IT. S. Minister H. N. Allen, of Seoul, Korea, has issued the following circular letter as a reply to the many inquiries from the United States at that legation relative to ginseng seeds and plants, and how to secure the same, etc. It is becoming impracticable for his office to give attention to the numerous requests for information regarding ginseng received by every mail or to furnish supplies of ginseng seeds and plants.

Information may be had on the subject from the publications of the United States Department of Agriculture and from the numerous firms engaged in supplying ginseng seeds and roots in America. With great difficulty living roots have been shipped to America and a reliable supply must now be available. At least one enterprising American (of San Francisco) has spent some months at the ginseng farms in Korea, studying the cultnre and conditions and taking away with him a large shipment of living plants, so that dealers in the United States must now have a plentiful supply of reliaole plants and fresh seeds.

Ginseng seeds are not supposed to germinate after having dried out. Even if there were seeds in Korea, therefore, it would be useless to secure ginseng seeds from them. The ginseng farms are some 60 miles distant from Seoul, and there is no person there to whom one may apply for seeds or plants. The American missionaries residing near the farms have wisely decided not to attempt to export the seeds and plants, as such a course would ultimately cause trouble for them with the natives. If all the ginseng plantations in America succeed the product will be of little value. The only market for the roots is in China and it is overstocked, while the Korean product which seems to be of especial value, due to conditions of soil and climate, is increasing so greatly that the purchasers of the last crop were obliged to destroy a large quantity in order to keep the supply within the demand