Ginseng is very wise and knows its own age. This age the plant shows in two ways. First, by the style of the foliage which changes each year until it is four years old. Second, the age can be determined by counting the scars on the neck of the bud-stem. Each year the stalk which carries the leaves and berries, goes down, leaving a scar on the neck or perennial root from which it grew. A new bud forms opposite and a little above the old one each year. Counting these stalk scars will give the age of the plant.
I have seen some very old roots and have been told that roots with fifty scars have been dug. The leaf on a seedling is formed of three small parts on a stem, growing directly out of a perennial root and during the first year it remains that shape. The second year the stem forks at the top and each fork bears two leaves, each being formed of five parts. The third year the stem forks three ways and bears three leaves, each formed of five parts, much like the Virginia creeper.
Now the plant begins to show signs of bearing seed and a small button-shaped cluster of green berries can be seen growing in the forks of the stalk at the base of the leaf stem. The fourth year the perennial stalk grows as large around as an ordinary lead pencil and from one foot to twenty inches high. It branches four ways, and has four beautiful five-pointed leaves, with a large well-formed cluster of berries in the center. After the middle of June a pale green blossom forms on the top of each berry. The berries grow as large as a cherry pit and contain two or three flat hard seeds. In September they turn a beautiful red and are very attractive to birds and squirrels. They may be gathered each day as they ripen and should be planted directly in a bed, or put in a box of damp, clean sand and safely stored. If put directly in the ground they will sprout the first year, which advantage would be lost if stored dry.
A word to trappers about wild roots. When you find a plant gather the seed, and unless you want to plant them in your garden, bury them in the berry about an inch or inch and a half deep in some good, rich, shady place, one berry in each spot. Thus you will have plants to dig in later years, you and those who come after you. Look for it in the autumn after it has had time to mature its berries. Do not take up the little plants which have not yet become seed bearers.
CHAPTER VI.
CULTIVATION.
The forest is the home of the Ginseng plant and the closer we follow nature the better results we get. I am growing it now under artificial shade; also in the forest with natural shade, says an Ohio party. A good shade is made by setting posts in the ground, nail cross-pieces on these, then cover with brush. You must keep out the sun and let in the rain and this will do both. Another good shade is made by nailing laths across, allowing them to be one-half inch apart. This will allow the rain to pass thru and will keep the sun out. Always when using lath for shade allow them to run east and west, then the sun can't shine between them.
In selecting ground for location of a Ginseng garden, the north side of a hill is best, altho where the ground is level it will grow well. Don't select a low marshy piece of ground nor a piece too high, all you want is ground with a good drainage and moisture. It is the opinion of some people that in a few years the market will be glutted by those growing it for sale. I will venture to say that I don't think we can grow enough in fifty years to over-run the market. The demand is so great and the supply so scarce it will be a long time before the market will be affected by the cultivated root.
The market has been kept up entirely in the past by the wild root, but it has been so carelessly gathered that it is almost entirely exhausted, so in order to supply this demand we must cultivate this crop. I prepare my beds five feet wide and as long as convenient. I commence by covering ground with a layer of good, rich, loose dirt from the woods or well-rotted manure. Then I spade it up, turning under the rich dirt. Then I cover with another layer of the same kind of dirt in which I plant my seed and roots.