С. М. H. Prarram, Esq. to Колт, Garpens, Kew. 
H.B.M. —— — 
My pear Мв. DYER, 
I REMEMBER a sending home those roots of Zingiber i in 
a Wardian case, in 1878, to Dr. Edward Perceval Wri ight. If my 
memory serves me, I did not send any plants or parts of plants in salt 
and water. What Dr. Wright wanted was such parts of the plant as 
could be utilized for the purposes of botanical identification, such as the 
flowers, or, failing these, at any rate the fruit. But it has been estab- 
never flowers. He has been in the country since bod: and is not likely 
to be mistaken ; the natives, moreover, assert the same. The plant is 
рока entirely by tubers, I believe. It is “hopeless, therefore, to 
to identify it fully. Dr. Hance told me in 1878, when I made 
inquiries on the subject at the instance of Dr. E. P. Wr right, that, in his 
of sweetmeats. An application to him would, doubtless, elicit more 
detailed information on the point. . 
Canton is the head-quarters of preserving ginger; the plant grows 
here too, and is used as a condiment, but not as а sweetmeat. As І said 
abore, it is, to my knowledge, impossible to obtain either a flowering or 
“fruiting specimen. If you would let me know whether the leaves ‘and 
velit alone Mais be of any use to you, I should be happy to procure 
Yours, &c., 
(Signed) G. M. Н, Prayrarr. 
W. T. Thiselton Dyer, Esq., C.M.G. 
ExTRACT from Dr. Trimen's Report on the cad Botanic Gardens, 
Pérádeniya, for 1885, p. 1 
Chinese Ginger.—Of this plant, the source * the preserved ginger 
of commerce, nothing is certainly known. In China, where it is grown, 
it is said never to flower. І have received from Kew a box of roots, 
which are growing well at Pérádeniya. The plant is clearly quite 
distinct from ordinary ginger, and I await its flowering with interest. 
Extract from Mr. Ford's Report on the Hong Kong Botanical and 
Afforestation Department for 1886, Appendix I. 
Some doubt has existed as to whether the Chinese have not one or 
more kinds of plants in use as ginger that are unknown elsewhere 
of plants generally included by the Chinese as ginger with the hope 
that when in eultivation they can be studied and observed in such a 
mei as to secure all possible information in сойлоп with this 
subj 
While at San Ui I was fortunate in being able to obtain from 
cultivated plants good flowering specimens. These I dried, and together 
