Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1904-07-21
MONEY IN GINSENG GROWING.

soft peach scale.
MONEY IN GINSENG GROWING.
! Prof. w. i. Howard of the horficul
tural department of the Missouri state
agricultural college, says: Il advise
farmers to cultivate ginseng. do
this after careful consideration. Pig
profits may be realized. The produc-
tlon OF ginseng has two large advan-
taSes, 1t requires Little or no attention
ana has no enemies. | mean bv enc
mics that, so far as is known. there
Is no disease or insect pest which af
nlcts the plant. All that is necessary
is to plant the seed. Nature attends
10 the rest. 1t must be planted in the
shade and kept protected from the
sun. This would necessitate but little
expense. A shed or roof of crude
structure supported by four posts
would answer the purpose. Ginseng
Is hardy plant, and thrives in all
kinds OF weather. 1t requires but LIT.
tie moisture, and can survive a pro-
longed' drouth. The principal disad-
vantage is the high price of the plant
ing material. Either seed or roots
may be used, but | advise the latter
/ The seed cost five cents each. The
roots vary in cost according to age
but | would advise farmers to use tbe
J cne-year variety. An outlay of 5000
will start a ginseng farm. from which
large profits may be realized. ANY
farmer may grow ginseng in Missouri
or in any of the neighboring states.
The soil of Missouri. Illinois. Ken.
tucky and Wisconsin has been found
i, by experiments to be especially adant-
ed to the growth of this plant. Mis-.
souri,, however, is perhaps the best of
these states, and produces ginseng of
o high quality. Many farmers in this
state are now cultivating the plant on
an extensive scale, and some have re-
al1zed fortunes from II A serious dis.
/ advantage is that it requires two or
+ three years to produce a crop for the
market. The profits, however are
large. If sold dry to a Wholesale deal
er, the roots bring from IS to $40 a
pound. In China, where ginseng is
called the sacred plant the roots are
sold at as high as $40 a pound. The
plant is used for drugs and medicines
/ by the Chinese, but the real reason
Tor It's peculiar value is the supArst!
ton attached to it, A ginseng root
which by some freak of Nature han
pens to be in the shape of man, may
be sold at many times the price of an
Z ordinary root
/ Americans have tested the value of
ginseng, and have but little use for if
In consequence, at least 95 per cent of
the ginseng crop in this country is
sent to China, where spectators real
lze large profits on it, We have been
! experimenting with ginseng on the
Missouri horticultural farm for eight
years, and after due consideration 7
can safely advise the farmers of Mis-
souri,, Illinois and neighboring states
to put in crop 1t must be cultivated
or there is little profit in it. Few. If
any, have been able to realize much
from looking for it in its wild state It
1t true that IL grows wild in every
county of Missouri, but the dif1clrltv
is in finding it and judging its value
after it is found. Sen diggers, as
they are called. are usually rather
| low class of people. who are too law
for any other occupation. They roam
the hills and valleys in search of the
plant, and sometimes are able to earn
scant living. But the trouble is they
! don't know the value of the plant
when they see il and are likely to
gather it before it has attained the
proper growth and age to be at full
market value. Many of them are Will.
ing to sell the seed to the first bryer
they can find, without troubling them
selves about the roots, which is the
source of the greatest profit to the ex-
perienced cultivator. The fact that
these diggers usually gather the plant
| without waiting for it to mature is re-
sponsible for the decrease of wild gin
seng in the last few years
"The cultivation of this product.
however, is largely on the increase.
and ginseng farms are now being cul-
tivated in many sections of Missouri
We have found. after eight years ex-
periments, that ginseng of the highest
quality may be grown in this section
of the country, and it would well pay
the farmers to give it their serious at
tention. Our next experiments or this
line will be in irrigating the ginseng
beds. So far we have found that Il re
quires but little moisture, but we wish
to learn if still better quality NAV
not be produced by irrigation and
different method of cultivation We
produced very fine crop Of ginseng !
last season, but expect by further ez-