XIII 



GINGER 401 



In the Punjab the leaves are laid over the beds and 

 the manure is laid on the top of them, so that under 

 the influence of the heavy rains of the wet season it 

 gradually soaks in. 



The system of mulching with dead leaves, cut grass, 

 etc., might be practised more largely for all crops in 

 the East than it is, but it is desirable to bury the mulch 

 with a little soil, as less of the products of decay are 

 lost. It is not always possible, however, to obtain 

 leaves and other vegetable debris to get a good, suitable 

 mulch. 



The Chinese in the Straits Settlements use only 

 cow-dung for manure, and this they dig into the ground 

 before planting. Oil-cake and other high-class manures 

 are not within their reach. Horse-dung is rarely used 

 here in any cultivation, unless it has been rotted for 

 some years, as it is considered too hot, but old, well- 

 decomposed stable manure, especially when mixed with 

 cow-dung, is very suitable for all cultivations of this 

 type. 



PREPARATION OF THE SPICE 



There are two forms in which ginger is usually 

 prepared for the market, viz. dried or cured ginger and 

 preserved or green ginger. In the West Indies and 



India the spice is prepared as dry "ginger, While China 

 supplies the greater part, indeed practically all, of the 

 preserved ginger. 



DRIED GINGER 



v After the rhizomes are dug up they are cleaned of 

 dirt and the roots cut away, and then are sometimes pre- 

 pared for market by merely gradually seething or scald- 

 ing them in hot water, after which they are spread out 

 every day in the sun till they are sufficiently dry, and 

 packed in parcels of 100 Ibs. for the market. This is called 

 Black Ginger. In scalding the rhizomes, a large pot 

 or copper is fixed in the field or some convenient place, 

 and kept full of boiling water. The ginger, cleaned of 



2 D 



