528  Trade  in  Ginger  and  its  Economic  Uses.{^m-£™*J£Tm- 
champagne,  ginger  cordial,  ginger  essence,  ginger  lozengesand  ginger 
wine.  We  have  also  the  gingerbread  tree  (the  Doum  Palm),  which, 
though  not  a  producer  of  the  spice,  bears  a  fruit,  the  husk  of  which 
is  brown  and  mealy,  and  has  both  the  taste  and  color  of  ginger- 
bread, hence  one  of  its  common  names. 
On  the  Continent  ginger  is  less  used  and  appreciated  than  with 
us.  Good  ginger  should  be  fresh,  dry,  heavy,  not  brittle,  of  a  red- 
dish-gray exterior.  The  interior,  when  broken,  should  be  resinous 
and  of  a  pungent  taste.  The  finest  bleached  Jamaica  ginger  is 
always  in  demand  at  good  prices,  after  which  come  Cochin  and 
African  bleached.  Soluble  essences  of  ginger  are  required  for 
making  good  ginger  beer,  and  Belfast  and  American  ginger  ales. 
There  are  aerated  and  fermented  ginger  beers;  the  best  unbleached 
Jamaica  ginger,  well  bruised,  being  used  for  the  latter.  Ginger  is 
also  used  for  a  kind  of  cordial  a  :d  champagne.  It  is  administered 
medicinally  as  a  tonic  anti-spasmodic  and  carminative,  in  the  form 
of  powder,  tincture  and  syrup.  Its  odor  is  due  to  an  essential  oil, 
and  its  hot  taste  to  a  peculiar  resin.  Gingerenters  into  almost  every 
compound  of  the  spice  class,  and  is  one  of  the  most  useful  and  least 
injurious  members.  It  is  generally  considered  as  an  aromatic,  and 
less  pungent  and  heating  to  the  system  than  might  be  expected 
from  its  effects  upon  the  organ  of  taste. 
Ginger  is  cultivated  in  many  parts  of  the  world  for  local  use,  but 
only  in  a  few  localities  on  an  extensive  scale,  for  shipment,  to  supply 
commercial  wants.  Of  this  well-known  flavoring  condiment  several 
varieties  are  common  in  trade,  distinguished  by  their  quality,  place 
of  growth,  etc.  Gingers  are  either  coated  with  the  shrivelled  rind, 
or  scraped  by  having  it  removed.  Ginger  is  sometimes  bleached  by 
chloride  of  lime,  or  whitewashed  with  lime  and  water.  The  dried 
rhizomes  are  called  by  the  dealers  "races,"  or  hands.  The  younger 
portions  are  amylaceous,  and  the  older  hard  and  resinous.  Our 
supplies  are  drawn  chiefly  from  the  East  and  West  Indies  and 
Africa;  the  imports  average  about  70,000  cwts.  per  annum,  of  which 
40,000  cwts.  are  consumed  in  Great  Britain.  The  Jamaica  ginger  is 
considered  the  best,  being  pale  and  uncoated.  Cochin  ginger 
resembles  it,  but  is  of  a  pale  brownish  tint  externally. 
The  total  imports  of  ginger  in  the  United  Kingdom  increased  from 
4,390  cwts.  in  1 83 1  to  63,5  1 1  cwts.  in  1889,  and  the  total  consumption 
from  4,788  cwts.  in  1831  to  44,307  cwts.  in  1862,  and  to  39,681  cwts. 
