The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-02-23
Ginseng and its Magical Powers.

DR.. F. H. Terrill, Past Assistant Sur
geon of the United States steamer Mo-
nocacy, which, with the Ticonderoga,
is now cruising in Chinese waters, has
procured an interesting specimen of
root which is much esteemed by the
Chinese. It is of the species of pd1aar
and belongs to the natural order of
drdIidcg, and is commonly known as
ginseng. The specimen in question was
procured from Corea and is worth in
China about 5000. Not quite as large
as a mans thumb, it is yellowish in
color and has dried and wrinkled APP
pearance, looking something like q
Chinese idol, with the feet curled up
under the body. The root was shown
to the Pharmaceutical Society at its
last meeting, when quite number of
interesting remarks were made on the
subject of ginseng by Prof A. L. Leng-
field. The study of the root, apart from
its traditionary aspect, has little in it of
interest, but when the great value set
upon its medicinal properties in China
is considered, one finds ones self at
tracted by the plant and its character
istics, SO dissimilar are they from those
of most other botanical species.
Botanically, then, ginseng has per-
ennial root which sends up annually a
smooth round stem, about foot high
and at the summit by three stalks. each
of which supports a compound leaf,
consisting of five leaflets. II has small
greenish flowers and bright red berries
at certain Seasons of the year AL
though widely grown in China both in
a cultivated and wild state, it, is not
wholly confined to that region, being
indigenous to the hiily regions of our
Northern and Western States. A Ger
tain species fPaa0r Calttornjat41a) is
native to the soil of this State It is
yet unsettled whether the American
ginseng is identical with the Chinese
product, but it possesses the external,
appearance, if not the medicinal at.
tributes, of the latter variety.
The root is generally about the size
of wild artichoke of average growth.
though varying in length from two to
four inches, often being forked. Some
times several irregular cylindrical or
dubious roots are found joined together
by wire-like fbres. Its imagined re-
semblance to the body of man when
found two forked was probably what
caused the supernatural power of heal
ing to be attributed to it. This shape
is also an indication that the root can
restore vigor and power to the aged and
enfeebled. Such roots vary in price
from S25 to $500, and are only pos
sessed by the wealthy class-mand arms
and others. Ginseng from Manchuria
1,-oc ,NDoo aC+oo,,,nI ol,11-o o11 o+I,o,.
kinds, and, in consequence of the i'm
mense expectations, it became so scarce
that an imperial edict was issued pro-
hibiting its; collection there Prof.
Lockhart, of London, is authority for
the statement that ginseng is imperial
property in China, and that it is sold to
those having the privilege of dealing
in it at its weight in gold. PanaX
quinquefolium is the pharmacoppia
name for the American ginseng. In
some of the lake States in 1860 the
gathering of ginseng for the Chinese
market developed into a positive mania,
people leaving their homes and camp
ing for weeks in the hills of Michigan,
Wisconsin and Minnesota in search of
the roots, the supply of which ran so
short that it is now rarely found in suf-
tlcient quantities for expectation. The
first cargo shipped from America to
Canton yielded enormous profits. Rus
SLAMS on the Chinese border took to the
cultivation of ginseng a few years ago,
but the cultivated variety, which re-
quires six years to attain perfection, is
not valued SO highly in China as the
wild roots, requiring about thirty years
in which to grow to a marketable size.
Even in Japan, noted for the rapid
and gigantic growth of its vegetation,
the ginseng root does not thrive much
faster than in other climates, and Jap
anese ginseng, being coarse-grained
and not SO sweet in taste as the Chi
nese variety, is considered to be of an
inferior quality.-,San Francisco C5ron-
icLe.