XIII 



GINGER 405 



chloride, but these did not equal native sun-dried ginger, 

 and slicing and drying resulted, as might be expected, 

 in a loss of aroma. 



SORTING AND SHIPPING 



The buyers in Jamaica sort the spice, and value it 

 according to condition, in the following grades. The 

 highest grades are large-sized hands of light and uniform 

 colour, free from any trace of mildew. They are brittle 

 and crack easily, but broken pieces depreciate the value. 

 They should be firm and full, without wrinkles or spots. 

 Shrivelled and small hands form another grade, and 

 dark varieties another ; the heavy, tough, and flinty 

 are another grade. Of these grades the best in texture 

 and colour are selected for a second class grade. Eatoon 

 ginger usually brings the lowest price, as the hands are 

 small and soft and less aromatic. When gathered too 

 young the ginger shrivels a good deal, and is less 

 aromatic and pungent. 



Mildewed ginger is spotted, and acquires a musty 

 flavour, impossible to eradicate. 



The dried ginger is packed for shipment in barrels, 

 the common kind in bags. Formerly it was exported 

 in casks of a size equivalent to four or five barrels. 



PESTS 



I do not find many pests recorded for this plant, 

 nor have I seen any insects or fungi attacking the 

 plant myself. The chief danger seems to be from one 

 or more fungi, of which the worst is known as Black-rot. 



This disease is described by W. Harris and Mr. 

 Howard in the Jamaica Bulletin, 1901, p. 180, and 

 1902, p. 42. 



The disease, says Mr. Harris, is well known in 

 Jamaica, and affected plants are easily detected. The 

 symptoms are sickly yellow foliage, the stem black and 

 decaying, and the rhizomes also black and decomposed. 



