AmAP°rn;Srm'}        Collectiiig  and  Curing  Ginger,  185 
Hanover  Collectorate. 
"  My  remarks  in  my  last  quarterly  report  were  based  on  ginger 
which  came  under  my  observation  as  several  lots  were  sold  to  the 
traders  here,  mildewed,  and  in  one  or  two  cases  soft  and  spongy. 
I  inquired  at  the  time  what  was  the  defect  in  curing  which  had 
caused  the  depreciation  in  the  condition  and  quality  of  the  ginger, 
and  I  was  told  that  ginger,  to  be  successfully  cured  after  it  is 
scraped,  must  be  kept  away  from  the  damp  or  rain,  and  be  subjected 
every  day  to  exposure  to  the  sun  in  a  dry  place,  until  it  is  perfectly 
hard.  The  ginger  mildewed  had  not  received  proper  attention  in 
this  respect,  which  accounts  for  the  low  price  which  the  ginger  of 
this  parish  brings ;  and  the  soft,  spongy  ginger  had  not  arrived  at 
proper  maturity,  otherwise  green,  and  had  been  put  away  damp  into 
bags.  I  thought  as  the  matter  at  various  times  came  within  my 
notice,  that  this  want  of  proper  attention  to  a  valuable  commodity 
was  productive  of  a  great  loss.  In  the  Seafort  Town  District  I 
understand  that  greater  care  is  exercised  and  as  a  result  much 
higher  prices  obtained."  E.  P.  Fuller. 
Revenue  Office,  Sav-la-Mar. 
"  As  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  the  price  obtained  was 
due  not  so  much  to  superior  preparation  by  the  producer  as  to  com- 
petition on  the  part  of  purchasers. 
"  I  am  able  to  state  that  the  mode  of  preparing  ginger  in  this 
parish  is  by  scraping  and  washing  and  carefully  drying  it  in  the  sun. 
"  The  low  prices  given  in  the  early  part  of  the  season  are  for 
ratoon  ginger,  which  is  often  reaped  before  it  has  attained  maturity, 
and  almost  immediately  mildews  for  want  of  constant  sunshine 
which  prevails  only  later  in  the  ginger  season." 
Aubrey  G.  Facey. 
Internal  Revenue  Office,  Black  River. 
"  The  information  I  have  been  able  to  gather  is  this :  The  ginger 
is  scraped  and  peeled  with  knives  by  the  growers.  The  knives  are 
especially  imported  and  known  as  ginger  knives.  The  ginger  is 
then  washed  once  or  twice  and  turned  out  to  dry  on  mats,  care 
being  taken  to  provide  against  mildew. 
"  I  have  never  heard  of  ginger  being  boiled  for  purposes  of  cur- 
ing. I  should  imagine  that  such  a  process  would  deteriorate  its 
strength,  and  impair  its  value  to  an  appreciable  extent. 
