Am.  Jour.  Ptaarm.  \ 
February,  1898.  J 
In  the  Land  of  Ginger. 
Growing  ginger  must  be  well  watered.  Irrigation  is  practised  to 
a  limited  extent,  but  in  most  of  the  parishes  this  is  unnecessary,  as 
the  rainfall  is  abundant.  Fertilization,  though  highly  important,  is 
rarely  attempted,  partly  owing  to  the  small  profit,  but  largely  owing 
to  the  customs  of  the  country.  The  most  that  is  ever  done  is  to 
plough  in  the  weeds  and  cover  the  ground  with  banana  trash. 
Rarely  will  the  planter  ever  gather  up  the  manure  from  his  live 
stock  and  throw  it  on  the  ginger-bed.  There  are  no  stables  used 
in  Jamaica,  therefore  no  such  thing  as  a  compost  heap.  Sea  weeds 
and  watering  the  beds  with  sea  water  have  been  tried  experimentally 
with  good  results ;  but  no  matter  how  large-sized  roots  or  how  fine 
a  quality  would  be.  yielded,  the  average  planter  would  not  take 
the  trouble  to  work  his  ground  in  a  scientific  manner. 
An  all-important  feature  is  the  rapid  impoverishment  of  the  soil 
that  follows  the  ginger  culture.  One  planter  told  me  that  only 
ferns  would  grow  on  the  soil  after  exhaustion  by  this  crop.  There 
is  thus  a  constant  demand  for  virgin  soil  to  secure  the  best-paying 
crops.  This  is  attained  by  sending  valuable  timber  up  in  smoke, 
as  one  authority  tersely  expressed  it.  "  Dried-up  streams,  general 
barrenness,  in  fact  a  wilderness  marks  the  progress  of  ginger  cul- 
ture." 
The  situation  is  clearly  summed  up  by  Mr.  Wm.  Fawcett,  Director 
of  Public  Gardens  for  Jamaica,  from  whose  report  to  the  Honorable 
Colonial  Secretary  I  quote  : 
"  The  soil  which  produces  the  very  highest  quality  ginger,  real- 
izing, perhaps,  £\o  per  cwt.  in  the  London  markets,  is  the  very 
deep  black  soil  of  virgin  forest.  To  grow  ginger  under  this  condi- 
tion involves  the  destruction  of  large  areas  of  forest.  Magnificent 
trees,  6  feet  in  diameter,  may  be  seen  in  some  districts  lying  rotting 
on  the  ground,  while  the  ginger  cultivators  have  gone  further  to 
the  centre  of  the  island,  abandoning  the  woodlands  already  cut 
down.  The  plan  adopted  in  clearing  a  forest  is  for  a  cultivator  to 
invite  ten  or  twelve  of  his  friends  to  a  '  cutting  match.'  He  pro- 
vides food  and  drink,  and  the  laborious  work  of  felling  trees  is 
carried  on  merrily  and  without  much  expense.  Afterwards,  fire  is 
put  and  the  place  is  burnt  over.  This  burning  is  considered  very 
important,  as  much  so  as  the  virgin  soil. 
"  Probably  its  importance  is  due  principally  to  the  deposit  of  pot- 
ash and  other  mineral  matters  contained  in  the  ashes,  but  the  fire 
