State

Ginseng Few people know I Hal il w as formerly produced on a con¬ siderable scale in North Carolina an<l III a I much of il was shipped across llie seas lo China. В;/ II. C. LAWRENCE WE consider the Chinese a pecu- liar people and no doubt they consider us in the same light. Many of their manner» and customs иге the reverse of ours, inasmuch as they read from right to left, wear white instead of Ыаек in token of moiirninp, and when greeting a friend shake their own hands. They worship their ancestors and have many sorts of queer dishes such as birds nest aud •hark fin soup, and they esteem as del¬ icacies many things which our western civilization totally rejects. It will probably be surprising to many readers to learn that we grow in the mountains of our far western counties a plant, the root of which is held sacred and regarded as a panacea by the Chinese, but such is the case — GINSENG. A Considerable Industry The gathering of wild ginseng ou the high slo|ic4 of our far western counties was formerly a considerable industry. When the motintnineer of the coves and ridges needed additional supplies ho would take his grubbing hoe, penetrate into the deep shade of the high fore*!*, dig some 'sing. and take it to town where he would barter it for the necessary supplies. Hut the plant requires so long to germinate and is of such extremely slow growth, that the wild plant of the forest has become like the buffalo of the western plains — almost extinct. Ginseng, or ‘.sen// as it i« called in the vernacular, is one of the strangest of plants, comparable in it« weirdness to that of the Venus Fly Trap of our Wilmington section, which it i> diffi¬ cult to classify as a plant or an ani¬ mal since it possesses some of the at¬ tributes of both. This Fly Trap is cov¬ ered with small cilia which exude a mucilaginous »ub-tance which attract* Hies or other .«mall insects. When an insect become- entangled therein, the two leaves will forthwith close, en¬ trapping the insect, and will remain closed until the insect has been digest- 10 cd, whereupon the leaves will open again and remain open until another in-eet is entrapped ! It takes the seed of ginseng eighteen months to germinate, and the plant grows so slowly that after germina¬ tion, six lo eight gears is required to produce a root large enough to be marketable. Most plant life flourishes in the sun and will droop or die when deprived of sunlight; some, as the sunflower, even facing the orb of day in its travels from east to west. But ginseng cannot stand the sunlight. In its wild state it grows only in the deep forests of a cool climate in the high mountains. If cultivated it must be protected from the sun and grown in artificial shade. Sells for a High Price It is only the root that is market¬ able and this must be dried, the dry¬ ing process causing the root to lose two-thirds or more of its weight. No doubt the scouring of our western for¬ est- for the wild song was due to the fact that th<' wih! root brings three times as much as the cultivated, rang¬ ing in price from $«>.00 to $13.00 per Ci</. whereas the cultivated root has sold as low as $1.50. If these prices seem to l>e high — well, you evi¬ dently do not know llie difficulties at¬ tendant upon its growth, harvesting and sale. New York City is the best market for the root, from whence it i* exported to China where it i> regarded as a specific for many ill* to which the flesh is heir. There are several species of ginseng, one of which is a native of northern Asia, hard bv the habitat of the Chinese. Any disturbance to busi¬ ness conditions in China causes a wild fluctuation in the price of the root. The growth of the plant is so slow, the difficulties attendant upon culti¬ vation so many, the wild plant has become -o scarce, the financial return i* so uncertain, that most Carolina cultivators have retired from the bus¬ iness, and it may he that in the future the ginseng plant may become extinct. Three Workmen Are Killed in Quarry Klast Mars Hill, N. C. - - Three workmen were killed instantly and five others injured seriously early Monday in a dynamite blast at a rock quarry, six miles from here. Officials of the Nello Teer Con¬ struction Company of Durham, oper¬ ators of the quarry. »aid they were unable to ascertain immediately the cause of the explosion. SUNNY STILL Come now! And would you give the world To have some scene of youth come back. And in its bounding life be hurled. That joy may suffer now no lack? Truly, my friend, you have lhal scene Stored safe in memory all your own; And you are still what you have been. With alt fair days that youth has known. The joyous days of long ago. When boyhood thrilled with wild delight, Arc yet your own; for you well know That they still shine in mem¬ ory's sight. Hut joys of young life’s by-gone days. That once gave forth their glowing charms. Peter re not all the soaring praise To cheer the heart and keep it warm. There are yet days of brightest bliss. And life still has its sunny hours. That hasten by and leave a kiss To quicken all our finest pow¬ ers. Thus may your life he glowing stilt; And. though you dwell on days that came H'Aen you were young, there surely will He many yet I о earn sweet fame, Лх I. BMW J. llOWELb.