The herald., 1898-12-25
1T BRINGS DOLLARS TO US
Chinese Superstition That Is Respons
sible for an American Industry


There is an active though little known in
dustry that all summer long has been giving
profitable employment throughout the
United States and Canada. This has been
the gathering of wild ginseng root for ex-
port to China. New York is the headquar-
ters for the trade. The root is dug by meny
women and children in all parts OF the coun-
try, from as far north as Canada to the
mountains of Tennessee and Georgia.
II one wishes to form an idea of the value
of ginseng | know OF no better way than to
90 to one of the commission houses where
it is handled. AT one of these houses the
dealer showed me a little heap of hard,
yellowish roots, that could easily have been
covered by the upturned bushel measure,
upon which l sat while | examined them.
The lot was valued at between $400 and $500.
He also displayed a check, that he was about
to send to country buyer, for whom he had
sold three barrels of the roots, or 4S3
pounds. The check was for $2656 80 Though
American ginseng is far from being the
most valuable, it ranks as third in China.
The virtue of this plant--a perennial
herb of slow growth, producing forked OF
single root of from on to four inches in
ength-are of a supernatural rather than q
therapeutical character. In America it is
seldom prescribed by any physicians; in
China, however, it enters largely into every
medicine used. Being mildly stimulating
III its effects and pleasantly aromatic to the
taste, one may acquire a fondness for it. The
roots are frequently forked, and it is said
to be owing to this fact that medical prop.
critics were first attributed to it; its like.
ness to the body of a man having been sup
posed to indicate it would restore virile
strength to the aged and infirm. Further
than this, it is believed to be inhabited by a
lifeg giving spirit and to possess the power Of
movement, which enables it to run away
when sought for. The Chinese sang g-digger
also believes that now and then he may be
permitted to see at night the spiritual es.
sence which shines above the plant in the
form of halo of light; indicating the spot
where he may dig when day dawns. Curl
ouslyI enough, the southern sang digger, who
is always uneducated and generally supersti-
tious, has belief concerning ginseng very
like that of the Chinese digger. He is con.
vinced that should he discover the plant late
at night he must not mark the spot in any
way. If he does, it will be gone when
morning comes.
| Ginseng was one OF the first articles ex-
ported by the American colonies In Canada
the industry was at one time counted as
important as the fur trade. A Jesuit priest,
Pere Joseph Francois Laftou, stationed
near Montreal in l7l6, was responsible for
the identification of the American plant
The plant was gathered with such indus.
try that it was soon threatened with ex.
tinction. As the demand for it increased
the care with which it was cured was re.
laxed. This resulted in its acquiring bad
name in the Chinese market, and in 1855 the
trade came to an abrupt end.
Between l775 and 1880 very little ginseng
was gathered by the Canadians. Then the
revival came, and during the last ten years
the root has been the object of lively quest
il all parts of Canada. In the United States
the industry has never undergone an eclipse.
1t has given satisfactory returns from the
very start.-Pittsburg Dispatch.