Ginseng (_Panax quinquefolium_) is a fleshy-rooted herbaceous plant
native to this country and formerly of frequent occurrence in shady,
well-drained situations in hardwood forests from Maine to Minnesota and
southward to the mountains of Georgia and the Carolinas. It has long
been valued by the Chinese for medicinal use, though rarely credited
with curative properties by natives of other countries. When placed
under cultural conditions, ginseng should be shielded from direct
sunlight by the shade of trees or by lath sheds. The soil should be
fairly light and well fertilized with woods earth, rotted leaves, or
fine raw bone meal, the latter applied at the rate of 1 pound to each
square yard. Seed should be planted in the spring as early as the
soil can be worked to advantage, placed 6 inches apart each way in
the permanent beds or 2 by 6 inches in seed beds, and the seedlings
transplanted to stand 6 to 8 inches apart when 2 years old. Only
cracked or partially germinated seed should be used.
Ginseng needs little cultivation, but the beds should at all times be
kept free from weeds and grass and the surface of the soil slightly
stirred whenever it shows signs of caking. A winter mulch over the
crowns is usually essential, but it should not be applied until
freezing weather is imminent and should be removed in the spring before
the first shoots come through the soil.
The roots do not reach marketable size until about the fifth or sixth
year from seed. When dug they should be carefully washed or shaken free
from all adhering soil, but not scraped. Curing is best; effected in a
well-ventilated room heated to about 90° F. Nearly a month is required
to properly cure the larger roots, and great care must be taken in
order to prevent molding or souring. Overheating must also be avoided.
When well cured the roots should be stored in a dry, airy place until
ready for sale. A market may be found with the wholesale drug dealers,
some of whom make a specialty of buying ginseng root for export.
The price of cultivated ginseng roots, as quoted in wholesale drug
lists, ranges from $1.50 to $8 a pound, according to quality and
freedom from disease.
Further details respecting the culture of ginseng are given in a
Farmers' Bulletin now in press, entitled "Ginseng Culture," and in
Farmers' Bulletin 736, entitled "Ginseng Diseases and Their Control."