The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1879-09-04
Roots and "Yarbs"-ln the Moun-
tains Of North Carolina
BY PROF. ASA GRAY.

BY PROF. ASA GRAY.
THE following extracts from q letter IRON
Prof. Gray to the Editor, will give some
idea of a little known region, and a peculiar
local industry.-Ed. Am. 4g.
As Agriculture embraces all practical ner'
baceous matters, l will call your attention
to a branch of it-a small branch, you Will
say-which l had no idea Of. 1t is the hoot
and Herb business as earned on IN the
mountain districts of Carolina. Our gio'
rious botanical journey-which only want,
cd your c~ompanionship to make 1t per1ect
took us to the headquarters OF the busl,
ness, and through the regions where most
of the collecting is done, and we had at
times the company of the two men who
largely control it,-Hyams, Of the firm OF
Wallace Brothers. of Statesville, and
Cowles, of Gap Greek, whose father organ
lied and developed the business IN the nrst
place. Being ourselves members OF the
Extraordinarily, we were received with
enthusiasm, and shown all the operations.
"Sang,"i. e. Ginseng, the original foun-
dation of the trade, has been collected ever
since the earliest settlement OF the country,
and is by this time pretty we'll rooted out
from the more accessible districts; but 1t is
still brought in, and brings IS or 80 cents a
pound. When [ was first in these noun
tains, between IS and 40 years ago, this,
and Angelco-root were the only things
which were gathered for market. Now,
the price-list which you will lind posted at
almost every roadside store, enumerates
over two hundred articles. Some of them
are cultivated things, such as Summer Sa-
worry, Southern-waod, Peony-fowers, Wa
termelon-seed, and leaves of the Poppy,
o~I Cnrla~ T a<<.1o DIT vpncf y nf wild
herbs. or the bark or berries of trees, or In
some cases blossoms. Elder-fowers, for
instance, are a prime article. The collect
ing is done by women and children-it
could only be done bycheap labor-andt the
articles, when dried, taken to the country
store, usually to the nearest County Seat,
and exchanged for ''store goods very lit
tie money passing. Almost every day we
would meet women on horseback, with a
bundle of the more bulky herbs on the Oft
side, commonly wrapped in a sheet or blank
ct, and another on the pommel, and a bas-
ket in one hand. With the proceeds they
buy most of the clothing that is not made
at home (for, happily the wheel and the
loom hold their place in almost every house,,
perhaps some sugar, and their small hnery.
But ''tree-sugar" is made for home con-
sumption, and serves for the coffee tea is
uuhuOWu, at Ouc place., WucTc our Icu was
pronounced mot bad to take" we were re-
q%uested to tell them what they should call
for if they ever got any at the store) and
the best Of honey abounds. In these noun
tains milk and honey literally flow without
price. At least we could never get the
people to fix any.
From the country stores the roots and
herbs pass to the larger dealers. and from
these only would you get any idea of the
magnitude of the business. You should see
the herb-warehouse Of Mr.. Cowles at Gap
Creek, in Ashe County, and the much lar
ger one at Statesville, Of the enterprising
Wallace Brothers, under the charge of Pro-
fessor Hyams, three of whose sons are in
the business at different points, and one of
them in Mcdowell County, where he was
the fortunase r~ediscoverer of the long-lost
Shortia. Bales upon bales of roots and
herbs, compacted by a powerful screw-press,
accumulate in these warehouses, and pass
on to northern cities and ports. What be- |
comes of them 2 Some are standard articles |
of the Materia Medica, such as Mandrake
root, from which PodophyIin is made. One |
day, while we were present, an order came
to one of these establishments for ten tons |
of Mandrake to 60 to France. The larger !
of articles go into patent medicines,
You may form some idea Of the demand for
this purpose from two orders Just received. |
one for an unlimited amount of Liver-leaf
{ Hepatcu). the other for two tons of Maid |
en-hair (Adtatum). Consider what a guam
tity eff these, in a dried state, would 90 to a
ton!
And now, if l begin to tell you anything |
about AZalcas and Laurels-both Rhodod-
and Kalmia, there will be no end. |
We were just in the season fer these in all |
their glory, having timed it accordingly.
You may say there is no need to 90 to the |
mountains Of North Carolina for these. but
you will get new ideas if you do. Nowhere
else can you see wooded hillsides of the |
green break out into fame with
Azdled cGlenduldccd, and nowhere but in
Roam can you see some miles of grassy |
all ruddy and rosy with Rho
C~dtambiense. Now YOU can
comfortably reach the top of Roam Noun
tain in Sc hours from New York, and be in
mountain air all the way after leaving
.Lynchburg, and on the mountain be most
and cheaply housed and fed, |
at the Cleveland Hotel OF on oIoro.. |