245 



1887 

 1888 

 1889 



1890 (i-year) 



1891 



1892 



1893 



1894 



1895 



1896 



Pounds. 

 1,121,827 

 1,141,877 

 1,002,653 



554,193 

 1,219,197 

 1,822,531 

 1,526,884 

 1,672,384 

 1,736,460 

 1,960,609 



The yield and profit of the ginger crop depend somewhat upon the 

 nature of the soil. In favourable seasons rainfall, sunshine, planting, 

 care and curing, are also factors. An average yield can be estimated at 

 from 1,000 to 1,500 pounds dried ginger per acre. In exceptional 

 cases, 2,000 pounds have been gathered. There are planters in Jamaica 

 who plant ginger here and there in patches, and gathering as little as a 

 hundred pounds in a year. G-inger is well adapted to the small planter, 

 and admirably suited to the peasantry of Jamaica, who by slow evolu- 

 tion, are passing from serfdom to manhood and independence. 



The exact cost of producing this crop is difficult to calculate. The 

 present output is largely the product of domestic labour, whose value is 

 hard to compute ; when this class of labour is hired, it becomes very 

 costly. The figures in the following table are approximate only ; as 

 now conducted there is chargeable against the crap the item of rent or 

 tax, (if the cultivator is an owner), the labour is mainly that of the 

 family. 



An approximate estimate of the expenditures anl receipts on an acre 

 of land planted in ginger are as follows : 



Ground-rent or tax 



$ 5.00 



Clearing land, ploughing and planting 



40.00 



Cost of plants 



50.00 



Digging and preparing 



15.00 



Peeling 



45.00 



Drying 



25.00 



Delivery at market 



10.00 





$190.00 



Fertiliser (if used) 



50.00 



Superintendence 



20.00 





$260.00 



Yield : 1,500 to 2,500 pounds (cured ginger), at 12 cents per pound' 

 $IS0 to $300. 



Viewed from this standpoint, the cultivation of ginger on a large 

 ficale would be far from remunerative. 



