The subject of Ginseng is worthy of a book, and some day, I hope, it will know its able chronicler, but here it is necessary to say only that Ginseng has been under cultivation, successful cultivation in America, that is, for about 110 years. The wild supply no longer supplied the demand and about 1880-1890 the first experiments in cultivating the plant were conducted. Complete success was not, of course, the immediate result, but by 1900 some new growers were in sight of the goal: the subjugation of an erstwhile, savage of the plant world.
Remember, this was before the day of the wild flower garden, the “nature nook,” etc.; and, though you may not believe it, many would-be growers of Ginseng tried to grow it in the open field like corn. They learned better. And no few of them gave up in disgust. Others, men who looked beyond the years, fought on.
And so, eventually, Ginseng came into its own.
Seed of the cultivated article were at one time worth 3c each! For a short time, though, that state of affairs existed, too short for the dreamers to realize overnight the riches they visualized. One healthy, four or five year old stalk of Ginseng may produce better than 100 seed. But the bubble burst Success isn’t often realized that easily, but those who did apply a bit of common sense in their initial endeavors emerged finally as money-making individuals in a pioneer field. And the field wasn’t uncomfortably crowded. Prices became stabilized.
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