The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-08-07
MONEY ING|NSENG,,
. WONDERFUL HERB
Grows to Perfection in
the Mountains of
Virginia.
EXPERIMENTS IN
HIGHLANDCOUNTY
Suddarth's Surprising Success.
Immense Demand in China for
Mysterious Root-Regarded
With superstitious Rever-
ence-soo,oo 100000 Peo-
pie Pay Big Price for 1t.
BY FRANK $. woopsox.
Industrial Editor.

Industrial Editor.
AS will hereinafter appear, to uss
a pet phrase of the lawyers, consider
able interest is being manifested In
l Virginia and other parts of the South
in the plant known as ginseng. How.
ever, as yet very few Nirgintans, CONF
paratively speaking, know much about
this herb The Industrial Section is
| In the business of furnishing informa
| ton on any and all subjects that are,
or likely to be, of interest and value
to those who have the industrial and
agricultural development of the old
State at heart Hence l have been
studying up on ginseng. and think
] am now prepared to throw a few
electriclight flashes on the subject.
Ginseng Is, or was, a Chinese plant
and is called in the language of China
"jin-tsang," the hyphenated word mean
ing: in the likeness Of a man. 1t was
given this name because originally.
and now In many instances, the plant.
which is very valuable, grows sonie-
what in the shape of a human being
Considerable quantities OF the herb is
also found In Korea. 1t has a yell
lowish root which is very highly
esteemed by the Chinese, who believe
that 1t possesses extraordinary medic
inal virtues for any and all diseases,
particularly for exhaustion of body
and mind This belief is so firmly
lodged in the minds of the Asiatcs
that 1t amounts to superstition, and
| specimens of the herb resembling tina
human form sometimes sell for their
weight in gold.
Found in American Forests.
This species. which grows almost
| altogether In China and Korea. IS from
one to two feet tall. has fiva almost
smooth leaves. with long petioles. be-
tween which arise the long-stalked,
fan-shaped flowers which are sue
ceeded by numerous scarlet berries.
i A description OF this species and it's
] medicinal properties led to the dis
covery. more than 100 years ago, OF
the American species. which so closely
resembles Asiatic ginseng that an ex-
tenstve export trade In the wild roots
soon followed Its Introduction IN China.
/ The natural range of American gin
sens. is from the Mississippi eastward.
but 1t is largely confined to highlands
and the mountains of the South.
| although some grows in the North,
| and 1t Is claimed that the limited
supply found in the mountainous sec
tons of the. North Is better than that
IN the warmer sections. but this is
to be doubted. The decreasing supply
OF Wild ginseng has been insufficient
to meet the demand. and the price
has risen from fifty to sixty cent;
per pound fifty or more years ago. to
from 81 to 50 per pound at the present
time.
Experiments by CuItivntOrs.
| This state of affairs led people IN
various section OF the mountainous
country to make experiments in grow
Ing the herb. All Of the experiments
We're failures, until a man away up In
New York successfully grew the plant
In beds in the forest. He later succeed
ed In growing 1t under an artificial
| shade of lath.
Since the publication Of this New
Workers. methods interest in the val-
4 liable plant has increased. and many
1'beds have been set out In various parts
of the country, and some of them
! proved successful. The cultivated roots
SO far marketed. within the past ten
or dozen years. have scommanded at i
.l'least 20 per cent more In cash than
81 the specimens which grew wild In the h
mountains Of Virginia, West Virginiai
and Kentucky, but whether this Is
due to increased demand In that time
or to the superiority Of the cultivated
article Is question.
An authority on the subject says
ginseng succeeds best in wel1-drained,
loose, friable loan, rich in humus.
potash and phosphoric acid, but not
In nitrogen In its present state of
1 development the root requires from
three to five years to reach market
able size. but when the fancy figures
1t commands are considered the grower
can afford to be patient. equally as
much SO as the Virginia fruit grower
and orchardist, for. like the apple tree.
when the ginseng once begins to
come in paying quantities there is
no more planting and cultivation, for
the root Is In the ground for keeps, or
at least for g. decade.
Virginia Catches On.
In the Industrial Section the claim
has often been set forth that anything
that grows our OF the ground that
is worth cultivating can be success
fully cultivated somewhere In old Vir-
ginta. believe that Is true--tropical
fruits and plants excepted. OF course.
Virginia Is getting q good deal of
Chinese money by the cultivation OF
ginseng, and 1t may be that 1t is going s
Ito get great deal more. Perhaps 81
jtors In this State are up In Highland
county. and as i am constantly got
| ting letters from farmers inquiring
about the valuable plant. how II Is n
planted and grown. how 1t pays. etc..
have written to that county for in-
lformation,
II. It slayen. the valued correspon-
dent OF The Times Dispatch In thai
region. has come across with very
Entertaining story OF how "A. @. Sud-
darth. of Monterey. the county seat OF
Highland has made ginseng a paying
product of Virginia soil. Under
Monterey date line Mr.. Slaven writes
an intensely interesting letter. which
Is brim full OF matter that will be
real newsy to a large majority OF
Times dispatch readers, Mr.. Slaven
writes: M ,1gsas
Highland, County's New Indus
.Ginseng culture In Highland 6 In
= :. r1,1. IL 49, gs