A discussion of these pests is to be found in Cor nell Bulletin No. 219, " Diseases of Ginseng," by James M. Van Hook, from which these notes are in part adapted.
Medicinal properties.
In this country ginseng is considered of little medicinal value. The root is mildly aromatic and slightly stimulant. The Chinese and Koreans, how ever, place a high value on it, and regard it as a panacea. In Korea, the cultivated ginseng is smaller than the wild or mountain ginseng, the root of which attains a length of a foot or more and a diameter of an inch and upward. It is said that when this wild root is administered the patient loses consciousness for a time, and for about a month is tortured by boils, eruptions, sleeplessness and other ills. Rejuvenation then begins, the skin becomes clear, the body healthy, and the person will live (such is the belief) exempt from diseases for many years. The Chinese consider that it acts as a preventive by toning up the system.
The root appears to be differently employed according to the source from which it is secured, probably partly on real and partly on fictitious grounds. There are said to be three ways of tak ing ginseng, viz., as pills, confection and infusion. Its medicinal value is thought to be diminished by a steaming process to which it is frequently sub jected for the improvement of its color. It appears to be given the character of a confection by steep ing in honey or by the use of sugar.
Markets and marketing.
Ginseng roots are purchased by raw fur dealers' in New York and other large cities. Many of these dealers issue price-lists, which are mailed to grow ers and collectors from July to December. These buyers either dispose of their holdings to Chinese representatives or export directly to Hong Kong, which is the principal port for American goods entering China. There the roots are handled by Chinese merchants who purchase in large quanti ties to supply the retailers, from whom the con sumers buy. That there is a demand for American
root in China is certain. The native supply is lim ited, and it is to this country that China must look for a large share of the ginseng she uses. The market for the past two years has preferred that the roots be not washed with a brush, but that they be cleaned by a strong current of water thrown on them, as from a hose.
The market price of ginseng fluctuates more or less, chiefly because of trade conditions and the rise and fall in silver. In the years 1905 and 1906, cultivated ginseng was subject to great variation in price, even being refused at one time. Prior to this very high prices had been paid. Leading New York dealers, who furnish the prices quoted below, say the business is still in a transitional state, which will probably last two or three years, until growers produce the medium - sized, ringed, dark, uniform roots in demand among the Chinese. In the spring of 1907 when these statements were made, prices for American wild root in New York city ranged from $6.35 to $7.25 a pound, and those of cultivated, from $5.75 to $6.40.
Literature.
Kains, Ginseng : Its Cultivation, Harvesting and Market Value, Orange Judd Co., New York (1904); An Experiment in Ginseng-Culture, Pennsylvania State College Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 62 ; Ginseng : Its Nature and Culture, Kentucky Ex periment Station, Bulletin No. 78; Diseases of Ginseng, New York (Cornell) Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 219 ; Pennsylvania State Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 27; Missouri Experi ment Station, Bulletin No. 69; Division of Botany, United States Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. lt; ; Daily Consular Reports for 1905, Nos. 21.;2,22S7, Department of Commerce and L:0.or, Washington D. C.; Monthly Reports of Exports and Imports, Department of Commerce and Labor (secured from Bureau of Statistics, \\ ash ington, D. C.).