My Dear Reader:
It has been a great pleasure preparing this manual on ginseng. While busy writing, I could easily recall to memory many thrilling moments experienced and such moments are worth remembering.
I have not tried to bring these words to you with high sounding phrases, nor enticing words, but I've written it like I would talk to you, were we sitting on a log in the forest.
Ginseng is, essentially, a forest plant. Let us consider it always as such. If you receive any benefit from this manual in learning one of God's wild creations of the vegetable world, it is my sincere desire to wish you success in learning all the various wildlings which have been bestowed upon us, to aid us in our life upon this earth.

Yours for the outdoors, George Bryant.

CHAPTER 1
THE PLANT, GINSENG

Among Nature's most highly esteemed and eagerly sought after medicinal plants in the eastern United States is the ginseng plant.
This wild plant grows in the cool, moist hardwood slopes of hillock and ravine, . The trees to which it is most likely a neighbor are the linwood, butternut, ash, maple, and trees of a similar nature. It makes it's home along the bluffs and river cliffs where cover and soil conditions are suitable.
Many old timers who hunted the root when it was plentiful found it growing in patches. Today, however, the patches are far apart and few in number.
The type of plant growth will direct you to favorable places which might harbor choice plants. Where blood-root, wild ginger, may-apple, and such plants grow profusely is a good place to hunt ginseng. Where these plants are scarce, you will find ginseng scarce, too.
Lands that have been cultivated, or lie below cultivated ground. will suffer from having the soil wash over the leafy carpet, and kill out the plants that grew naturally there. So it is not altogether the ginseng diggers fault that plants are scarce, since so much land has been cleared away, to give the farmer a chance to till the soil.
The virgin stands of hardwood timber, while hard to find these days, are the best places to locate ginseng. It grows, too, in second-growth thickets, where conditions pertaining to the soil is right. Few old timers probably gave future propagation a thought. Conservation to them mostly consisted of conserving life. If those old timers had planted back the seeds of the plants of ginseng they found, there would be a much better wild crop in existence. It is a notable fact they didn't. Perhaps it worked the best for those who experimented in ginseng culture. Expert ginseng diggers used to hunt out the woods for miles. Days were spent at walking and digging, often taking flour and bacon along, coming home every few days with all that they could carry of choice roots. Possibly they saw ginseng growing in patches that, with the present high prices the root brings, would make our eyes stand or bug out. But root prices were low in those days. it took a monstrous pile of nice roots to bring much money. There was the element though we must remember, while the roots and wages were low, the cost of living was low, too. That is a big factor of consideration these days.
The natural range where ginseng is found reaches out from Maine westward to Minnesota and southward to the highlands of practically all the southern states except Florida Ginseng is also found growing wild in southern Canada. Southern Ontario and Quebec is also in the belt.
Within this range you will find it growing wild in all its former haunts. The well-drained areas, where there are hardwoods, except where dug out and exterminated. The old time hunters, or the hunters of the old days, made large hauls and so the plant was known to be getting scarce in the wild regions, where it grew naturally. The price commenced to go up-ward. This started far-sighted men into the game of ginseng gardening. Enterprising men in Oregon transplanted ginseng and found it to do well there.
Back in the year of 1858 roots were selling around 52c a pound. This was in the "good ole 'senging days." From this low price when wild roots were plentiful the price per pound commenced to rise until between 1896 and 1898 the price was averaging around $4.70 a pound. Wild plants, were becoming scarce, the Chinese were willing to pay more money. In a decade the advance was to $7.00. The price per pound sent men after the plant in earnest. The wild product was dug far and wide. Like gold, men probably thought of the value-not the abundance. However, at least a certain quantity is essential to give sufficient returns to pay.
When American exportation of ginseng ceased, the Chinese became interested in buying. Enough was wanted to satisfy their needs, the price advanced as it grew more hard to find growing wild. With the price of ginseng advancing, more diggers entered the woods than ever. The search far and wide was made, dwindling the supply even more.
Just after the turn of the century, enterprising men in the states of Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, New York, Minnesota, Kentucky and Indiana began to experimentally cultivate the plant. As these men learned the right methods and under what conditions to grow the ginseng plant, they increased the size of their beds and planted extra plots until, not long afterwards, that the cultivated supply exceeded the wild. By 1913 the plants root had grown to the value of $7.50 per pound.
It was following the First World's War that the root prices soared skyward. Gradually the price subsided until during the depression period the price was very low. Toward World War Two the price commenced to increase slowly. However, when war was declared all exportations ceased. The Chinese got no American ginseng, or very little if any. All outgoing commerce had to be important. It was during this period that prices again sank. Dealers could only hold the roots speculatively hoping for a higher price when the war ended. Sure enough, not long after the end of the war the price doubled. In 1946 the root of the wild was worth $15.50 per pound. This is in Kentucky, for Kentucky ginseng. It would be the author's belief that farther north, the price would be higher. Especially for choice, sizable roots.
Ginseng that has been cultivated under conditions similar to the wild, without maturing and rushing its growth, commands a good price. While we look back and see that there were periods when the root prices were very discouraging, there is a pertinent fact As an average, the price has been at least, in the author's opinion, on a par with other vegetables and crops.
There have been times when the Korean roots have sold for $50 to $100 per root. It is said the Chinese prefer the roots to resemble the human body.
A distinct pleasure is to be had, tramping the hills, searching for the plants. The small thickets sometimes turn up quantities of wild ginseng often unbelievable

CHAPTER 2

WHERE TO GROW GINSENG
Ginseng can be grown almost anywhere in the temperate zone. It grows naturally in the eastern half of the United States, from southern Canada on southward to the north parts of the Gulf states, and within this zone there is a wide variety of climate. Ginseng also grows wild in some parts of Japan, Manchuria, and China, and similar regions. Out in the west coast states ginseng does all right when planted from eastern seeds, especially it is said that the soil of Oregon is adapted to its culture.
The wild supply of ginseng rapidly diminished from an accelerated increase of digging just after the turn of 1900. Many far sighted men envisioned the plant would soon be a thing of the past out in the forest regions and commenced to grow it.
The Chinese consider ginseng a cure-all and it is used to some extent in making tea. It is not a rare thing to find a China-man carrying a root for a charm.
In raising ginseng it should never be fertilized for fast growth. This produces a root that does not resemble wild roots, therefore brings a lower price. When the roots are grown slowly with only natural fertilizer, which is rotted leaves and wood dust, the roots bring a better price than quicker grown ones and the higher prices paid for the slowly grown type would prove sufficient compensation for the smaller quantity. The only fertilizer it really needs is of the natural type, rich woods loam.
Many beginners in the culture of this forest plant are enthused over the high price per pound and dive head-long into a "ginseng enterprise" for their fortune without serious thought and study
It is impossible to learn too much and hours of study coupled with the right choice of garden spot is needed. We cannot urge you. too seriously to "feel your way" by starting small and advancing as you learn. There are other considerations that you should study. It is not all profit and it requires from five to seven years for the roots to reach marketable size.
Ginseng cannot be grown in the sun. It. must have shade as a protection. In the artificial shade that is made to protect the garden, there is the cost of lumber materials for its construction. Posts, runners, laths, etc. are needed. 'The cost will depend of course, on the scarcity or abundance of the lumber.
Indisputably, the finest gardens are made in the natural environment of ginseng. 'The beginner will do well to consider this. By planting a plot each season you will then have a regular income after you begin the harvest, by transplanting every year. Too, your expenses are not so great at one time. Just the amount necessary for the plot, be it a small area or a quarter acre.
Ginseng grown in the natural forest bed will command much greater, more choice prices than its cultivation under artificial shade. There is the disadvantage, however, that unless watched carefully, it may be stolen. This could mean a heavy blow to the man who has invested his life savings in the work.
The garden started from plants may be set out either spring or fall. Seed planted this fall will come up the second spring, as it requires close to twenty-one months to see it emerge from its bed.
In the United States we find the most valuable ginseng comes from the northern tier of the eastern states, from the natural forests of beech, poplar and maple. Along in the spring of 1919 following the first World War, the wild roots from these states sold for $1.25 per ounce. That's a high price. it is readily seen the best ginseng gardens must be located in such states as New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, also the northern portions of Ohio.
However, this is no indication a garden cannot or will not show fine profits for time and invested expense elsewhere. Possibly it grows faster in the more southern states. Or the conditions may be more ideal, presenting a better situation for ginseng cultivation. There are always plenty of buyers.
During the months of May, June, and July, about four pounds of the green root is needed to weigh out one pound of dry, while later in the season when moisture somewhat leaves the maturing plant, three pounds or there-abouts of green will dry out a pound of dry. The difference is in the state the root is in when dug, whether full of sap or dried in mature growth.
Ginseng easily suffers from sun-stroke. It will not thrive long if too much sun shines on it. If the shade is altered so too much is removed so the rays of the sun can creep onto its well-formed emerald head, it will perish.
The author once found a 32 year old stalk. of ginseng that measured 13 1/2 inches from tip to tip of root, growing out in the sun on an east slope of a deep cut ravine. But the sun only kissed it a few hours each day.

CHAPTER 3
GINSENG LORE
Wild ginseng is found in many sections of the U. S. and some parts of Canada. It is likely to be found on any slope if the soil and trees are suitable to its growth.
It grows sparingly in the evergreen forests, from lack of mulching. You seldom encounter the plant in oak woods, due to the tough leaves choking it out in its young days. Neither will you find it in quantities on high, dry ridges.
Ginseng prefers the shade of maple, ash, linwood, butternut, and the hardwoods grow in soil to which it is suited. Where the soil is clay is likely land. Ginseng also inhabits rich, moist hollows with high shades as its natural home. It is often found in thickets, brush patches, sink-holes, over-grown fence rows, cut-over woods, along ravines, on cliffs and bluffs.
Frequently you will find it growing in patches, where it has not been hunted for quite some time, but as a rule it will be situated a stalk here, another there.
In forests of hardwoods with oak trees predominating you will find the leaves are often too tough for the tender seedling plants to struggle through, so it would appear such a locality would offer poor ground for either digging or growing unless preventative measures were taken. Other trees that have softer leaves will cause little resistance to young ginseng growth in spring-time, when they are coming up.
The quick or slow growth of ginseng will depend much on the richness of the loam in which it is found. The richest forest loam will not produce robust plants. Put of course soil that is rich will naturally grow ginseng faster, to a larger size in a given number of years, than poorer soil. Like cultivated crops the farmer grows if weeds or brush is thick, the crop is apt to smother and choke from lack of plant food and sufficient water. The root will mature slowly. The vitality of the plant is "sapped" causing slow growth.
When planting ginseng in natural woods, you can keep it free of bushes, weeds, etc. and it grows fast. Even though the price per pound is lower, the accelerated growth more than pays. Be sure the soil is rich, the richer the better. Ginseng that ordinarily would take 25 to 30 years to mature in poor, weedy, "'sapped soil" will mature in from 5 to 7 years.
The roots of ginseng are from white to a sort of reddish yellow. You can accurately tell the plants age by counting the notches on the root-stock. The plan will die off this fall and in the spring a new bud will come out on the opposite side, first one side then the other, until dug.
The, size of ginseng will vary all the way, from a seedling of three leaves and a few inches tall to a giant of the species up to two and a half feet high. The stalk is slender and rises to where it forks. It is here in the center of the fork the blossoms forms in May and June and later seeds which, in early fall, turn to scarlet, denoting they are ripe, ready to be gathered from the cultivated beds. When found thus in the wild areas, the seeds should be taken off and planted about 6 inches apart and covered well with leaves and rich loam. This assures a good future crop.
One year old plants of ginseng have no fork on the stem but a single stem with three leaves at the top. The two year old plant will sometimes be forked with the same number of leaves on each prong. A two year old plant will bear no berries or seeds for reproduction. A three years old plant will put forth a few seeds and will have two, or if rich soil has made the plant thrifty, it may sport three prongs, and may have three or five leaves on each prong. As a general rule, you will find all ginseng plants over three years old, will have three prongs, reaching out from the fork of the stem. In some rare cases there will be more than three. There will be five leaf-lets to each prong; the two nearest the center of the plant smaller than the other three. Ginseng roots are dug of varied shapes and sizes

CHAPTER 4
FACTS ABOUT GINSENG
Northern ginseng roots found wild or grown semi-wild bring higher prices than southern wild or cultivated. The reason is unknown. Some writers conjecture the southern roots, generally dug by not-too-well-informed hillsmen, are not properly cared for as the more northern type. Often most southern people who dig the roots are poor and lacking in instruction of careful handling which is necessary for highest prices.
Assuming the same size roots are dug and handled identically the same while drying it is reasonable to speculate that those from the southern states where it grows would in price favorably compare with northern ginseng. Too often the southern digger will come in from a day's hunt and string them up by running a threaded needle through them, hanging behind the cooking stove, where they gather dust and soot. In appearance it does not compare well, when ready for shipping, with roots that have been handled with care and the right methods. As a rule, when small quantities are to be dried, it should be washed, allowed to drain a short while, then placed in an airy dry place on paper until thoroughly dry. Too often this procedure is not followed. Thus the low prices. It is possible there may be more young, small roots among the shipments arriving' from the south-land than the northern diggers allow to be in their collections. This could materially interfere with good prices per pound.
The natural home of ginseng is among hardwoods such as ash, beech, maple, butternut, and mixtures such as wild cherry, thorn, red-bud, and hackberry will be found among the other growth, where ginseng is known to grow. Occasionally a stalk may be found in among evergreens or where oaks grow, though the leaves of the evergreen are too small to furnish cover for the roots and the leaves of the oak are too tough.
The plant of the ginseng matures in the fall. The seeds ripen in late summer. Along in August and September before the leaves fall, the seeds drop to the ground, which is Nature's way of caring for Her own. The leaves covering the seeds offer protection. The seeds are kept from freezing by this mulch. The seeds do not come up the following spring but the second spring a stem shoots up with three leaves. Of course the enemies of ginseng seed may get in a telling blow. Birds and squirrels may eat the seeds before they fall. Mice may get them after they are covered with leaves. The same is true of moles.
The second year, if the seeds survive, the plant will have three leaves and may be eight inches tall. It is- not unusual for ginseng to grow to be two or more feet high. But as a rule twenty inches or less is a good average for the cultivated stalks, while the larger sizes are somewhat rare in the woods. Hunters usually find them before they grow very old or of much size, except in out-of-the-way localities and on rare occasions.
Being a perennial, dying down in the fall, reviving in the spring, a scar is left each time the plant dies off. However, when a stalk grows very old, the chance of judging its age is less accurate than when young, because the top may be eaten off by mice, and even a part of the root stock, though it may not appear so. The plant would be older than it actually appears.
If you want to know the age of a ginseng plant count the scars. Each scar denotes one year's growth. From one year to the next the scars appear on opposite sides thus permitting easy counting. There is also the possibility the plant will have laid dormant some seasons, failing to come up. Often while digging wild ginseng the writer has found one or 'more roots of nice size that had not put forth a top that summer. Why they lie dormant is probably not known. it is not our place to delve into the "why" of life as the Creator puts it forth, lest we be found to pry into His work where we ought not.
Ginseng digging offers pleasant and profitable work for the individual who loves Nature. Jaunts over the hills, along the bluffs and cliffs are exhilarating and healthful. Those who try it as a rule get "bit by the bug" and you'll see them every summer, when the leaves begin to color up, wending their steps forest-ward. They are going in quest of wild root beds.
In the early days the prices for roots were low. The wild plant growing unmolested was often found in patches. While it is impossible for the plant to "bed" by spreading of the roots, the seeds dropping nearby would keep coming up. Gradually a bed of sizable dimensions would be there. Few men bothered with gathering it then.
In the deep mountain areas, especially in the southern regions, there are women hunters. They get as much fun and kick out of digging it as the men. They reap the benefit of healthful walks along with the lucrative returns.
Practically all of China's four hundred million population who can raise the price use ginseng. The grades run from the cheapest, which comes from Japan, to the highest priced roots coming from the Korean's carefully guarded gardens.
While out searching for the plant it has been rare when the author ever found it growing close to water in ponds or swamps but it many times has been found at the base of cliffs and bluffs next to rivers. This stately plant also grows down close to streams that rush down steep grades or washes, but drainage is good here. There is no indication of there being stagnant water near. Else ginseng would not grow.
In its natural home ginseng is found only where the shade is sufficient to prevent its taking on a sallow color. You will note the shade is such as to not totally form a solid mat over the place where the plant grows but the rays of sunshine that penetrates are broken by the swaying and moving foliage of the trees. Enough sun goes through the leafy covering to prevent the ginseng plant from becoming too damp, which would probably cause rot, where it grows in beds. The growth over ginseng ranges from small bushes and briars to high leafy boughed tree-tops. You will find it growing most frequent in clay soil, as it seems to prefer this to sandy soil. In sandy areas you are most likely to find evergreens flourishing.
The seeds of northern ginseng often require around seventy-five hundred to weigh a pound. Ginseng seeds maturing in the southland, being smaller, may need as many as ten thousand to the pound. When buying seeds for your own garden plot, you will likely buy by the thousand.
Twenty or thirty years ago, or slightly longer, ginseng was considered a plant that could not be cultivated. It is surprising to note what men with patience have learned about its culture. Men have experimented, watching it in its natural bed, until it has been grown in many states. Cultivated roots grow much faster than wild ones do and can be marketed many years earlier. This is an advantage worthy of mention.
It has been proven that when ginseng is grown under the same conditions as wild is grown, as near as it is possible to duplicate it, better prices per pound is the result and a larger income from the garden. A rich loamy soil is always best when considering the location of a ginseng garden.
The plant does not like low ground and the potential gardener can 'save himself much grief by avoiding placing his garden in such a location.
A slope that faces the north is probably the best though apt to be little better than an east slope. Try to locate where the soil is rich and clayey, well drained. There are a diversity of soil types and textures throughout the whole of the United States. It would be wrong to condemn a certain type soil as unsuitable just because ginseng does not grow there in the wild.
Try ginseng cultivation in a small way, experimentally at first. Pay close attention to the natural requirements and attempt a duplication of the same.
If the soil is too clayey, it is advisable to mix in leaf mold, rotted wood and rotted sawdust. This will give it a lighter texture and it will not be so gluey and unsuited for a garden plot.
Remove all sticks and rocks, all matter of an extraneous nature that does not add to the benefit of the garden spot. Ginseng is slow 'in growth, for the author has found wild roots barely larger than a thimble which were over thirty years old. To our knowledge, there is no other plant that grows so slow.
The Chinese often carry a root of the ginseng as a charm to ward off evil. Those financially able make a tea of the roots. While is seems to be held in a superstitious way by many Chinamen, this may not be so. The scientists of medical fame declare there is no or little value to ginseng as a medicine. However, be that as it may, the author has seen instances where people seem to have been helped by its use. A woman lay groaning from acute indigestion. She had been suffering for hours. A piece of ginseng root was chewed. It had barely been two minutes before she was much quieter and then minutes later at ease. It has a soothing effect on the nerves when the dried root is chewed.
Prices paid for cultivated roots on an average is several dollars below that paid for the wild. The Chinese can instantly tell the difference by tasting. In the quick growth as has been the case where gardens have been fertilized and the root "pushed" for size, the roots are invariably more smooth and larger for their age. With the plant grown by natural cultivation, the way that imitates the wild, in the natural environment of ginseng, with no manure used other than the natural type (which is leaf mold, rotted tree dust, etc.) no American nor Chinaman can discern any difference.

CHAPTER 5.
LOCATING A NATURAL GARDEN
The natural home of ginseng would be hard to improve upon for location of a semi-wild root garden. One of the finest is to choose a situation where the slope
levels out to a less steep bench, extending quite a ways each way on the slope. The area should be large enough for your gardens.
Among poplar, beach, maple, dogwood, linwood, butternut is fine. The undergrowth is cleared away and the trees trimmed high enough so you do not have to bend to stand in the garden. A high shade is what is wanted so air can circulate freely.
Many who are thinking of entering the cultivation of ginseng as an enterprise are told not to select for their garden a location on a south slope because it gets hot there where the direct sun's summer rays can shine upon it. The garden that is located on a south slope where the breeze can freely move about over it is all right. Ginseng grows in forests along the south slopes, especially toward the bottoms. In narrow ravines it grows on the lower third of the south slope, or bluff, so we might rightly assume the same to be fine for growing the plant, if no better is obtain-able. The drawback seems to be that all south slopes the writer has been over and noted closely had a 'surplus of rocks, while the other slopes were much less plentifully imbued with them.
The writer's choice for selecting a location in the woods for a natural garden would be where ginseng grew wild in the past. While the old ginseng digger could pick a spot that would prove ideal, it might be harder for the city man. That is why trappers and hunters, used to seeing the plant in the woods, make the best gardeners, as a general rule.
The ginseng Plant is a wild plant changed little by cultivation. Please bear this in mind. While many plants respond readily to cultivation, ginseng does not. While yet in a "garden" it is still untamable and wild. Taking a plant accustomed to the deep shade of the woodland and placing it out in the sun, could only result in failure to have it continue life.
As mentioned before, a clay loam will be found to be all right, whether black or red or sandy. The ginseng plant and root will be affected markedly by any differences of soil.
Good drainage is essential. Some growers when constructing their beds lay a drain tile under them to assure proper elimination of water, which is a worthwhile idea. The ground could be made lighter so as to allow water to seep through faster by mixing in leaf mold, etc. Some sand mixed in, if absent, will give the ground better texture.
The ginseng plant blooms in June and has a pale green cluster of blossom's. It is here where the blossoms are that later the seed head forms. The berries will be clustered and each berry will contain from 2 to 3 seeds. The seeds are flat and hard. These seeds turn a lovely crimson when
the fall months roll around. In September you can find them in their beauty. When fully matured, bird's have mot eaten them, they fall to the ground beneath the plant, if sloping to roll a few inches or feet downward. Nature protects them by later sending down the lovely colored foliage of the forest trees to keep them from freezing. Otherwise they could not reproduce. How protective Nature is! She cares for all of her children.
The seed's from the cultivated garden plot should be gathered as they ripen and sowed in a carefully pulverized bed where the young seedlings are to be grown. Some growers get their start by buying seeds and sowing, trans-planting the two year old plants to the garden where they will be until old enough for sale. If you wish to retain the seeds, keep in a container which has been filled 'with clean, damp sand. Here they will keep and remain "alive" until ready for use.
The use of heavy manuring has been chiefly the cause of much disease. Manuring, while it pushes the plants up into vigorous growth and causes the root to attain large size, it is inadvisable due to the fact the Chinese do not like the type roots that grow fast. A short, thick root is what is in most demand, year in and year out.
Experimentation shows that working the beds deep and mixing manure all through it has proved the roots grow long and slim, a condition that places the salable parts of the plant (the roots), in the "'poor quality" bracket, with relatively poor prices the result.
The beds should be higher in the middle than at the edges. You may use boards to hold the beds above the surrounding ground.. They drain best this way. Out in the woods if you have dug ginseng, you will remember the root is quite deep. When you transplant the seedlings set them likewise. By imitating the way it grows in the woods, you will merely help yourself by not only growing better quality roots but, besides, have less trouble with diseases bothering the beds.
A distance of from two to three inches from the surface of the ground to the end of the root-stock, is not too, deep to set ginseng. You can spade out a furrow deep enough to contain the roots, while sitting up, in the direction you want to run the rows. Lay the plants against the side 8 inches apart along the furrow, then care fully cover the root to the depth given above, without damage to the top or root-lets. The rows should be 8 inches apart so that the permanent beds have ginseng set 8 inches each way. This does not crowd, yet is sufficiently close to give a good yield from the cultivated bed. If closer, disease may be encouraged by too shaded, damp ground. To get the rows furrowed the right distance apart, you can lay an 8 inch board almost against the first row transplanted, dig your furrow with shovel or spade at opposite side of hoard, set out roots, move board, again dig just in front of the board. This insures uniform, straight rows. You will find that transplanting the two year old plants to be the best.
When preparing the seed beds, work up the bed fine, with plenty of leaf mold. Most cultivators of ginseng use a seed bed for growing the plants from seed to two year olds. They' are then transplanted into permanent beds, to stay until sizable enough to dig and market. In the seed bed make the rows six inches apart, drill seeds one inch apart. The rows should be an inch deep. You must cover the seed's well with well rotted leaf mold. Some growers pulverize horse manure, but though the growth is fast, the advice due to possible complications that may set in makes its use debatable. This prepared seed bed is for growing the seedlings. In transplanting, all roots over a certain length, say five inches, should be trimmed off to a uniform size, so that all marketable roots, a few years later, will be started from the right size.
The best time to sow ginseng seeds is in September and October. This is also the best time for transplanting from the seed bed to the garden.
As a general rule a southern slope requires more shade than a level or north slope. Also southern exposures sprout up all types of plants before the north slopes warm up enough to thaw out. Ginseng would be no exception. Springing its head into view too quickly by appearing too early, it may get its 'head nipped by the freezes or chilly frost. On a later slope, such as the north, ginseng would be later peering above the leaves, looking upon the dawn of warm weather.
Lay out the plans for your garden beds. Have walks between each bed wide enough to walk easily on. You will sit here, too, while pulling the weeds from among the ginseng plants. The walk-way between the beds should be from eighteen inches to two feet wide, depending upon your own personal choice. Also be careful the bed is not made so wide you have difficulty reaching the middle from either side. It is not recommended that you get out on the beds at any time unless absolutely necessary.
As a suggested size, from which you can work your own ideas, the beds can be from five to six feet wide and as long as convenient, or the length desired. With a six foot width and a two foot path, posts set eight feet apart would provide for a bed and path.
If the frame-work, provided to shade the garden is constructed over the top and sides, are to be of laths, it is made of approximate size to fasten or place them on. Around the sides, the laths should be stood on end, nailed that way, about one-half to an inch apart. Those overhead should be closer together. By having the laths wider around the sides, more air currents are allowed, which is beneficial. Always remember with artificial shade it is important that it be built high enough 50 you can stand up-right, as it would be unhandy staying bent over while working.
In the opinion of the author, the less stirring around the roots, the better it will be for the garden. Refrain from any attempt to cultivate as you would do with vegetables and other farm crops. All that's really necessary is to keep the beds free from weeds. If trees surround the "'garden" laths on the sides will not be essential.
Whether planning a garden under artificial shade or out in the woods, it is best to get the ground inside the selected bed site in the best possible shape for planting the seed's and transplanting the two year old plants. Grub up young growth not essential for shade and plow or spade up the ground. Around the bed edges you should run boards set on edge or set stones in a shallow ditch, so the mulch will hold better and your beds will be elevated above the path between the beds.
For the artificial shading, you can make frames to cover with laths, that fit together and can be easily removed in the fall, when not needed any more, and this prevents rotting and doubles the life of the laths. In the spring they can be placed hack to shade the plants from the sun. The frames in fall are stored away where it is dry. Leaves to form a mulch is placed on the beds in fall.
While the best time for transplanting is in the fall, after natural wild ginseng seed has ripened, you can do it when most convenient in springtime. When the two year old plants have come up, or even before, after the ground has warmed up, prepare the permanent beds, remove a few of the roots at a time, then quickly as possible set them out, so they do not dry out badly. The process is repeated until all plants have been transferred that is wanted. This is much better than digging the whole bed and allowing some of the roots and plants to dry out, rendering them less healthy.
If you have covered the beds too heavily, in the spring it might prove best to remove a part of the mulch, so as to allow the plants easier coming up. However, never remove all the covering. If the winter. has been dry the plant coming through the soil, much like a bean, sometimes has a difficult time getting up. At this time, watch your beds. When any plant seems "earth bound" you will be helping a lot by loosening the soil around the plant. This will allow it to stand upright. When the ground is made loose around the ginseng plant it will be out in a few days and nothing need be done to it, such as "straightening it up" or "helping it up."
When using the removable artificial shade frames, they can be left off until the leaves begin to come out on the trees, which is similar to the way it would be with wild ginseng beds (as it grows wild out in the forest). Along about May first is a good time. If the spring is hot and dry by all means shade the plants much earlier but if cool and damp, by leaving the shade off later the beds will have more chance to dry out and be in better shape for summer growth, and slacken the likelihood of disease.
The prospective ginseng gardener should by all means avail himself of any opportunity to visit any ginseng garden Which might be within traveling distance of his home. The sight of artificial beds, shades, etc., will enlighten anyone, even more than an explanation could. The experienceabsolutely necessary.
As a suggested size, from which you can work your own ideas, the beds can be from five to six feet wide and as long as convenient, or the length desired. With a six foot width and a two foot path, posts set eight feet apart would provide for a bed and path.
If the frame-work, provided to shade the garden is constructed over the top and sides, are to be of laths, it is made of approximate size to fasten or place them on. Around the sides, the laths should be stood on end, nailed that way, about one-half to an inch apart. Those overhead should be closer together. By having the laths wider around the sides, more air currents are allowed, which is beneficial. Always remember with artificial shade it is important that it be built high enough 50 you can stand up-right, as it would be unhandy staying bent over while working.
In the opinion of the author, the less stirring around the roots, the better it will be for the garden. Refrain from any attempt to cultivate as you would do with vegetables and other farm crops. All that's really necessary is to keep the beds free from weeds. If trees surround the "'garden" laths on the sides will not be essential.
Whether planning a garden under artificial shade or out in the woods, it is best to get the ground inside the selected bed site in the best possible shape for planting the seed's and transplanting the two year old plants. Grub up young growth not essential for shade and plow or spade up the ground. Around the bed edges you should run boards set on edge or set stones in a shallow ditch, so the mulch will hold better and your beds will be elevated above the path between the beds.
For the artificial shading, you can make frames to cover with laths, that fit together and can be easily removed in the fall, when not needed any more, and this prevents rotting and doubles the life of the laths. In the spring they can be placed hack to shade the plants from the sun. The frames in fall are stored away where it is dry. Leaves to form a mulch is placed on the beds in fall.
While the best time for transplanting is in the fall, after natural wild ginseng seed has ripened, you can do it when most convenient in springtime. When the two year old plants have come up, or even before, after the ground has warmed up, prepare the permanent beds, remove a few of the roots at a time, then quickly as possible set them out, so they do not dry out badly. The process is repeated until all plants have been transferred that is wanted. This is much better than digging the whole bed and allowing some of the roots and plants to dry out, rendering them less healthy.
If you have covered the beds too heavily, in the spring it might prove best to remove a part of the mulch, so as to allow the plants easier coming up. However, never remove all the covering. If the winter. has been dry the plant coming through the soil, much like a bean, sometimes has a difficult time getting up. At this time, watch your beds. When any plant seems "earth bound" you will be helping a lot by loosening the soil around the plant. This will allow it to stand upright. When the ground is made loose around the ginseng plant it will be out in a few days and nothing need be done to it, such as "straightening it up" or "helping it up."
When using the removable artificial shade frames, they can be left off until the leaves begin to come out on the trees, which is similar to the way it would be with wild ginseng beds (as it grows wild out in the forest). Along about May first is a good time. If the spring is hot and dry by all means shade the plants much earlier but if cool and damp, by leaving the shade off later the beds will have more chance to dry out and be in better shape for summer growth, and slacken the likelihood of disease.
The prospective ginseng gardener should by all means avail himself of any opportunity to visit any ginseng garden Which might be within traveling distance of his home. The sight of artificial beds, shades, etc., will enlighten anyone, even more than an explanation could. The experienceabsolutely necessary.
As a suggested size, from which you can work your own ideas, the beds can be from five to six feet wide and as long as convenient, or the length desired. With a six foot width and a two foot path, posts set eight feet apart would provide for a bed and path.
If the frame-work, provided to shade the garden is constructed over the top and sides, are to be of laths, it is made of approximate size to fasten or place them on. Around the sides, the laths should be stood on end, nailed that way, about one-half to an inch apart. Those overhead should be closer together. By having the laths wider around the sides, more air currents are allowed, which is beneficial. Always remember with artificial shade it is important that it be built high enough 50 you can stand up-right, as it would be unhandy staying bent over while working.
In the opinion of the author, the less stirring around the roots, the better it will be for the garden. Refrain from any attempt to cultivate as you would do with vegetables and other farm crops. All that's really necessary is to keep the beds free from weeds. If trees surround the "'garden" laths on the sides will not be essential.
Whether planning a garden under artificial shade or out in the woods, it is best to get the ground inside the selected bed site in the best possible shape for planting the seed's and transplanting the two year old plants. Grub up young growth not essential for shade and plow or spade up the ground. Around the bed edges you should run boards set on edge or set stones in a shallow ditch, so the mulch will hold better and your beds will be elevated above the path between the beds.
For the artificial shading, you can make frames to cover with laths, that fit together and can be easily removed in the fall, when not needed any more, and this prevents rotting and doubles the life of the laths. In the spring they can be placed hack to shade the plants from the sun. The frames in fall are stored away where it is dry. Leaves to form a mulch is placed on the beds in fall.
While the best time for transplanting is in the fall, after natural wild ginseng seed has ripened, you can do it when most convenient in springtime. When the two year old plants have come up, or even before, after the ground has warmed up, prepare the permanent beds, remove a few of the roots at a time, then quickly as possible set them out, so they do not dry out badly. The process is repeated until all plants have been transferred that is wanted. This is much better than digging the whole bed and allowing some of the roots and plants to dry out, rendering them less healthy.
If you have covered the beds too heavily, in the spring it might prove best to remove a part of the mulch, so as to allow the plants easier coming up. However, never remove all the covering. If the winter. has been dry the plant coming through the soil, much like a bean, sometimes has a difficult time getting up. At this time, watch your beds. When any plant seems "earth bound" you will be helping a lot by loosening the soil around the plant. This will allow it to stand upright. When the ground is made loose around the ginseng plant it will be out in a few days and nothing need be done to it, such as "straightening it up" or "helping it up."
When using the removable artificial shade frames, they can be left off until the leaves begin to come out on the trees, which is similar to the way it would be with wild ginseng beds (as it grows wild out in the forest). Along about May first is a good time. If the spring is hot and dry by all means shade the plants much earlier but if cool and damp, by leaving the shade off later the beds will have more chance to dry out and be in better shape for summer growth, and slacken the likelihood of disease.
The prospective ginseng gardener should by all means avail himself of any opportunity to visit any ginseng garden Which might be within traveling distance of his home. The sight of artificial beds, shades, etc., will enlighten anyone, even more than an explanation could. The experienceabsolutely necessary.
As a suggested size, from which you can work your own ideas, the beds can be from five to six feet wide and as long as convenient, or the length desired. With a six foot width and a two foot path, posts set eight feet apart would provide for a bed and path.
If the frame-work, provided to shade the garden is constructed over the top and sides, are to be of laths, it is made of approximate size to fasten or place them on. Around the sides, the laths should be stood on end, nailed that way, about one-half to an inch apart. Those overhead should be closer together. By having the laths wider around the sides, more air currents are allowed, which is beneficial. Always remember with artificial shade it is important that it be built high enough 50 you can stand up-right, as it would be unhandy staying bent over while working.
In the opinion of the author, the less stirring around the roots, the better it will be for the garden. Refrain from any attempt to cultivate as you would do with vegetables and other farm crops. All that's really necessary is to keep the beds free from weeds. If trees surround the "'garden" laths on the sides will not be essential.
Whether planning a garden under artificial shade or out in the woods, it is best to get the ground inside the selected bed site in the best possible shape for planting the seed's and transplanting the two year old plants. Grub up young growth not essential for shade and plow or spade up the ground. Around the bed edges you should run boards set on edge or set stones in a shallow ditch, so the mulch will hold better and your beds will be elevated above the path between the beds.
For the artificial shading, you can make frames to cover with laths, that fit together and can be easily removed in the fall, when not needed any more, and this prevents rotting and doubles the life of the laths. In the spring they can be placed hack to shade the plants from the sun. The frames in fall are stored away where it is dry. Leaves to form a mulch is placed on the beds in fall.
While the best time for transplanting is in the fall, after natural wild ginseng seed has ripened, you can do it when most convenient in springtime. When the two year old plants have come up, or even before, after the ground has warmed up, prepare the permanent beds, remove a few of the roots at a time, then quickly as possible set them out, so they do not dry out badly. The process is repeated until all plants have been transferred that is wanted. This is much better than digging the whole bed and allowing some of the roots and plants to dry out, rendering them less healthy.
If you have covered the beds too heavily, in the spring it might prove best to remove a part of the mulch, so as to allow the plants easier coming up. However, never remove all the covering. If the winter. has been dry the plant coming through the soil, much like a bean, sometimes has a difficult time getting up. At this time, watch your beds. When any plant seems "earth bound" you will be helping a lot by loosening the soil around the plant. This will allow it to stand upright. When the ground is made loose around the ginseng plant it will be out in a few days and nothing need be done to it, such as "straightening it up" or "helping it up."
When using the removable artificial shade frames, they can be left off until the leaves begin to come out on the trees, which is similar to the way it would be with wild ginseng beds (as it grows wild out in the forest). Along about May first is a good time. If the spring is hot and dry by all means shade the plants much earlier but if cool and damp, by leaving the shade off later the beds will have more chance to dry out and be in better shape for summer growth, and slacken the likelihood of disease.
The prospective ginseng gardener she misfortunes you will encounter will be just as detrimental as other disobedience's you may act under. With the shade too heavy the root will grow slow, the stem be much too thin, the leaves too slender. Fungi attacks the top, so sunlight is necessary to fight against this disease.
Too much sun will be equally disastrous. Find the right quota of sun and shade by studying it in its wild habitat. When the mulch over the root is heavy, so that the root remains cool in hottest weather, the plant will stand considerable sun. Ginseng grown without mulching is time wasted. Diseases soon attack the beds. The healthy plant will be bothered with few diseases. And to have healthy plants, we arrive back where we started from., The garden must be favorable, not unlike the wild situation, where the plant grows. It grows - in superb health in the forest. Make the garden like the forest, that is, provide sunlight, shade, well-drained soil, plenty of air circulation, etc., and it will do well in the cultivated bed's.
If the ground where you plan your garden is lacking in richness, apply not fertilizer nor stable manure but the natural, loose, black loam from the forest; where logs have rotted down or stumps have disintegrated. This is natural fertilizer. It can-not hurt the root. Unnatural manure's to speed growth can only do harm. Decaying woods matter is highly beneficial to add every year to your garden plot or beds. This enriches it, keeps it fertile.
The rotted sawdust around old sawmills is good covering, makes some of the finest mulching. The best leaves for covering are those that rot easily, such as butternut, linwood (basswood), maples, beech, and similar. Leaves of the oak are tough and should not be used. They are slow to rot and form a favorable mulch only after they have fallen several years.
One of the greatest disadvantages to the cultivation of ginseng out in the woods, is the tree roots pull much moisture out of the ground that is needed by the plants. The roots must remain moist if they get sufficient plant food and this is not the ease and probably you have even noted around the farmers fields where trees have not been cut. far enough back away from much the growth of the ginseng root is slowed down.
It will be necessary that you keep your beds free from weeds, by pulling them with your hands. You might think you can "clip" the weeds with a hoe, which would be faster. However, pulling gets the roots. The weeds do not come back this way. By using plenty of natural mulching, the weed growth will be hampered. It stands to test, then, that heavily mulched beds will save much labor by hand. Under the mulch, the ground remains damp, cool, ideal throughout the hot summer months. If the mulch is removed in the spring, as some gardeners advise, the ground dries out and becomes hard. This is an unnatural condition, not suitable for growing ginseng. The temperature and condition of the ground is a very important factor in raising the plants in marketable quantities.
Although it is debatable as to the right amount of shade for the ginseng garden, it is a certainty the ginseng must have shade to grow and be healthy. A dense shade tends to slacken root growth and enhance the number of seeds borne by the plant. Too open shade withers the plant away. About three-fourths shade has been found to work best.
For an artificial lath frame-work, posts have to be set in the ground. These support a framework of heavy material such as 1x4's or 2x4's, to suit the size of the garden spot. Panels are made on which the laths are nailed. These panels fit over the "runners" of the frame-work. These panels should be of a size that one or two men can easily handle them, preferably constructed. of light material. No dimensions are given. Every man will have his own ideas as to sizes to which he finds favor. The laths are nailed onto the panel frame about half an inch apart.
Some gardeners find it easier to weave the laths with wire. The grower only has to "unroll" his bundle of wire and laths in springtime across the top of the constructed frame-work, then in the fall when the plant have died down, roll the covering back up, to store it away in the dry. This prevents rotting through the winter and the laths last longer. Possibly painting or white-wash applied to the laths would lengthen their usefulness, prolonging their life. The rolls are made long enough to reach from one side of the frame-work to the other. If the garden is too large, so the roll would be too large to handle, then it is spliced. Must be fastened good to prevent its blowing away in storm.
Other types of shading have been successfully used. Brush, old fence rails, burlap cloth, and other things have been placed over beds, on frames which were built to hold them up. To be of best use, the frame-work on which the shade is spread or laid, should be above your head. About seven feet high is ideal.
If the shade is too low it causes excessive heating and disease may develop. When laths are used as a shading the method of having the ends point north and south is the best. This will allow the east to west movement of the sun to cast shadows and run rays in a moving stream on the plants. If the laths were run east and west, the sun would shine on about the same spots, in streaks, all the day, only moving between the laths instead of the preferred "across" method.
The difficulty developing from the use of such material as burlap, as a means of shading the beds, is there always exists a lack of the proper ventilation. In the event of a storm, too, there is the likelihood of the severe wind "taking the covering" with it. There are no vents in the cloth, like there are with laths, through which the wind can escape. A shade that prevents fresh air from circulating is to be avoided. Good, clean, fresh, circulating air is a strong enemy against blight and all other diseases that fight the ginseng gardener.

CHAPTER 8
GINSENG DISEASES AND THEIR CAUSES

A manual on the growing of ginseng would not be complete without a chapter on the enemies of its growth. We should consider ginseng diseases, their causes, with their possible prevention and cures. While it is understood that the best mode of having healthy plants is that they do not catch diseases, by strict adherence to disease prevention, often it happens disease is upon us before we realize it. Perhaps it may be due to improper methods of cultivation. It may be from neglect, that we must suffer losses in our gardens.
We should remember: immediately we have transferred ginseng from the wild to our gardens, we have disturbed its natural way of living. Of course, when we buy our seeds from those already raising ginseng, there is not much difference. The change has not long been made. The removal is artificial. Ginseng is, in its natural habitat, healthy mainly because its every need for food, clothing, and shelter is supplied, so to speak. It gets water enough for its needs; all excess drains off. It is warm enough; the mulching regulates that. The top is not too 'hot; the shade sees to that. 'So - what have we?
Therefore, let us bear this in mind, when we change conditions to where the plant is no longer cared for as Nature cares for her in the wild, as She has cared for the plant in the past, we upset the apple-cart, the apples begin to roll away (get dirty, and while they stay there they disease). We this way open the gate so disease can come in and vigorously attack the plant. The natural resistance of the plant is broken down. In its ill health, it can no longer fight off blight or A fungi. It is on the down-ward road to death, and quick, too, if not rendered help. A checking of the elements will assist it and aid it back to health.
The reason why wild ginseng is rarely diseased, as found in the untrammeled forests, is due to the fact conditions are adequate to fight it off. When man steps in and changes the course of Nature those are the results. Ginseng is untamable. In the authors opinion, you may set ginseng out in the garden and care for it for years, but it will never get so it will be grown in the direct rays of the sunlight. That is why it is untamable.

COMMON DISEASE CAUSES...

(1) Forcing the roots, by the use of fertilizer foreign to the woods loam. It is not a natural way of obtaining root growth. Rotted sawdust, leaf mold, black woods loam, rotted down stumps or tree trunks, these all are "natural" fertilizer. (If you fail to believe this, ask some city dwelling, flower-lover if she'd like to have some for her flowers). The use of barn-yard manure has paved the road to disease for many gardeners. It is not because it is harmful in itself, but the trouble lies in the fact this manure causes the roots to grow to large size quickly. This being unnatural, the road is paved so disease can attack. Fungi is at home in manure.
{2) Inefficient drainage methods. All wild ginseng grows where drainage is excellent. Disregard to the necessity of proper drainage will naturally cause future trouble. Beds should be elevated six inches to a foot above the surrounding ground. A location for the garden where the ground lays well, on a slope will aid greatly in keeping the beds "forest like." Surplus water drains off the surface of the ground.
Out in the wood's the tree roots that mingle and interlace beneath the forest floors, draw much water from the ground. In the garden where there exists no tree roots, this will not be so. It is needful that special attention be turned to the drainage situation. Artificial means must be provided so that the surplus, unwanted water leaves the beds without causing trouble. Drainage tiles, placed in the middle of the bed, helps keep the water off, preventing dampness which might start disease.
(3) Mulching. Failure to mulch is the cause of much trouble. Ginseng in the wild is never without a carpet over her feet, which is of course leaves. These leaves do not press against the ground air-tight, either. Did you ever notice? They have air space all through them. Snails, worms, work through this and keep breath touching the ground. Leaves protect the ground from drying out in time of drought The water fed to the ground through the leaves receives its doses in the right measure. The slant of the land carries away excess moisture. That is why ginseng needs good drainage. The mulch is an insulation. The bed of leaves prevents the sun or hot wind from reaching the root. When you fail to give thought in a serious way to proper mulching conditions of the ginseng in your beds, to coincide with that on the forest floor around the wild plant, you will sooner or later be apt to find your plants diseased.
(4) Depth of trans-planted roots. It is doubtful if potential gardeners will consider this as an element of great importance. However, in the light of actual occurrences, as we find the plant in the wild, certain measures should be strictly adhered to.
Let us go dig a wild plant. With our trowel we dig down several inches below the ground surface before contact with the bud is made. Why? It must be for some good reason. The ginseng plant is a strange plant. The roots will not grow on top of the ground like an onion. It even threatens to quit if you treat it so rough as to try to force it to grow barely beneath the soil top. The ginseng root must be kept at an even temperature. The roots need to remain cool, regardless of the weather. By being so far underground and with a leaf mulch on top, we see at once that the roots are nicely and effectively protected from any change in temperature in the atmosphere above.
When trans-planting the root too shallow, the root is not kept at the right temperature. It possibly becomes either too hot or too cold. Therefore, it stands to reason its natural growth is thrown out of line, thus it becomes susceptible to disease. Basically, two or three inches deep to the bud is necessary.
(5) Shade. Too meager shade will prematurely cause the leaves to turn yellow and dry up. Again, this is out of harmony with plants in the wild. Too much shading means the plants will not dry out right to prevent disease This is apt, very apt, to cause complications to set in. The ground being too damp will set up conditions so fungi will thrive. Ginseng does not do well in lowland damplands, neither high ground that's too moisture filled. Avoid ledges in setting out the bed or location of beds where the ground has washed away, leaving thin soil overlaying them.
If the shade is too low the heat from the sun may damage the plants. The restricted circulation of air, which will fail in its duty to dry them out, is very detrimental to healthy beds. The plan is to remove all causes that would hinder the plant's continuation in the garden as a healthful captured wilding. The shade is most effective if constructed to allow rainfalls, when they are scant, to reach the plants unhindered so as to benefit the plants to the fullest extent of its might, and to ward off hard, driving rain that would injure the plants. The shade should also be a protection against hail, should it strike in the vicinity of your beds.
The same effect is obtained if the panels are so constructed, that they can be raised or lowered, to allow the sun to dry off excessive dampness. The close set plants shade the ground and heighten the need for free circulating air, as with the wild, and enough sun to avoid prevailing' dampness to cause ruin.
Guard against attempts at "cultivation" and give the plant every assistance in retaining its wild characteristics. If you succeed in this perfectly, disease will bother your gardens very little. The best control of disease is efforts made for its prevention. should your ginseng beds be attacked, look for the cause. remove the cause and the "effect" of the cause will vanish. For every result, there must of necessity, be a cause. Finding it will make your ginseng garden a healthful place to grow the plants. A thorough check-up of your garden with "gardens" as in the wild, will generally result in a simple diagnosis of where the trouble lays.

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