xt78930nt70c https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt78930nt70c/data/mets.xml   Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. 1898 journals kaes_bulletins_078 English Lexington, Ky. : The Station, 1885- Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin n.78. text Bulletin n.78. 1898 2014 true xt78930nt70c section xt78930nt70c   KENTUCKY I VE I 
  ARRIUULIURAL LXPLRIAALNI SIAIIUN t    A
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I STATE COLLEGE CF KENTUCKY.  
BuL-LEnrIN-Ne. 78. I I  
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  Ginseng, Its Nature and Culture. _ I  
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; KEN·rUcKY ‘
BOARD OF CONTROL. [ '
l A V HART BOSWELL, Chairman, Lexington, Ky.
I , ]. T. GATHRIGHT, Louisville, Ky.
’ THOS. TODD, Shelbyville, Ky.
[ ]. K. PATTERSON, President of the College.
M. A. SCOVELL, Director, Secretary.
, STATION OFFICERS.
M. A. SCOVELL, Director.
Q A. M. PETER,
_   } Chemists.
,‘   ‘i rr.   cnrzrrs,
l H. GARMAN, Entoniologist and Botanist.
C. \V. MATHEWS, Horticulturist.
i J. N. HARPER, Agriculturist.
  V. E. MUNCY, Weather Observer.
A
· ~— EIHVARD RHORER, Secretary to Director.
Address of the Station—LEXINGT()N, KY.
NOTICE.
— c — The Bulletins of the Station will be mailed free to any citizen of I _
B Kentucky who sends his name and address to the Station for that
_ purpose.
Correspondents will please notify the Director of changes in their O
p0st—of`iice address, or of any failure to receive the Bulletins. ' '
.—\1»n1u~:ss:
* l{l•ZNTUCK\' AGRlCUL'l`UR.-\L Exr>ERmENT S*r.u*1oN,
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T GINSENG, ITS NATURE AND CULTURE.
12v 11. oamiax, 12x’roMoLoG1sr Axn isorrtmsr. T
Hunting ginseng, or sang, as it is Oft€11 called in rural ..
Kentucky, has long been a means of earning pi11 money to lj
Kentuckians living in the more rugged and unsettled parts of ` 1*
the State. So eagerly has it been sought out that it is now l ‘ i
becoming scarce, a11d in a few years wild plants will be l ·.
exceedingly hard to find. This increasing scarcity of ginseng 1 -‘
together with the high prices paid for it has drawn attention __  
to the subject of its artificial culture for the market, and is the i
reason for the preparation of this bulletin. ` ··
For more than a century the roots of ginseng have been i
included among the principal exports of the United States.
The statement will be a surprise to llllllly of our people, but it 3 l
I · is a fact that from 179o till the present time the quantity i _.
annually exported to China from the United States has ranged ` T
froni 29,2OS to 75;,717 pounds. Froin iszo to 1897 inclusive Z
' ' the quantity of dried roots annually shipped from this country  
was never below 46,581 pounds, and ranged in value, accord- ,
ing to statistics published by the national government, from
$I7,339 to $8.:].(),6;],8, the latter sum representing the value of
the roots exported in 1897. During a period of sixty·hve
years (KS2] to 1879 inclusive, a11d 1892 to 1897 inclusive)
records published by tl1e Government show that our people
exported ginseng roots to the value of $20,023,7IO. The
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  . . 126 /32://cfm N0. 78. '
  . following figures taken from various statistical reports i11 the 1
1 Station library show how the supply has diminished and the _ _
price increased. _
_ o11Ar<·1*1*1‘x· vA1.Ur~:
y1~:.x1z. r:x1·o1s. POUND.
, T 1821. ,..... 352,992. ...... $171,786. ...... 5 .48 `
1822 ......., 753,717 ....,... 313,943 ........ 5
° 1823 ...,... 385,877 .... ... 150,976 ........ `
F 1824 ........ 600,046 ....... 229,080 ....., .
1825 ........ 475,974. ...... I;t;].,5QQ. ..,...
1841 .. ...640,967 ,.,.   437,245 ........ .71
1_ 104].2.. .. . 144,426 . ..... 63,702 .,.....
1843 ........ 556,533 ..,.,... lllSt‘lll Oli lllC U\\`lll‘]', lll lllC V
counties ol l’oeahontas, tlreenbrier and \\`ebster. Any other
county in the State is permitted to adopt the law when one
hundred residents petition the Couizty Court to have its pro-
visions enforced therein.
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  1 ‘ 128 B7!//6`/[lll JVO. 78. .
  _ ‘ The law does not seem as likely t0 prove effective in
  I protecting ginseng as does the one enacted by the Canadians.
  ‘ - It is so easy for roamers in the woods to gather ginseng and
V other roots without detection, or in other cases to get permis- i i
sion to collect, that it would seem scarcely possible to check
their extermination with a law of this sort. A law embody- U __
ing the ideas in both of the above would very likely prove
€ , i more effective than either.
i ‘ Ginseng in Kentucky.  i
I There is probably not a county i11 Kentucky in which gin-
seng is not present and at one time grew more or less abund-
antly. It is of course most common in the heavily wooded
sections, and in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky is still
`~ collected in considerable quanities. The experienced ginseng
hunter of that section roams the woods armed with a light
{ spade made like a chisel, a couple of inches wide and with a
    round handle about three feet long, or else carries a small
’ `; eye-hoe, made for the purpose. Other tools lacking, he uses
a sharpened stick, and on a pinch digs up the roots with his
lingers or jack-knife. He carries at his side to hold the roots
` a simple l1ome—made cloth or linoleum satchel, shaped like
_,;_ those used by school children for books ; and frequently, with
  _, an eye to both pleasure and proht, takes his rifle with llllll
also. A collector whom I met near Somerset some time ago
told 1ue that he had that day collected a dollar’s worth ; and
judging by what I saw brought in by other collectors, this is
` not an uncommon day’s wage from ginseng hunting. Few of
. __ . those who have no established business on their hands could , .
_ find more profitable employment. To collect successfully
A requires a certain amount of hardihood and forest lore too,
and only he can expect to hud the largest and finest roots · -
who has strength and inclination to tramp and climb in all
Y sorts of Ollt·()f·tll€-\\'Il}' nooks, where commonplace men and
, the ubiquitous hog and cow rarely penetrate. For ginseng
. is a wild thing, hiding away in deep ravines and in undis-
` _ turbed forests, so dense that the winds Ollly sweep over the
tops, and in their depths the owls hoot in the daytime. In
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` places such as these it flourishes, sending down its curious   l
i forked root into tl1e rich mold consisting largely of the deco111- , g
; 1 posed remains of dead trees a11d their leaves. E `
The collector in the mountains often strings his roots, i
running a needle and piece of twine or thread through them I   1’
v ·· and hangs them to the walls a11d rafters of his dwelling to I Q
dry. The purchaser occasionally gets strings of this sort   i
which are several yards lo11g. I f
Kentuckians probably began collecting the roots as soon    
as the demand for them arose, in 1790, or earlier, before the l i
territory was separated from Virginia. In the earlier days
when 1nucl1 of its surface was covered with forest, the State ·
doubtless produced a large share of the total product shipped i
out of the country. I11 the \Vestern Farm journal, Volume
1, published at Louisville in 1856, I find it mentioned in the `°
market quotations as selling for from 25 to 28 cents per pound.
In the issue of the sa111e journal for August 10, 1857, under 5 _
the head of market quotations it is given a special paragraph  
which reads: "Prices l1ave again advanced, with sales fron1 1 v·,"
store at 37% to 40 cents, generally at the outside figure, and , `é
from wagons at from 36 to 37 cents. The demand is largely i ,`
ill excess of the supply." At present it sells readily for cash , .
at from $1.50 to $3.25 per pound, according to quality, the , ;
small and poorly dried roots being rated lowest, because, as I ii
Zllll informed by a local buyer, they contain a good deal of · ,
waste in the shape of fibrous parts, stems, etc. · ’
Messrs. Speyer 8; Son, of Lexington, inform me that they
I handle $25,000 worth a year, and last year bought $6,000 , i
[ _ worth at Glasgow, Ky., alone. They also buy large quantities ' _
about Nashville, Tenn. f
_ _ Samuel \\’ells & Company, 2II and 213 Vine Street, i  
Cincinnati, are large dealers in the roots, but tell me they  
handle but little of the Kentucky ginseng because of its V
inferior quality. Quality, it seems, is merely a matter of-size,
and so far as I can learn our roots are not otlierwise inferior to
those collected at tl1e North and Iiast.
Ill a recent letter l\Ir. Aug. \\`ahking, of the Hrm of \V.
H. Newman & Co., 752 \Vest i\lain Street, Louisville, esti-
i
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  1 t mates the quantity of ginseng annually handled in Louisville
ii at 20,000 pounds, at an average price of $2.7 5 per pound.
‘ _1 Mr. Isaac Rosenbaum, of 321 and 323 East Market Street, c ·
V J Louisville, tells me he handles 12,000 to 13,000 pounds each
year, and, as there are five or six other dealers in the city, 1
thinks the total quantity annually handled, from 35,000 to , 1
_ 40,000 pounds. This estimate includes ginseng collected in
` 1 Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and other states.
· A conservative estimate of the Kentuck 1 ginseng handled 1
O O
» 1 in Louisville is given below, and has been kindly furnished at
my request by Mr. james F. Buckner, jr., Secretary and I
Superintendent of the Louisville Board of Trade.
A Borxim or ’1`R.\l)E, l
`— L()UIS`\’II.I.l~Z, Kv., Oct. 28, 1898. yl
, Pnyi H. (fazvmm, /.w.i1/`zzgq1/mz, A].
._   l)1·:1\i< Siu;-—In reply to your inquiry of the 20th inst.
. t_ asking information concerning the quantity of ginseng
" handled in Louisville annually and the price paid by dealers
here for same, I have to say that. as ginseng is brought in
generally in small quantities and sohl to a large number of
` people, it is diliicult to obtain very accurate information
g·~ regarding it; but I have consulted a number of the largest ,
Mg » . . . . . ' _
'1’· dealers here, and lrom inlormatiou received from other
’ ` sources, I believe I am able to give you information that will
approximate the truth, and I enclose you herewith a state-
ment showing the estimates made by four of the largest deal—
CYS, illlfl (llSl) lily lll llltj l-k‘lelll'll* tt) IHC Ill)l)\'t,‘ l`t'liCl`l`t'Ill
Otllet s<»lll`l‘<;s.
I 'l`ilC l)l‘ll`k` llllt`llllll;`S Ql.L‘Ylil} ()\\'lllQ` tl) lllU llllL‘\'L‘llkJ$$ of U l
r the supply and also to the demand for it from China, that
‘ country being our principal marlqet for the product.
'l`he prices given you apply strictly to I{eutucl;y ginseng, , .
as the .+l7e of the root ai`1`eeis the price very considerably, and
‘ the root produced farther north is considered iu the market as
of somewhat better quality.
1 'l`rustiu;;1 the iul`oriu;itiou furnished you will be of value,
1 l 1uu very truly· yours,
* ` jwui-is l·`. lil`L`l{N|Cl{_ _li<., Supt. _
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? Estimate as t0 number 0f p0unds handled annually in Louis- 1 1
‘ ‘ ville, Ky., and prices paid f0r same by dealers : ’ 1 ,
 _ I
N D 1 I I 1 ’
0. EALE1zs 1 verage . 1 I
.1 Rqnve >er b Av. ’ ‘
' Nlmcmc Riarciws. .—\nt<>unt. ‘ ’° l L ‘ I ¤°€‘ 1 1
D. Davis & Son ..... 9.500 $1.50 t0 $3.50 52.65   ·
A. \\'z1hl0ut · ,
0tl1er nitttters relttting t0 its grtiwtli. l"l`t>lll tlie replies · '
reeeivetl it is evident ‘Ll1;1t tl1e `lellillli is llt1\\' very seziree, liIl{lllQ,`
tlie State 1lS ll \\'ll<1lQ, but tl1;1t it still tlL.`Clll`>¥ in neztrlv 0r quite , l
' ‘ all 0l tlie Ct1llllllC>Z. ’l`llL` iit)ll<>\\`lll4Q' letters will serve 10 give I `
un iilezi 0I` tlie CllLll`.\Clel` 0i` tlie replies reeeivetl,  
· I »
' ‘ K;l.<1\`l·]l{l‘tIl—1'l`, l\\’., ()t`l¤)lIl,'l‘ JS, 151;*1, Q1
//. (ria!/`//HI}/, /.1.1‘/1/_;/t>zz. /1]*., 1
lIl€.\l< SIRI-—l11 ;t11s\\‘t·1‘ tn )‘11t11' I1llt‘*ll¤Ill$ ill Zegktttl lt)
giiise-ng. will stzite .1s 1`0ll0ws;
1. It is 110t :1b1111lll tlie I`:1ettl1z1t it is dug il`·1lll tlie
l.lll1ClllL‘l>l1ll1lQCl$£ll1i)\'e*lllt‘g'l'<1llll(l, lllllll l41lle `*‘“FA»rT` AA  A 1
    *     ·¢%"”»· *“i  ·’  /—  ,   Y »»·‘-·   ’* .i·   ·   1 ’
l 1   V`_ `ji Y '." (Q, .· `sir   A     ( A R    `>. ,.`;-    i , I-`I   I `   A ,"i i
` v..€,:, E I, .  _,;i,&;_ __: A  }·    ;   J_‘·»_,;=__·>_ __vI ;_     -‘ .·¤¢v·r' j R i
‘ ‘&f` il, ·‘ Z l "`   ’         ii'}   i` ° ‘ ‘‘·`  l
  "»· . · , .. ' ·i·`i{’f··  .  i<~,_.S' " _ ,`  ;.   `_ · ‘ 5 .  .~   i
= 3 A   @1 *1 ‘ :;,.1  ·A ‘1é?¥;4·‘€‘ 
" =  " ff-? » '~  wv  A‘ 1. -»~ ··.¤.§?¤·»!‘¤g4.1r·f.#i1q,-~# .;"·' .; . . myc,. -~,,·¤·;.· M, 
;··.·:  *" wr 1- ·    ze · V..¤%#.¥.r$xe¥~te’A‘-1¢’¢.»·`@i# 1  i   A-·p—.;¢,¤*;;=—>·; 
rw;-· Y ii #5  =       1  ·4·‘¥*  i *l
1     &&;%;*?~@%~.’¢.·S’  _ —.   _;,ir!g;·és:w‘i   i
1 Q #`i` if       .-  ..      `**·—°¤‘ , 
j I ”  _— ‘ · .   ;·1·;, .gJ¤  ;'·4i€¢$§.‘__, $ss%a·¤·—=g.~ ,  xg   ,   _,  »·, _v -4*
A. A . A., A ..1:- ‘ wie, a,e;§yi·%\§,:§>4:·-  .1; . _·     .. .—·..~
S ` 'IFII M3   .       ` ”‘” ·   `  ;°·   ’ ·       @_f`¥*§’$= Y'
_ .;.7;:-¤• Qf    _   °A»= :nj:;·’  i.%'?·`,·‘I¤"‘·,·  # ` .   _ _  ‘2A,·; »»§ JA~Q—» ‘
· -       .*:7 ·:A:   —‘    ..—-· ‘··=1 A   i‘ A.A.A   1-" .-   ·i=· ’sz~¢ ·    —·
’i `   .   i ·A·    ‘‘‘‘  -    .. P-* T~7¢-Q1·‘. ¤·¥2;q»»e3.;¤t   
A 1·’··—   "· »r *·A·e ~ ‘ r—‘.z¤e 4  1%-·:·      ,.AA ·» ·‘·~ 4.1.;   #5   l
, _ ,   ·   ·       ;_ - ·‘~· <»A   ‘?‘-ff"`?   =¤‘~;. »     · · "A‘;1; 
Fic;. 1.4A Giz0111· or Cn1N1—;si~; Micxen.-xsrs.
  · Ginseng as a Medicine.
` Ginseng is usecl almost exclusively by the Chinese uml
japanese, who consider it :1 tonic ot mzirvelous quality to be
employed in eases of llebility, much us we use quininc. lt is
s:1ia1mqm`/wz was proposed. A recent partial 1
· analysis of dried roots is published by Dr. A. M. Peter in the
  annual report of this Station for the year ISQZ, and is quoted
 i below 1
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  ANALYSIS.  _
' Per Ce11t. i11I Per Ce11t. in
tl1e Roots. I tl1e Ash.
"
1 . Crude Ash .,... . ....,..... . . 5.278 I ....
A Nitrogen ..............r....... I 1.660 I ....
1 ‘ I ` I
1 Lime .......... ..- ............ I 0.856   16.22
Phosphoric Acid ............... 0.555 10.14
. Potash ........... . ........... 0.776 14.70
' . .
  \Ve have too lllllCll respect for tl1e intelhgence €lllCl COl11-
  · "i inercial €lStlll€1l€S5 of the Cl1i11ese 2`llld japanese, for the latter
  also use the root to some extent, to be willing to credit all the
stories told of their faitl1 in things of 110 value. Matched with
the Caucasian i11 our schools tl1ey have repeatedly shown
themselves our ec uals i11 ca Jacit * for 811 * sort of l)l“2ll1l work
._ ¤
ga while i11 natural art talent tl1ey are far a11d away our superiors.
· ~- Anyway it is just as well to suspend judgment 011 the 1llG(ll·
cinal properties of ginseng 1111til we know 111ore about it—
renieinbering, at the same tinie, that the spectacle of a whole
people, from the lflll1)€l“Ol` (lO\\’ll to tl1e poorest Z`lll(l lllOSt »
ignorant laborer, tenaciouslv adhering to a delusion for ce11-  
` ~ ` turies is not witl1o11t its parallel 111 the history of other races.  
{ "And though perchance the cricketer if
Or Chinanian that {lies § .
His dragon kite with boys and girls, f
lvlély SGGIH to SOIIIG llll\\’lS€,  .1
I see no folly in his play "
_ But sense that uuderlies."
. The Clllllalllall has his philosophy of right living, and 1
\ . who shall say that it is 11ot a better one than our own? A11d T
we should not Hatter ourselves, though a trading people, that
n
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GIi7lSL’7lg`, I/s A'az’zzre am! Cu/z‘z¢ro. 137 i   l
. · we are more than his match at a bargain. At our trickiest of   A
{ tricky games he has sometimes shown remarkable aptitude. =   .
2 " "\Vhich I wish to remark, Z Q
` And mv language is plain, I
That for ways that are dark, ,   'I
T And tricks that are vain,  
The heathen Chinee is peculiar ;    
‘ \Vhich that same I would rise to explaiu." = 2
The Name Ginseng.   "
The proper Chinese form for the word is said to be jen-
shen, which means literally man-wort. The Chinese origin-
ally obtained all their supply from their native plant, known g '
to botanists as Pazzax AQ'!./l5€}I,Q', but the home supply getting
low, they were forced first to regulate the collection of the A
roots by law, large tracts of wild land being made govern- ·  
ment preserves, and the govermneut itself taking a large por-
tion of all roots collected therein, and finally to import the . ,
roots of the closely related American species, Pavmx gzmzguc- .  
jb/in 111. `  
The Botany of Our Species. 1 i
The American ginseng belongs to the family Araliaceze, ··
including for the eastern part of North America but six l  
species belonging to the two genera Aralia and Panax. The ,, l
family is closely related to the carrot family. It contains, A
among other interesting plants widely distributed over the A n ¤_
globe, English ivy as one of its species. Four, and possibly
more, of the six species found in Eastern States of the Union
2 occur in this State, as follows:     .
1. Hercules club, Toothache tree (Ara/fa s/>1`110ml. A ` g
small tree or shrub generally six to ten feet high, but often
r_ _ reaching a height of 25 or go feet, and bearing in the fall  
_ large broad clusters of small black berries; stem armed with r
i stout prickles. It is cultivated both in this country and .
T Europe for ornament. Occurs throughout the State, but is
· especially common i11 the mountains, and in the southern
counties elsewhere. Its bark, root and berries possess medi-
;  Cinal properties, being employed as remedies for rheumatism,
  skin diseases, toothache and other aihnents.
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  , 138 /n’ir//4*1*171 JVO. 78. .
i` 2. Spikenard, Indian root, False sarsaparilla (;x.f}'d/{Cl
mawosa). This is an herb, commonly about 1}/6 to 2 feet
T high, though sometimes considerably taller. The leaflets are
more or less heart-shaped, toothed, and pointed at the apex.
The flowers are small and inconspicuous, but form rather »
i I large elongated clusters, which finally produce small purple ‘
; berries. The root is relatively large and stout. A
_ It occurs everywhere in Kentucky in rich woods. Its
i medicinal properties are similar to those of genuine American ‘S
sarsaparilla, for which plant this species is sometimes mistaken. `
3. Ginseng, Genseng, Sang, jenshen, Ninjin (]apanese;), i
Garentotpien (Iroquois Indiansl, /’¢z1m.r QI{!·}IQl/