GINGER . 379 



ground after the first crop has been collected and grow without further 

 attention, is known as ' ratoon ' ginger. 



Cochin ginger occurs in both the scraped and coated varieties ; the 

 latter bears on its ventral and dorsal surfaces, but not on the lateral, 

 portions of a reddish grey cork, coarsely wrinkled both longitudinally 

 and transversely. The lateral surfaces, that have been freed from 

 the cork, are striated and of a rather paler colour. The drug is usually 

 in smaller ' hands ' than the Jamaica, the branches (' fingers ') are 

 commonly shorter and thicker, and the aroma less agreeable. 



African ginger is a coated ginger, the ventral and dorsal surfaces 

 bearing patches of wrinkled cork of an earthy-brown colour. The 

 cortical tissue that is exposed on the lateral surfaces is sometimes of 

 a dingy grey colour and lighter than the cork, sometimes nearly black 

 and then much darker. The drug in bulk is darker than Cochin ginger 

 and appears discoloured from want of care in the preparation of it for 

 the market. Although deficient in aroma, it is an exceedingly pungent 

 ginger, in this respect excelling the Jamaica drug. It yields about 

 10 per cent, of alcoholic extract. 



Bengal ginger is dark and partly coated ; it resembles African. 



Japanese ginger usually occurs in small flattened unscraped pieces ; 

 it is not produced by Z. officinale, as many of the starch grains are 

 compound and the volatile oil differs in physical properties from that 

 of Jamaica ginger ; it has been referred to Z. Mioga, Roscoe. 



Ratoon ginger is small, dull, dingy, greyish brown, and bears evidence 

 of having been imperfectly peeled and carelessly cured. It is of inferior 

 aroma and pungency. 



Of all the commercial varieties of ginger, Jamaica is the most 

 aromatic and African the most pungent. 



GALANGAL RHIZOME 



(Lesser Galangal, Rhizoma Galangse) 



Source, &C. Galangal root is the rhizome of Alpinia officindrum, 

 Hance (N.O. Scitaminece) , a reedlike plant, attaining about a metre 

 in height, a native of and cultivated on the island of Hainan and the 

 neighbouring south-east coast of China. The rhizome is dug up in 

 the autumn, washed, trimmed, cut into pieces, and dried ; during 

 the latter process the pale colour of the fresh rhizome turns to a reddish 

 brown. The drug is exported in bales made of split cane, plaited, 

 and bound round with cane. 



Galangal root is not now much used in England, but is still employed 

 in some parts of Russia both as a spice and as a medicine. 



Description. The drug consists of a branched rhizome, about 12 mm. 

 thick, that has evidently been cut whilst fresh into pieces about 

 5 or 10 cm. long. These are frequently cylindrical, but sometimes 



