Before the United States was the United States, country folks were harvesting roots and herbs from the wild. While some of these plants were used to make home medicines, the majority were sold to companies who exported the plants to Europe and Asia. Many families made part of their living each year gathering and digging roots and herbs. Even some frontier scouts, surveyors, and fur trappers supplemented their income by digging. Old records show that Daniel Boone dug Ginseng and sold it to a company in Philadelphia for export to China.
Today the harvesting and digging of medicinal plants and roots continues to provide an income for many rural families. Those whose livelihoods depend on income from these plants generally employ sound harvesting practices. Indeed, some diggers have even harvested in patches of Goldenseal or Ginseng that their grandfathers once harvested. Wise wildcrafting practices do not harm plant populations.
There are people who voice fears that the continued harvesting of plants from the wild threatens their existence. That may be so in some situations. It cannot be denied that some diggers harvest thoughtlessly, dig out of season, and ignore the traditional wisdom of leaving at least 10% of any plant colony to reseed and reproduce. However, even with this ruthless treatment some seeds and roots will often be left behind. If left to Mother Nature's care, these survivors will produce a new patch.
A more overwhelming threat to these plants is the increasing destruction of their habitat. Diggers find that those areas that have been sprayed with herbicides or other poisons, and areas that have been clear-cut or bulldozed for development, can no longer be harvested. Once a forest has been clear-cut or a hollow bulldozed, the growing conditions needed by wild plants will have been destroyed. There is then little chance that the plants will grow there again. Herbicides sprayed on pastures,roadsides, and right of ways destroy plant populations. Where plants do survive, they contain harmful residues and should not be harvested for human consumption.
With the increasing demand for medicinal plants and the increasing prices paid for them, more and more people are looking to the woods for an additional source of income. To insure that there will be a continuing supply of wild medicinal plants, certain conservation practices need to be followed by those harvesting them.
Medicinal plants have been used by millions of people for thousands of years to treat and prevent illness. With the continuing loss of natural habitat for these plants, it is more important than ever that we harvest with great care and begin to grow these plants ourselves. Good wildcrafting practices and cultivation preserve the plant populations and the diggers future source of income. These practices also insure that there will continue to be medicinal plants for our children and grandchildren to use.
This was taken from the Introduction to "A Digger's Guide to Medicinal Plants". 2nd edition
At Deak's Fur, we have been buying Ginseng and other medicinal roots since 1979. We take every effort to treat all diggers with respect and give them an honest weight and pay them the best price we can. We have scales that are certified by the State of Indiana each year.
We keep in stock digging shovels and picks.
Deak's Fur Company is a family business that is open year round. Our business hours are 2pm to 7pm Monday through Friday, Saturday 12 noon to 7. Closed Sundays.
Visit our web-site Deaksfur.com we try to post current prices for roots on the site.