under the same
latitude with those parts of Chinese Tartary and China where the true
ginseng grows wild. They succeeded in their attempt, and found the same
ginseng wild and abundant in several parts of North America, both in
French and English plantations, in plain parts of the woods. It is fond
of shade, and of a deep, rich mold, and of land which is neither wet nor
high. It is not every where very common, for sometimes one may search
the woods for the space of several miles without finding a single plant
of it; but in those spots where it grows it is always found in great
abundance. It flowers in May and June, and its berries are ripe at the
end of August. The trade which is carried on with it here is very brisk,
for they gather great quantities of it, and send them to France, from
whence they are brought to China, and sold there to great advantage. The
Indians in the neighborhood of Montreal were so taken up with the
business of collecting ginseng, that the French farmers were not able
during that time to hire a single Indian, as they commonly do, to help
them in the harvest. The ginseng formerly grew in abundance round
Montreal, but at present there is not a single plant of it to be found,
so effectually have they been rooted out. This obliged the Indians this
summer to go far within the English boundaries to collect these roots.
After the Indians have sold the fresh roots to the merchants, the latter
must take a great deal of pains with them. They are spread on the floor
to dry, which commonly requires two months and upward, according as the
season is wet or dry. During that time they must be turned once or twice
every day, lest they should putrefy or molder. The roots prepared by the
Chinese are almost transparent, and look like horn in the inside; and
the roots which are fit for use are heavy and compact in the inside. No
one has ever discovered the Chinese method of preparing it. It is
thought, among other preparations, they dip the roots in a decoction of
the leaves of ginseng. Kalm wrote thus of the ginseng in 1749 (Kalm, in
Pinkerton, vol. xiii., p. 639). Mr. Heriot mentions that "one article of
commerce the Canadians had, by their own imprudence, rendered altogether
unprofitable. From the time that Canada ginseng had been imported to
Canton, and its quality pronounced equal to that of Corea or Tartary, a
pound of this plant, which before sold in Quebec for twenty pence,
became, when its value was once ascert