The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-06-27
AN ORIENTAL TIDBIT.
GINSENG is DEEMED A LUXURY BY
CELESTIAL GRANOEES.

The Root In China In Worth More
Than zts Weight In Gold. and In
Korea It Ia Death TO Export II
Without Imperial PcrmissiOn.
1t is not we'll known fact that n
large percentage Of the shipments of |
(Aralla ginscng) which 80 an
nually to China is contributed by the |
forests of northern Ohio. Nevertheless
It Is true. Large districts there were |
and still are comparatively we'll stocked
with the herb, and many residents
have made hundreds Of dollars by gath
cring the roots In years gone by. The
first sign Of spring calls the ginseng
diggers from their homes, and many of
them are already af Id, seeking prob
ably the most precious plant that
grows. a spade and bag over his
ginseng from other men. He goes 10
rich woodlands and then singles out
the butternut trees, under which the
herb Is most commonly found
The roots OF the plant, sometimes
heshy tuberS the size Of fore1nger,
are Of that shape and easily go to make
up n pound Of the matter desired.
When dried, they bring from So to $40
q pound. according to their size, the
older and larger the higher the price.
Although gathering the roots is n prof
itable business. that Of selling direct
to the consumer Is much more profit
able. In China it Is sold by the ounce
and ofttimes brings as high as $500 an
ounce, that weight In all cases bringing
more than the pound upon the Ameri~
can market. With the Celestials 1T is n
prize, and upon perfect specimens as
high as $4,000 has been lavished. With
them it Is supposed to possess a super
natural power to strengthen and invig-
crate the weakening tissues, so that
the eater will live to be 100 years old.
And not only Is the power thus ascrib-
ed, but to the poor mentally 1t imparts
knowledge and, above all, prepares
tHe olive eyed prince for a long and
-xurious sojourn on earth.
In fact, the ginseng root Is almost
sacred to the Chinaman Of the upper
class, and to present 1t to ones friend
is n homage difficult Of appreciation
by the sons of the west who gather 1t
In the woods. The entire growth of
the herb is protected by the govern
ment In the Chinese empire. At one
time the emperor detailed 10000 Tar
tars to gather all that could be found
In his domain. Each man was obliged
to give two pounds to his majesty, and
for what lie succeeded In gathering aft
erward he was repaid by its weight in
silver This, however was no more
than one-eighth Of its value, and soon
1t was exchanged evenly for its weight
in gold, as is often the case at the
present time.
The American crop does not compare
at all fnvorably with that of Koren.
In that country, however, 1t is found
practicable to raise it In gardens, and
here 1t is impossible to produce good
roots by SO doing. 1t Is a crime pun
ishable by death for Korean to sell
ginseng outside of his own country
without imperial permission. Thus
protected 1t forms one Of the staple
products Of Korea aud is much appre-
ciated by the Chinese owing to its su-
perior flavor. There Is naturally n
prejudice on the part Of the Chinese TO
receive from the west anything SO
highly regarded l'y them. Up to the
dawn Of the nineteenth century it was
exported from America In small guam
titles, but as early as 1880 the ship
ments amounted to nearly $1,000 in
one year.
There seems to be an idea prevalent
In this country that the Chinese pow
der the roots and smoke them. This is
an error. 1t is never used Us quietus.
TIC Con- H10ner ciusses eaI IL much as
we do the common licorice root, but
those who employ 1t most are the gran
dees and even the royal households.
A truly oriental and luxurious man
ner Of administering the powdered root
obtains among the higher classes. BY
the highest caste the treatment Ia TAX
en- during period Of 40 days once in
two years. The patient ia taken to q
beautiful garden where flowers are
blooming. birds singing. water SPAR
king from q fountain and usually
where music Is to be heard through the
hours Of the day. In this retreat he Is
told nothing Of the outside world and
is allowed to receive no letters from
friends for fear they might contain un-
pleasant news. Here he Is fed the
ginseng powder, soft yellow stuff
with slightly aromatic flavor. AS
natural consequence Of his rest from
trouble and worry the patient comes
forth In brighter spirit, and in this
way 1t is sounded abroad that 1t was
the ginseng treatment which made him
so.
1t is q singular fact that the name
ryfx, <6< v,1o H. (yJ.f -
North American Indian is strongly.
similar. Both names suggest the fan
cied resemblance Of root to the form
Of the human body, the tuber being Oft
times split into two divisions resem-
bling the limbs Of man. On account
Of this similarity to mans form the
supernatural powers were ascribed to
II, and there Is much evidence to show
that it was IN high favor with the In
dams on the same account-Pittsburg
~