AmAp°rnr;Sarm-}        Collecting  and  Curing  Ginger.  187 
purchase,  a  loss  in  weight,  and  likely  in  monetary  value,  too,  from 
depreciation  in  quality,  and  so  on  with  the  next  man  in  his  turn." 
J.  W.  Gruber. 
COLLECTORATE  MANCHESTER. 
"  I  have  very  much  pleasure  in  forwarding  the  information  asked 
for.  I  have  no  personal  knowledge  of  the  subject,  and  was  alto- 
gether dependent  on  the  kindness  of  George  Nash,  Esq.,  who  pos- 
sesses an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  subject,  and  whose  letter 
I  now  submit."  R.  C.  J.  Bacquie. 
[enclosure.] 
"  Ginger. — There  are  two  descriptions  grown  here,  the  yellow  and 
the  blue,  the  yellow  being  the  superior  quality.  To  obtain  best 
ginger  it  must  be  planted  every  year  on  virgin  soil ;  it  is  ready  for 
harvesting  from  March  to  December  in  ratoons,  and  plant-ginger 
after  Christmas  up  to  March  and  April.  The  crops  grown  on  the 
the  same  land  after  the  first  year  are  called  ratoons  1st,  2d,  3d, 
respectively.  The  gathering  is  much  after  the  manner  of  taking  in  a 
potato  crop,  the  pieces  or  stems  (from  which  the  ginger  is  taken) 
being  left  in  the  ground,  and  moulded  up  are  what  form  the  ratoons 
which  year  by  year  become  inferior  in  quality  and  is  abandoned 
when  it  cannot  bring  more  than  16  shillings  per  100  pounds. 
"  Ginger  said  to  be  grown  in  Manchester,  the  bulk  of  it  comes  from 
over  the  border  of  the  Parish-  some  miles  away  in  Trelawny,  St. 
Ann  and  Clarendon.  It  is  purchased  in  centres  there  up  to  40  to  45 
shillings  per  100  pounds,  according  to  the  fineness  in  quality  (it  takes 
some  years  to  be  a  competent  ginger  buyer),  the  purchaser  having 
to  transport  same.  The  best  descriptions  are  brittle,  and  easily 
broken,  which  depreciates  its  value.  Considering  its  bulk  and 
lightness  a  heavy  item  for  cartage  has  to  be  added.  A  barrel  of 
the  best  quality  will  be  many  pounds  lighter  than  the  inferior ; 
some  finds  its  way  to  Montego  Bay  ;  what  comes  this  way  is  shipped 
via  Kingston,  a  distance  of  over  ninety  miles  from  where  grown. 
The  distance  for  transport  is  not  so  great  in  Westmoreland,  Sav- 
la-Mar  and  other  places.  This  may  account  for  the  difference  in 
prices  between  this  and  Westmoreland  Ginger. 
"  It  may  be  that  the  Westmoreland  buyer  pays  too  high,  or  that 
the  grower  abandons  the  ratoons  and  keeps  to  the  growing  of  new 
plant-ginger  every  year,  and  so  maintains  a  uniform  price,  or  that 
the  soil  is  better  adapted  and  yields  bolder  samples,  hence  better 
