The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1909-09-23
GINSENG RAISING IN RANDOLPH
Extensive Beds of the Valuable Root Being
Made Ready for Export to China

us an dTllCle vi eNpOIJ W Olllnhs L nt IOOl
grows wild in North America, but has
been so industriously dug for years that
it is becoming scarce and has risen in
value accordingly.
Six years ago Mr. White set out his
first plants, which he got out of the woods
and he now has beds, 65x45 feet, covering
an eighth of an acre of ground near his
house. The plant requires five years to
grow before the root can be pulled, but
then it brings in the New York market
from Sc so to 81 25 a pound. Last fall
he pulled his first bed of roots and had
six pounds that netted him $50. This fall
he will have little more than six pounds;
then he will have to wait a year but in
1911 a third bed will be ready to yield
another six or eight pounds. After five
years he expects to be able to harvest
a profit of 81 200
Last year he planted 5000 seeds,
which require Is months to grow above
ground, as they must have the frosts
of two winters for their development
Five thousand plants from these seeds are
growing vigorously This season he has
put in 1000 seeds and has 5000 more
to plant. When Che plants from $4,000
seeds are three years old they will bear
approximately 100000 seeds, of which
the market price at present is two cents
apiece. The plants grow little ball of
red pods and each pod contains two seeds,
I while good full ball has at least 30 pods.
From SIS to 500 worth of seeds have
already been taken from the older plants
and used in extending the cultivation.
After the seeds are up out of the ground
the y have to be transplanted and are
no harder to manage than turnips or
any similar vegetable To make room for
transplanting Mr.. White will add to his
beds another strip of land 12x65 feet and
eventually will have a quarter of an acre
under ginseng cultivation, when he will
be able to transplant from bed to bed as
he pulls the old roots to supply trade.
The seed beds are covered with sawdust
Or any mulch that will keep down weeds,
and a soil which will grow corn is sufficient
ly rich for ginseng. By fertilizing each
spring, the same tract can be used from
year to year, and crop worth more
than all the other products of the farm
can be raised on less than an acre of
ground. The plants require so little
care that their cultivation does not
interfere with the other farm work at all.
A young man just starting an agricultural
career might give little attention to
ginseng culture, as side line, and after
few years find small gold mine on his
farm that would need no capital to work
and no machinery except spade operated
by a couple of stout arms. In dry weather
irrigated little but even that is not
necessary for the roots grow deep into
the ground and reach more moisture than
do other things. The beds are covered
with Stats of lath around the sides and
over the top for protection from too much
sunlight, as ginseng grows naturally in
the woods and not in the open.
The Chinese call the plant jintsang,
meaning "likeness of a man." from its
forked root, al d those specimens which
most resemble the human form are some
times sold for their weight in gold. This
resemblance has led the Chinese to ascrbe
almost miraculous powers to the plant,
which they believe to possess extraordi-
nary virtues for all diseases, particularly
for exhaustion of body and mind, and
they think it is also able to increase vigor
and prolong life. Chinese physicians
have written many books about its
medicinal value and always use it in their
prescriptions for the nobility. 1t is
cultivated in China and Korea, exclusively
by the Emperor of China, who allows only
picked men to handle it, In China the
native plant grows from one to two feet
high Its description led to the dis
covery of the American plant, which so
closely resembles the Asiatic that an
extensive export trade soon followed its
introduction into China.
1t was first discovered in Canada by
Father Lahtau, a missionary to the
Iroquois, and in IT'S description of it
was published in the "Memoirs" Of the
French Academy. Its natural range is
from the borders of the Mississippi eastward
to the hi GLANDS and mountains The
I orthern root is considered of superior
quality and commands the highest prices.
1t was so industriously pulled that the
Wild supply decreased until the price rose
from So cents a pound in 1858 to S5.55 in
1902. In 1885, George Stanton eX-
perimented in growing the plants in beds
in the forest at Apulia, n. Y, and later
succeeded in growing it under an artificial
shade of lath. There is hardly any now
in the forests and 20 years ago a man was
doing well if he could make $l5O day
hunting for it, At present it is cultivated
a little in Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota
and Pennsylvania Those in Beanville
are the only beds of ginseng known to be
ia Vermont
Its only medicinal value is that of an
aromatic stimulant, and it is used in this
country merely for a gum, by people who
have acquired liking for its bitter-sweet
taste. The Chinese brew tea from its
leaves and make the roots into lubrica-