparation of ferrocyanide of potassium for this test may beexplained. As bought at th e dru g store, it is a yellow cryst al a nd is easily

soluble in water. Ten cents worth will do for a season's spraying of anaverage orchard. It should be a full saturation. that is, use only enoughwat er to dissolve a ll the cryst als. The cork should be notched or a quillinserted so that the contents will come out in drops. A drop will give asreliable a test as a spoonful. The bottle should be marked Poison. Dipout a little of the Bordeaux mixture in a cup or saucer and drop thefer rocyan ide on it . So long a s th e drops tu rn yellow or br own on st rik ingth e mixtu re, th e mixtu re h as n ot r eceived enough lime.

P ROC ESS LIME FOR B ORDE AUX MIXTUR E.

The so-called new process, or prepared limes, now offered on thema rk et, ar e of two classes. One consist s of th e quick-lime th at ha s beenground to a powder. The other is the dry water-slaked lime made byusing only enough water to slake the quick-lime, but not enough toleave it wet. Practically all of the process lime on the market is thegroun d quick-lime.

When the hard stone lime becomes air-slaked it is evident to the eyefrom t he cha nge to a loose powdery m ass . Should one of th ese prepar ed

limes be t o any considera ble degree air -slaked , its appea ra nce would beno indicat ion of its r ea l cond ition.

A simple test for the presence of much carbonate of lime in these

prepared limes, can be easily performed, a small amount of lime1/4

t easpoonful-dropped on a litt le hot vinegar , will effervesce or sizzle if it



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cont ain t he carbonat e of lime, acting about th e sam e as soda.

A sam ple of a new pr ocess lime an alyzed at th is Sta tion showed 30 percent. magnesia. This came from burning a dolomitic limestone, that is,one containing carbonate of magnesia with the carbonate of lime. The

ma gnesia does not slake with wa ter like th e lime an d hen ce is useless inthe Bordeaux mixture. There is no easy way outside a chemicallabora tory of telling th e presence of ma gnesia .

As a genera l ru le more process lime is r equired to neu tr alize the coppersulfate than good stone lime. It is always well to make Bordeauxmixture by using the ferrocyanide of potassium test.CornellUniversity.

NOTEUnder date of April 30, 1912, the U. S. Department of

Agriculture- Bureau of Plant Industry-issued Bulletin No. 250, whichtreats on The Diseases of Ginseng and Their Control. As this bulletincontains late information, growers will make no mistake by sending 15cents (coin) to Superintendent of Documents, Government PrintingOffice, Washington, D. C., asking for Bulletin No. 250, which treats ondiseases of Ginseng and t heir cont rol.

Many growers now claim that Pyrot is better than the Bordeauxmixture.



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C H AP T E R IX

MARKETING AND P RICE S.

As th e mar ket value of dry roots depends pa rt ly on t he ma nn er in whichit is dried, we will include in this chapter the complete handling of theroot from th e time it is dug.

At one time th e Chinese want ed th e roots wa shed white, but for severa lyears past this has not been the case, and, in fact, root washed cleanand white is very undesirable. In collecting wild root the digger orcollector goes into the woods in the morning, finds an occasional rootwhich he digs and puts into a cloth bag, after shaking off what dirt hecan . This stock is added t o occasiona lly thr ough t he da y an d at night hereaches home tired, and the bag of roots, not quite wilted, is laid aside

an d possibly not wa shed for a day or two and often never wa shed. Thiswilting, in some manner, fastens a dirt color to the root that can neverbe wash ed out . This is wild root. and is t he wa y pra ctically all of the wildis handled. The Chinese consider this root the very best and it followsthat cultivated root should be made to look as near like the wild aspossible. To this end let your roots alone for about a day after diggingbefore you wa sh th em.

In washing, never attempt to use a brush or do any scrubbing, justrinse the dirt off and stop there. This may be done by turning the

gard en h ose on th em, if you h ave a good wat er pr essur e, or if you h avenothing of this kind, take a bushel basket or wash tub and fill it nearlyhalf full of water and put in some roots letting them soak for a fewmoments; then stir briskly and remove and allow the water to dry offbefore putting in either basket or box. The baskets I use are made ofgalvanized iron and are tight, Never allow a ginseng root to stand longin water as it will become water soaked and never after that dry aswhite inside as it sh ould.

If the root is to be shipped away to be dried, it is ready as soon as the

wat er from washin g dries off. Put th e roots loosely int o box or ba r rel andship at once by express, using no packing. If the weather is warm, it iswell to bore a few holes in packa ge for ven tila tion. Never pr ess t he r ootsin tight as they will heat and start to decay. If the roots are to be driedat home spread them in a warm, airy place. This may be on racks or onth e floor of some room. An a tt ic is a very good pla ce, as nea r th e roof of a



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house it is usually warm, but be sure to give plenty of air. Allow theroots to remain thus until wilted and, in fact, they may be allowed tocomplete the drying in this way by turning them over occasionally.After a root is well wilted, if they ar e spran gly an d ill-sha ped, they ma ybe bent an d tied so the sh ape will be somewha t impr oved.

The essentials of good drying are to start the root so it begins to drybefore it sour s an d after th at to dry very slow.

If a root is dr ied fas t, t he outer shell becomes d ry and set or firmly fixedbefore the inside drys and so forms a shell on the outside that is hardan d sm ooth , but if at leas t a month is given for d rying, the inside of th eroot dr ies an d as it sh rinks, dra ws the out er sh ell with it an d leaves the

skin more wrinkled than if dried quick; and again, in rapid drying thecent er will show some color inst ead of brea king white. When it break s itwill break like a piece, of glass, where if dried slow, as it should be, theact of breaking will be soft yielding instead of a snap. When the rootsare dry, remove all little roots up to one-eighth of an inch in diameterand in case of long sprangles even larger pieces than that should comeoff. This sm all stuff is called fiber a nd sells ar oun d $1.00 per pound.

It has been many times stated that three pounds of green root wouldmake one of dry root but this we do not find to be the average. The

writer ha s dr ied about six hun dred differen t crops of green root, comingto us green, from almost every sta te in t he Un ion, an d from all kinds ofsoil and a ll ages of plan ts . From a car efully kept r ecord of all th ese crops,I find it takes three and one-third pounds of green root to make one ofdry. This a pplies to fall dug root . Blight ed root a nd r oot dug in sp rin g orsummer takes very nearly four pounds green to make one dry. Roots



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from Or egon dry h eavy, often going as hea vy as one poun d t o thr ee an doccasiona lly we get close to th at from other sta tes bu t t he a verage is asabove sta ted, th ree a nd one-th ird t o one.

Ten years ago, in cultivated root, the market did not want a light

spongy root but today that is just what is wanted, as this is what thewild root is. In this connection the reader should carefully go over whatwe ha ve said as t o qua lity in a nother cha pter . Log, slim r oots, r oots th atare very heavy and hard, smooth skinned roots, and roots that arespran gly are not wan ted a nd t he pr ice of such is low.

Before offer ing your roots to a dea ler, be sur e th ey ar e per fectly dry, notsimply dry outside, but be absolutely dry clear through. Even whenth us dr y, it will ta ke up m oistu re in a wa rm ra iny day, so it will ha ve tobe re-dried, either by the weather changing or by artificial beat. I have

known root to take on one pound for every tell during a warm rain.Before sending to market the root should be so dry that it will breakbefore bending. You ask why this special care to have it so very dry?The an swer is tha t th e destination of th is product is China an d in goingth ere it h as t o cross the ocean an d its disposition t o ta ke on m oistur e an dto guard against other dangers it is sealed up air tight before beingshipped. If not perfectly dry it will mould long before the three monthswould elapse in which it would reach China. This root is too high inprice for th e consu mer to buy wat er with it even if it could cross t he bigpond in a moist condition. If the dealer has to sell it perfectly dry he

mu st buy it so.

The grower often feels grieved because a dealer docks him for themoisture, but he should not as the dealer has to have it dry before hesells it. The grower should see to it that his root is absolutely dry andthen he need stand no shrinkage in that regard. There is, however,always some shrinkage in shipping as the handling and loading andunloading of packages will break off more or less of the fibers and thesear e lost or ha ve to go at a less pr ice.

It is not always advisable for the grower to remove the fiber. This maywell be left to the dealer as he knows just how much should come off asthe grower might remove more than he need to and thus lose. On allcultivated root the fiber must finally come off but wild root is still soldwith a dher ing fibers.

Root is not fit to dig and dry for market before it is five years old and



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usu ally it sh ould be much older t ha n t ha t.

It is not a difficult task to properly dry ginseng roots but at the sametime a differen ce of a dollar a poun d can easily be made. If dried a litt letoo slow dark spots will appear on the outside of the root and if broken

the inside of the root shows dark in these places where the root hassoured instead of drying. If dried a little too fast, the center of the rootcolors.

After the root is dry it should be stored in a dry room and carefullycovered to keep it from light a nd du st. Ginseng dr ied in t he su n does nothave as mild and pleasant a flavor as that dried in the shade. Thequestion of driers is one that each individual should solve for himself.The m an who has but a few bushels of roots can dry t hem nicely on h isattic floor or about the house somewhere, while the man with a large

garden should have a good dr yer.

It is a bout as h ar d to tell wha t t he color dem an d will be as it would be totell in advance what the fashion in women's bonnets would be. Thedema nd for color of root at one t ime was wh ite, then th e next s eason itchanged to almost black, or the color given by very dark soil. For threeor four year s th e deman d ha s n ot cha nged and calls for a medium da rkroot. This may be gray, gray brown or a yellow brown, such as yellowclay will give. I think growers would be safe not to pursue an extremedar k or light, but a middle cour se.

In boxing or barreling dry root for shipment great care should be usedto have the package full so as to avoid moving about and breaking theroots. A good practice is to crumple up some newspapers, put them inbottom of box, put the root in and gently shaking the box, cause theroots to settle down as much as they will and then with more crumpledpapers fill the package as full as possible. This will hold the roots inplace an d sa ve man y pieces of roots an d m an y necks from being brokenan d lost.



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The following table is made from the official report of the United StatesDepar tm ent of Comm erce and La bor an d is not ent irely complete for th elast year (1913).

Average Total valueYears. Pounds. price. year's export.

1858 366,053 $0.52 $193,7361868 370,066 1.02 380,4541878 421,305 1.13 497,2471888 308,365 2.13 657,3581889 271,228 2.33 634,0911890 223,113 2.71 605,2331891 283,000 3.39 959,9921892 228,916 3.51 803,5291893 251,205 3.15 619,1141895 233,236 3.54 826,713

1896 199,436 3.86 770,6731897 179,573 4.71 846,6861898 174,063 3.66 638,4461899 196,196 3.98 782,5401900 160,101 5.20 833,7101901 149,069 5.38 801,6721902 154,063 5.55 856,5151908 151,985 5.23 796,0081904 131,882 6.45 851,8201905 146,576 7.30 1,069,8491906 160,949 7.30 1,175,844

1907 117,696 6.90 813,0231908 154,180 7.21 1,111,9941909 186,257 6.82 1,210,1791910 192,406 7.48 1,439,4341911 153,999 7.06 1,088,2021912 155,308 7.20 1,119,301

1913 221,901 7.50 1,665,731

The student of this table will notice that the increase in price has beenmu ch m ore r apid tha n t he decrease in qua nt ity. It seems probable tha t

American Ginseng growers will never again face quite so severe a set-back as that of 1905, which was produced by the cry that cultivatedGinseng was inferior to wild roots and would not prove acceptable toChinese import ers a nd consu mer s-for investigat ion ha s r evealed th e factthat the Chinese themselves cultivate Ginseng to some extent andexperience ha s sh own th at , for severa l years, t he a vera ge price for goodAmer ican cultivated r oots ha s been n ear ly as high as wild root.



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From these figures it is clear that the Ginseng crop is of considerableproport ions an d st eadily increasin g. It is classed with chem icals, dru gs,dyes an d m edicines a nd in its class equ aled or exceeded in value by onlythree things: copper sulphate, acetate of lime and patent medicines.These figure, include, of course, both the wild and cultivated root, Alittle investigation, however, will soon convince anyone that thegenuine wild root h as form ed but a sma ll port ion of th at export ed in th elast t hr ee year s. This is for t he very good rea son t ha t t her e is practicallyno wild root to be found. it has been all but exterminated by the sengdigger, who has carefully searched every wooded hillside and ravine tomeet the demand of the last few years for green roots for planting.Practically all of the Ginseng now exported will of necessity becultivated. Of all the Ginseng exported from this country, New YorkState very probably supplies the greater part. It was in that state thatthe cultivation of the plant originated and it is there that the culture

has become most extensive and perfected. The largest garden in thiscountry, so far as known, is that of Drs. Swan and Hertzog, Chardon,Ohio, who have 27 acres of beds in forest shade. The crop is certainly aspecial one, to be successfully grown only by those who can bring totheir work an abundance of time and intelligent effort. For those whoare willing to run the risks of loss from diseases and who can afford to



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wait for returns an their investment, this crops offers relatively largeprofits.

It is very simple to prepare a few wild roots for market. Wash themthoroughly; this I do with a tooth or nail brush, writes a Northern

grower, as they will remove the dirt from the creases without injury.Only a few roots should be put in th e wat er a t once as it does not benefitth em t o soak.

I have usually dried wild roots in the sun, which is the best way, butnever put roots in the hot sun before the outside is dry, as they are aptto rot.

The cultivated root is more difficult to handle. They are cleaned thesam e as wild r oots. On accoun t of size and qua lity t hey ha ve to be dried

differently. My first cultivated roots were dried around the cook stove,which will answer for a few roots, providing the lady of the house isgood na tu red.

Last year I dried about 500 pounds of green roots and so had to findsomet hing differen t. I m ade a drier s imilar to Mr. Sta nt on's plan, i. e., abox an y size to suit th e am oun t of roots you wish t o dry. The one I m adeis about two feet by two and a ha lf feet a nd two and one-half feet h igh,with one side open for the drawers to be taken out. The drawers arema de with wire screen for bottom.

They should be at least two inches deep and two and one-half incheswould be bett er. I bored a th ree-four th -inch hole in t he t op a litt le waysfrom each corner and five in the center in about ten inches square, butnow I have ta ken t he t op off, as I find t hey dry bett er.

I st ar ted t his on t he cook st ove, but did not like it as I could n ot cont rolth e hea t. As I ha d t wo Blue Flam e oil stoves I tr ied it over one of th eman d it work ed fine.

They were three-hole stoves, so I laid a board across each end for thedrier to rest on. The drier has a large nail driven in each corner of thebott om so th at it was four inches a bove the stove. Then I fixed a piece ofgalvanized iron about 10x20 inches so that it was about two inchesabove top of stove, for t he h eat to str ike against an d not bur n t he r oots.

At first I left out two of the lower drawers for fear of burning them. I



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only used the middle burnerand that turned quite low. I tried theflame with my hand between the stove and roots so as not to get it toohigh.

In this way I could get a slow heat and no danger of burning, which is

the main trouble with drying by stove. It would take from two to fourdays to dry them, according to size. As soon as they were dried theywere put in open boxes so if th ere wa s a ny moistu re it could dr y out an dnot m ould, wh ich th ey will do if closed u p t ight.

In using a n oil stove one sh ould be used t ha t will not smoke. Never setthe roots over when the stove is first lighted and they should berem oved before t ur ning t he flam e out , as th ey are a pt t o get smoked. Donot set st ove in a dra ft.

In packing the dry roots in boxes I break off the fine fiber, then theyar e ready for m ar ket.

Some t ime pr ior to 1907, or since cultivat ed Ginseng ha s been u pon th emarket, its value has been from $1.00 to $2.00 per pound less than thewild and not in as active demand, even at that difference, as the wild.Today the value is much nearer equal. At first those engaged in thecult ivat ion of Ginsen g ma de the soil too r ich by fert ilizing an d growth ofthe roots was so rapid that they did not contain the peculiar scent orodor of the genuine or wild. Of late years growers have learned to

provide their plants with soil and surroundings as near like nature aspossible. To th is can largely be at tr ibut ed th e cha nge.

P REP ARI N G TH E R O O TS F O R MARK ET.

The roots a re dug in th e au tu mn , after th e tops ha ve died. Great car e ista ken not to bru ise or injure th em. They are th en washed in ra in water,the soil from all crevices and cracks being carefully cleaned away by asoft br ush . Then th ey are wiped on a soft a bsorben t cloth , and a re r eadyto be dried for market. The roots should never be split in washing or

drying. It is of great importance, too, that the little neck or bud-stemshould be unbroken, for if missing the root loses two-thirds of its valuein Chinese eyes. The roots may be dried in the sun or in a warm, dryroom, but never over a stove or fire. Some growers have a special drierand use hot air very much on the principle of an evaporator. This doesth e work quickly an d sa tisfactorily. As soon as th e litt le fibrous roots ar edry enough, they are either clipped off or rubbed away by band, and



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the root returned to the drier to be finished. Much of the value of theproduct depends on the manner in which it is cured. This method is theone usually employed in America, but the Chinese prepare the root invarious wa ys not a s yet very well un derst ood in th e United St at es. Theirpreparation undoubtedly adds to the value of the product with the

consumer.

IMP ORTANCE OF TASTE AND F LAVOR.

Soils and fertilizers have a marked influence on products where tasteand flavor is important, as with tobacco, coffee, tea, certain fruits, etc.This is tr ue of Ginsen g in a very mar ked degree. To preser ve the flavorwhich marks the best grade of Ginseng, by which the Chinese judge it,it is essent ial tha t t he soil in t he beds should be as nea r like the origina lna tive forest as possible. Woods ea rt h an d leaf mould sh ould be u sed in

liberal quantities. Some little bone meal may be added, but otherfert ilizers ar e best a voided to be on t he sa fe side.

When the chief facts of Ginseng culture had been ascertained, itnaturally followed that some growers attempted to grow the biggest,heaviest roots possible in the shortest time, and hence fertilized theirbeds with strong, forcing manures, entirely overlooking the question ofta ste or flavor. When th ese roots were placed on t he ma rk et th e Chinesebuyers promptly rejected them or took them at very low prices onaccount of defective quality. This question of flavor was a new problem

to American buyers, for the reason stated and one which they were notprepared to meet at a moment's notice. Hence, there has been aten dency with some expor ter s to be shy of a ll cult ivated r oots (fear ing toget some of these off qua lity lot s) un til t hey wer e in position t o test forflavor or taste by expert testers, as is done with wines, teas, coffees,tobaccos and oth er pr oducts wh ere flavor is essent ial.

The grower wh o freely use soil from t he forest an d lets forcing fert ilizersseverely alone, has nothing to fear from defective quality, and willalways comm and a good pr ice for his p roduct.

Ginseng should only be dug for t he ma rk et lat e in t he fall. In t he spr ingand summer the plant is growing and the root is taxed to supply therequired nutriment. After the plant stops growing for the season theroot becomes firm an d will not dr y out as m uch as ear lier in t he sea son.It t ak es four to five poun ds of th e green root ea rly in th e season to ma keone of dry; lat er th ree a nd one-ha lf will ma ke one of dry.



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In t he Ginseng, like ma ny oth er t ra des, th ere ar e tr icks. In some sectionthey practice hollowing out roots while green and filling the cavity withlead or iron. When Ginseng is wort h four or five dollar s per poun d a ndlead or iron only a few cent s, th e profit from th is nefarious business can

be seen. The buyers have got on to the practice, however, and anylarge r oots th at appea r too hea vy are exam ined. The filling of roots withlead, etc., has a bout ha d its da y.

Seng should be dug and washed before it shrinks; it should then bedried in the shade where the dust and dirt cannot reach it and shouldnot be str un g on s tr ings. The r oots should be han dled car efully so as notto break them up, the more fiber the less the value, as well as size,which h elps to determ ine th e value.

The collecting of the root for the market by the local dealer has itscha rm ; at least one would th ink so, to see how eagerly it is sought afterby the collector, who often finds when he has enough for a shipmentthat he faces a loss instead of a profit. The continual decrease in theannual output of the root should produce a steadily advancing market.The pr ice does advan ce from year t o year, but th e variat ion in t he pr iceof silver and the scheming of the Chinamen produces crazy spurts inth e pr ice of the r oot.

Present prices are rather above the average, but little can be predicted

about future conditions. Chinese conservatism, however leads us tobelieve pr esent pr ices will cont inue.

The table cannot show for the last two years the exact condition as therange in price has been much greater. Good root has been much higherand poor root much lower than usual. This fall (1913) wild root hasrea ched a s high a s $10.50 and t he best gra des of cultivat ed root h as a lsobrought a high price, ranging from $6.50 to $10.00. It oftens happens oflate th at th ere will be a great differen ce in t he price offered by differen tChinese exporters, Within the last few months, it has several times

ha ppened, th at one Chin am an would offer $1.50 more per pound for t hesame root than his fellow exporter would give and perhaps the nextday, on another lot varying in shape or color, the offers would bereversed. But t he pr ice on low grades h as been a bout alike.