McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1914-06-05

that or ginseng at 20 to SlU per
pound for the dry root, of course.
The prices of these two products is
likely to grow higher. as the wild
plants are playing out, and it is hard
to raise them fast enough to supply
the demand.
And yet, both puccoon and ginseng
are as easy to raise as turnips or cab
bages but for certain drawbacks. if
one knows how, and has the land
suited to them. One great trouble is
the time required to produce crop
of them. Few people are willing to
wait five or six years for returns from
planting, and that is what must be
done in case of these plants, and es-
specially of ginseng. A ChiDaman
can tell at glance the age of root,
and if it is not at least four or five
years old he does not want it. The
older the better, especially if the
root takes the shape of the human
form. If there is a fairly good imita-
tion of legs and arms in the side roots.
the market price is greatly enhanced.
Another trouble is, the diseases of
the plant.
Both these plants must be shaded
in order to grow. Puccoon does
finely under artificial shade; much
better than ginseng. At the Govern
ment station near Washington. puc-
coon was raised in three years at the
rate of 1900 pounds to the acre.
Cotton seed meal is the fertilizer
used, and the plants must be mulched
in winter. Fortunes could be made
now by people in McNairy if they had
cultivated yellow puccoon in days
when the plant was common, for they
could now sell the plants at big prices
for setting out plantations. One drug
manufacturer in New York State is
said to use 100 tons of the root an
nually. Puccoon has one disease, al
ternaria blight, which can be con-
trolled by spraying with Pyrox solu-
tion. Many tons Of the root could be
raised in McNairy county. Mr.. Glenn
Lea says the plant grows wild on his
place. If so, he has a fortune in
sight, for it propagates in three ways,
lby root-stock division, side root
sprouts, and by seed. So if a man
gets tired of just about making a
bare living at cotton raising, he
might try puccoon at 81, 500 an acre,
for little change. But it will re-
quire lots of study, patience and hard
work. 1t would be impossible for me
to tell all that did to get my puc-
coon beds into their present beautiful
shape, but some day hope to raise
the stuff in McNairy myself, where
land is cheap and living the same.
In the meantime, | hope nobody
will ask me any questions, for have
no plants for sale, and no more in
formation to impart. Inquirers should
write to the Department of Agricul-
ture for the bulletin on golden seal.
But ginseng is the royal root. Ma,
ny a person has failed at growing it.
and the government warns people tc
be careful about putting too much
money in the business; it is gamble
but the grand prize is simply dazzling
! This morning | went into my woods
and looked at my six-year ginseng
beds, with the plants standing two
feet high or more, in the pink Of
health and condition. An acre Of
such beds would be worth $4,000 tC
$4,000 for the roots alone, and the
seeds they bear are worth nearly a;
much more. have not an acre Of
these splendid plants, but enough
seedlings are up and growing to plant
four acres, and not one Of them fol