The Iuka vidette. (Iuka, Miss.) 1894-1912, 1894-08-23
branches, which bear compound leaves

of I've leaflets and yellowish green
or white flowers. The American
root, like the Chinese ginseng, or
aralia panax, bears a slight resem-
blance to the body of a man, with head
and legs. Externally it is of light,
brown color, the interior being white.
1t has faint, sweetish odor. and its
taste is sweet and slightly aromatic.
Its component parts are starch, gum,
albumen, resin and sweet principal,
'panaquilon" from panaX, II dcriya-
tive of panacea).
Chemical examination has failed to
substantiate any of the claims made
for ginseng by the Chinese, and but for
the export trade with that people it is
highly questionable whether the root
would have any commercial value in
this country. All that European and
American therapeutics are willing to
concede is that it may possibly have
some value as mild stomachic From
I colonial times the gathering and pre-
pairing of the root for market has
formed an important industry in GER
tain parts of America. 1t is found in
Canada and thence as far south as
Georgia, flourishing only in the cool
woods of billy countries. The method
of gathering is II process of eXtermina
ton, for the root is dug as soon as the
shoots appear above ground in the ear
ly spring, and the plant has no oppor-
tunity to grow, much less to mature
and bear seeds. So complete has this
work of determination threatened to
become in some sections that govern
mental regulation of the gathering APP
pears to be needed. In North Carolina
there is an unwritten law, more or less
regarded, prohibiting the digging of
the root until the plant has reached
maturity. In Canada stringent laws
on the subject have been passed. The
young root, containing more of the
juices, is heavier and more salable and
therefore the temptation to evade laws,
written or unwritten, for the preserva-
ton of the plant is too great to be gem
orally resisted. As a result New York
state, which formerly furnished the
best ginseng, now supplies only mod
crate quantity of fine root, while the
most priced grade comes from Canada.
The ginseng industry in the United
States is of considerably less impor-
tance than it was a few years ago,
when the annual expectations to China
averaged a half million pounds. The
average now is about three hundred
thousand pounds.
The American ginseng is rated as
third quality by the Chinese, who place
the product of their own country first,
and the Corean ginseng second. Japan
also produces a variety of the root
which is of inferior quality to any of
the others, and is chiefly used in China
for purposes of adulteration. The best
Chinese ginseng comes from the pro-
vince of Manchuria, the seat of govern
ment of the Chinese empire, and is
raised and gathered under imperial
protection. This grade ranges in price
from $40 to 5000 per pound and can be
used only by the wealthy. The Corean
root costs only $15 to $35 per pound, and
the average cost of the American gin
seng is 80 per pound, some particularly
fine roots occasionally selling for S.
per pound The Japanese is worth
from 81 to S. per pound. Stories have
been told of fabulous prices paid for
pieces of the root bearing a striking re-
semblance to the human form, as it is
upon this fancied likeness that the
Chinese faith in its miraculous powers
is believed to be pinned. 1t has been
said that several thousand dollars have
been paid for a root in which the head,
body, arms and legs were well defined,
but as the root seldom has more than
two eXtremities we must accept this
statement, with all others of similar
character, with a good deal of allow
ance. There are, however, well au-
thenticated instances of the payment
of as high as $500 to 800, in China, for
old roots resembling the body of a man
with head and legs, and supposed to
be one or two centuries old.
In China ginseng is hawlled about
the streets by peddlers, much after the
manner of sellers of vegetables on this
side of the world, while in every apoth-
ecary's shop it is conspicuously dis
played, it being the main financial re-
lance of the Monaghan purveyor of
drugs. Not to be able to place before
the guests cup of an infusion of gin
seng,. indicates poverty of a humili-
ating degree, and Chinese families are
exceedingly careful to keep "a supply
on hand, for the benefit of callers, even
though they have to practice rigid
economy in other directions.
Many years ago the profits on Ameri-
can ginseng were so great as to pro-
duce an oversupply that nearly put an
end to the traffic. In some of the lake
states, in 1860, the gathering of ginseng
for the Chinese market became a regu-
lar mania, people leaving their homes
and camping out for weeks in the hills
of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota,
in search of the root. Their operations
were prosecuted with such vigor as to
almost exterminate the species in that
part of the country.-Popular Science
News.
A Sad Addiction.