zinn] 



Cfyc Crcagttrg of SSfltang. 



1250 



I The most important species of this genus 



I is Z. officinale, whose rhizomes furnish the 



I well-known spice called Ginger. The plant 



I is largely cultivated both in the East and 



! West Indies, as well as in Africa and China. 



j It is supposed that there are two varieties, 



I one producing darker-coloured rhizomes 



I than the other, this difference in colour 



being independent of the mode of prepa- 



! ration, to be hereafter mentioned. The 



i young rhizomes preserved in syrup are 



i imported from the West Indies and China, 



and form the delicious conserve known 



as 'preserved ginger '—that imported from 



Zingiber officinale. 



the West Indies being preferred to the 

 Chinese kind. 



The rhizomes (or, as they are called in 



commerce, races) are prepared for use in 



the West Indies when the plants are about 



a year old. They are dug up, cleansed, 



scraped, and dried in the sun, and in this 



state form the uncoated ginger of the 



shops ; but when the outer skin is not thus 



removed, the ginger is called * coated,' and 



has a dirty appearance. The softer kinds 



' of ginger are preferred by the merchants, 



I the hard shrivelled inferior kinds being 



| used for grinding. The darker kinds of 



i gingerare sometimes bleached by exposure 



I to the fumes of chloride of lime or burning 



| sulphur. East Indian gingers are not so 



I largely imported or so highly esteemed as 



the West Indian kinds, as the latter are 



I less liable than the former to the attacks 



of worms. This tendency seems partly 



! due to the system of cultivation employed 



in Malabar. African ginger is imported 



in small quantities from Sierra Leone, 



while China only exports the preserved 



ginger already mentioned. 



Ginger, when broken across, shows a 

 number of little fibres embedded in floury 

 tissue. It has a well-known hot pungent 

 taste, due to the presence of a volatile oil. 

 It also contains a large quantity of starch 

 and yellow colouring-matter, enclosed in 

 large cells. According to Dr. Hassall, the 



ground ginger of the shops is adulterated 

 with sago-meal, potato-flour, wheat-flour, 

 ground rice, cayenne-pepper, mustard 

 busks, and turmeric powder blended in 

 varying proportions. 



Ginger is an aromatic stimulant, used 

 chiefly as a condiment, but is also service- 

 able in certain forms of weak digestion, or 

 in spasms. It is also employed externally 

 as a plaister in headache. In the Mau- 

 ritius it is used as a poultice to pro- 



! mote the removal of thorns, needles, &c. 



; from the skin. The irritation set up by 

 the poultice tends to bring the needle or 

 other foreign substance near to the sur- 

 face, when it can be removed by a slight 

 incision. 



An infusion of ginger, under the name 

 of Ginger-tea, is generally sold in military 

 cantonments in India. In this country it 

 is employed in the preparation of cordials, 

 by mixing with brandy, wine, and other 

 liquors, and is also largely consumed in the 

 manufacture of Gingeradc or Gingerbeer, 

 an almost universal summer beverage. 



The root known as Zedoary-root was con- 

 sidered at one time to be the produce of 

 Z. Cassumunar, but it is. now referred to 

 certain species of Curcuma— C. Zerumbet 

 and C. Zedoaria. A few of the gingers are 

 grown as objects of curiosity in hot- 

 houses. [M. T. MJ 



ZINNIA. Handsome animals belonging 



to the tribe Corymbiferw of compound 



flowers, distinguished by having the fruit 



crowned by two erect awns, and by the ray 



being composed of five persistent florets. I 



There are several species, all American. < 



Z.multijlora bears numerous flower-heads, 



of which the disk is yellow, the ray scarlet, 



the latter preserving both form and colour 



| until the seeds ripen ; but the species most 



frequently grown is Z. elegans, a plant of , 



stiff formal habit, but justly prized for | 



; the brilliancy of its scarlet crimson rose- | 



coloured buff or white flower-heads, which | 



like the last have the advantage of retain- i 



I their beauty for a long time. [C. A. J.] 



! ZINZEYD. A Persian name for the l 



: fruit of Elceagnus orientalis, an article of j 



dessert. 



I ZIPPELIA. The name of a genus of j 

 j PiperacecB, comprising an undershrub, na- | 

 ' tive of Java. It has a creeping under- 

 ! ground stem, with erect herbaceous 

 ! knotted branches, alternate palniinerved 

 ■ leaves, and long-stalked clusters of flowers, 

 i each flower being perfect, borne on a short 

 j stalk, protected by a hollow bract. There 

 are six stamens, with short thick filaments, 

 adnate to the base of the germen, which 

 latter is slohular, and contains a single 

 erect ovule springing from its base ; stig- 

 mas four, ultimately reflexed. The fruits 

 are dry, covered with small hooked spines, 

 and without taste. [M. T. MJ 



ZIRBELNUSSE. A German name for 

 the pignons or seeds of Pinus Cembra. 



ZIT-SI. An Indian name for Melanor- 

 rhcea usitatissima. 



