5 



ducing the bunch. This would cover purchase of land, clearing woods, draining, planting, weeding, 

 cutting, drying, fuel, boxes and packing. I have not included cost of dryer as that would be but a 

 fraction on each bunch dried. Now after deducting the above we have a clear profit for the grower 

 of 2.19 



An order is now on hand for 2 cwt. for London at 6d. per lb. in bulk, the consignee doing the 

 retail packing and advertising. As the fruit is something new it is being sought after, and all that can be 

 dried is being profitably disposed of. I may add that the fruit drier does its work well, turning out 

 the fruit in a uniform color. Attention must be paid to this, and also that fruit is nearly as possible 

 one size only be dried, as this facilitates packing. Small ones can be used for stock, &e. ; twelve good 

 sized fruit weigh one pound. 



Account sales of dried bananas ex s.s. Portia sold on account and risk of Gordon Grant & Co., 

 Trinidad : — 



97 Boxes dried bananas at 20 cents . $19.40 



1 Box do. do. at auction . 1.30 20.70 



Charges — 



Duty $1.45, freight per B. Lading . $ 3.80 



Advertising — Auctioneer's Commission 5 per cent. 0.06 3.86 



Net proceeds . . $16.84 



Less cost P. O. Order . 2l 



$16.63 



E. & O. E. 



Gbo. Robinson & Co. 



St. John, N.B., 



24th January, 1891. 



Plantain Meal. 



" Last Mail a sample of 7 lbs. of meal, prepared from the Moko Plantain, was forwarded to Lon- 

 don, and for which the correspondent offered sixpence per lb. Receipts were also supplied for pre- 

 paration in cooking. Great attention has been drawn to banana meal by the observations made by Mr. 

 H. M. Stanley in his book ' Darkest Africa," and which, as an advertisement, should not be lost sight 

 of. No banana gives such an excellent meal as the ' Moko,' or so agreeable in flavour and taste. The 

 preparation of the meal is as follows : — The green Moko was skinned, sliced thin* and dried in the fruit 

 drier ; then ground fine in an ordinary corn mill, and afterwards sifted through a muslin sieve : this 

 latter removes any fibre and leaves a delicate fine meal. The slices dry in two hours. A 151b. bunch 

 will yield 3 lbs. of prepared meal which at 6d. per lb. is Is. 6d. per bunch. Two women could prepare 

 56 lbs. of meal per day. The cost of production, packing, &c, has to be considered, but the price ob- 

 tained must be considered a satisfactory one ; at least it is better than that now obtained, which may 

 bo said to be nil." 



GINGER. 



Ginger is the dried root-stock of Zingiber officinale, a plant with leafy stems, 3 or 4 feet high, dis- 

 tinct flowering stems 6 to 12 inches high with small, yellow and purple flowers in a cone-like head. 

 Soil.— A well-drained clayey loam is suited to this plant. 



Cultivation.— -The land should be well dug and cleared of weeds. Small pieces or protuberances of 

 the root 1 or 2 inches long are planted during March or April, 4 inches deep and 9 to 12 inches apart. It 

 is well to cover the land with a moulding of dead leaves, weeds, straw, or litter, mixed with manure. 

 In a few months the whole ground will be covered. The flowers appear in September. 



Harvesting. — When the stalks wither in the following January or February, it is time to dig up 

 the roots. When the tubers have become mature, and have put forth stems, they are fibrous ; but 

 before this takes place, while they are still succulent, and the young stalks are not more than 5 or 6 

 inches long, they should be taken up for preserving. 



Ginger is an exhausting crop on the soil, and should not be planted in the same ground two con- 

 secutive years. 



Preparation for Market. — " Black Ginger" of commerce is prepared by washing the root in water, 

 boiling for a quarter of an hour, and then drying in the sun. " White Ginger," a much superior article, 

 is prepared from the best and soundest roots, by scraping off the outer dark-coloured part, and then 

 earefully drying without boiling. " Preserved Ginger" is made from the young tubers, which are 

 scalded, washed in cold water, and then peeled. The roots are then covered with a weak syrup, and 

 left for two days. The syrup is then poured off, and replaced by a stronger syrup, and this is repeated 

 two or three times, until the syrup is thick, and the ginger bright and nearly transparent. 



Yield. — The yield per acre is said to be 4,000 lbs. and upwards. 



Ginger Preserve. 



The following has been kindly contributed by a Correspondent who has been most successful in 

 the making of preserved ginger : — 



" The price charged for all Jamaica preserves is excessive and defeats its own ends. For instance 

 this ginger, say Is. for the young ginger to make 12 lbs., Is. for the first syrup, and for 2nd, allowing 

 6d. per lb. for lump preserve sugar, the cost of this being 19s. 9d. per cwt. in England, 6d. for the 



* N. B. — The slicing should not be done with a steel knife. — W.F. 



