Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 August 1895 — WHAT DO THEY DO WITH IT? [ARTICLE]

WHAT DO THEY DO WITH IT?

Mystery of the Constant Chlnsss Demand for GHieeng. Passing throvMjh the Wholesale district the other cfllfc reporter stopped in at one of the large ho uses to ask about prices. When ginseng was reached in the list the dealer said: “What the Chinese use ginseng for is to the masses one of the mysteries of the age, but that they gobble up every ounce of the herb that the known world supplies is nevertheless a fact Because the most thorough inquiry has failed to bring about a complete unfolding of the secret is not regarded by the average American as sufficient reason for refusing from $8 to $5 ;*er pound on the average, which the Celestial offers for the root Some of the largest firms in China make a specialty of handling the American export of ginseng and coin money at it Some of oar shrewdest traders have coaxed for the secret, and have offered money for it, but the gray matter at the other end of the Chinaman’s queue doesn’t seem to see it that way. “The American ginseng is growing scarcer yearly. The cultivated root has not the wonderful power which fixes the value of the wild article; at least it does not manifest itself to the same degree. This fact renders the cultivation of ginsong rather unprofitable. It might bo planted and allowed to grow well for years and years and then be salable at good figures, but not otherwise. The older the plant the more pronounced the wonderful properties of the root. In view of the fact that it is growing scarcer, unless the demand diminishes, the price of ginseng must go materially higher within the next few yoars. “The market here is largely speculative. The Chinese ginseng houses each year send their buyers from California to tho East to buy up the receipts of ginseng. Those buyers havo not yot put in an appearance on tho Eastern market, und consequently this yoar’s price has not been fixed. Dealers are paying $2.50 in Nashville for the reason that they believe they can Becure the usual pricos for all they take in. Some advices, However, are to the effect that the prices will bo 20 or 80 cents lowor, owing to tho fact that the demand has been cut off somewhat by the war. “Wo encounter some funny experiences in buying tho root. The diggers are often tho ponrost people, and far from enlightoned. Well, the root is hard to get, und when it is thoroughly dried the weight, shrinks like a nickel’s worth of soup after a hard day’s washing, so the digger resorts to all sorts of deceptions to fudge an ounce or two in a pound, and roap more of the precious dimes and dollars. For instance, we have frequently gotten in root which was wall dried, but suspiciously heavy. Upon Investigation we found that many of the pieces were loaded with lead, thus almost doubling the weight of the whole lot. This was done with a great deal of cunning and ingenuity. When tho root waß green It was split, and lead melted and poured or driven in in slugs. The root was then allowed to dry, and in the process tho seams entirely close up, completely hiding the lead, which, in a case like this, was almost worth its weight in gold.”