“ When the root is taken up it is known as " white ginseng," and is bought by merchants, who get it "manufactured," about 3j^ catties of the fresh root making one cattie of " red " or commercial ginseng. The grower pays a tax of 20 cents per cattie, and the merchant 16 dollars 2^ cattie for the root as received from the manufacturer.
The annual time of manufacture depends on orders given by the Government. The growers and merchants make the most profit when the date is early. Only two manufacturers are licensed, and one hundred and fifty growers. ”

“ In thatched stalls on low stands and on mats on the ground were all Korean necessaries and luxuries, among which were large quantities of English piece goods, and hacked pieces of beef with the blood in it, Korean killed meat being enough to make any one a vegetarian. ”

“ In Song-do, as in the villages, a straw fringe is frequently to be seen stretched across a door, either plain or with bits of charcoal knotted into it. The former denotes the birth of a girl, the latter that of a boy. A girl is not specially welcome, nor is the occasion one of festivity, but neither is it, as in some countries, regarded as a calamity, although, if it be a firstborn, the friends of the father are apt to write letters of condolence to him, with the consoling suggestion that "the next will be a boy." ”

“ In a good season the grower makes about fifteen times his outlay. Ginseng was a Royal monopoly, but times have changed. This medicine, which has such a high and apparently partially deserved reputation throughout the Far East, does not suit Europeans, and is of little account with European doctors.
A Post Office had been established in Song-do under Korean management, and I not only received but sent a letter, vvh.ch reached its destination safely ! Buddhism still prevails to some extent in this city, and large sums are expended upon the services of sorcerers. ”

“ The quan- tity to be manufactured is also limited. In 1895 it was 15,000 catties of red ginseng and 3,000 of "beards." The terms "beards" and "tails" are used to denote different parts of the root, which eventually has a grotesque resemblance to a headless man ! It is possible that this likeness is the source of some of the almost miraculous virtues which are attributed to it. Everything about the factories is scrupulously clean, and would do credit to European management. The row of houses used by what we should call the excisemen are well built and comfortable. ”

“ The women wear white sheets gathered round their heads and nearly reaching their feet. The street was thronged with men in huge hats and very white clothing, with boy bridegrooms in pink gar- ments and the quaint yellow hats which custom enjoins for several months after marriage, and with mourners dressed in sackcloth from head to foot, the head and shoulders concealed by peaked and scalloped hats, the identity being further dis- guised by two-handled sackcloth screens, held up to their eyes. ”

“ There are two officials sent from Seoul by the Agricultural Department for the "season," with four policemen and two attendants, whose expenses are paid by the manufacturers, and each step of the manufacture and the egress of the workmen are carefully watched. ”

“ A mapu usually goes ahead to test their solid- ity. The region is extremely fertile, producing fine crops of rice, wheat, barley, millet, buckwheat, cotton, sesamum, cas- tor oil, beans, maize, tobacco, capsicums, egg plant, peas, etc. ”