ru.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
February,  1898.  j 
In  the  Land  of  Ginger. 
75 
down  on  the  only  bed  that  the  hut  of  my  host  Quashie  afforded ;  at 
intervals  I  awoke,  to  find  that  the  ginger  dance  was  still  on.  When 
the  first  rays  of  light  came  over  blue  mountain  peak,  there,  on  the 
bed,  under  the  bed,  sprawled  in  heaps,  over  the  floor,  were  the 
exhausted  dancers,  fast  asleep.  But  for  all  they  had  made  such  a 
night  of  it,  before  the  sun's  rays  had  entered  the  cabin  they  had 
bathed  their  bodies  in  the  cool  spring,  taken  a  cup  of  coffee,  and 
were  fresh  for  the  day's  work. 
PEELING  GINGER. 
Ginger-peeling  is  an  art,  and  there  are  many  expert  peelers  in 
Jamaica.  The  ginger  knife  is  simply  a  narrow-edged  blade  riveted 
to  a  handle.  In  large  operations  an  expert  peels  between  the  fingers 
of  the  hands,  less  experienced  hands  peeling  the  other  portions. 
Examination  of  a  transverse  section  of  ginger  will  show  the  import 
ance  of  the  operation.  There  is  an  outer  striated  skin  under  which 
there  are  numerous  layers  of  very  thin-walled  cork  cells.  This  layer 
contains  numerous  oil  cells,  the  oil  cells  being  most  numerous  at 
the  bud  points.  The  oil  contained  in  these  cells,  in  specimens  fresh 
from  the  ground,  is  almost  colorless,  very  pungent,  and  exceedingly 
aromatic.  It  becomes  yellow  very  quickly  on  exposure  to  the  air, 
and,  even  upon  drying  without  removing  the  epidermis,  its  delicate 
aroma  is  found  to  be  fleeting.  On  drying  the  ginger  the  contents 
of  these  cells  appear  as  a  yellow,  pitchy  mass.  (It  has  been  stated 
that  this  coloring  matter  is  identical  with  that  of  Curcuma.)  As  this 
cork  layer  is  the  seat  of  the  greatest  amount  of  oil  and  resin  cells, 
it  will  readily  be  seen  that  the  deeper  the  peeling  so  much  the  more 
of  these  substances  will  be  carried  away  with  the  epidermis,  and 
more  cells  opened  from  which  these  principles  may  exude.1 
As  fast  as  peeled,  the  roots  are  thrown  into  water  and  washed. 
The  purer  the  water  and  the  more  freely  it  is  used,  the  whiter  will 
be  the  product.  Generally  a  very  little  water  washes  a  great  deal 
of  ginger.  The  hands  are  peeled  during  the  day,  and  allowed  to 
remain  in  the  water  over  night.  This  water  acquires  a  slimy  feeling 
and,  if  concentrated,  becomes  mucilaginous  and  acquires  a  warm  and 
aromatic  taste.    The  natives  claim  that  this  process  soaks  out  the 
1  The  Jamaica  agricultural  society  has  advertised  in  the  United  States  and 
England  the  desirability  of  a  machine  or  apparatus  to  be  used  in  removing 
the  coating  from  ginger;  experiments  along  the  line  are  now  being  made. 
