Am  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
February,  1898.  J 
In  the  Land  of  Ginger. 
77 
It  has  been  stated  that  it  is  a  common  practice  to  bleach  ginger 
with  the  fumes  of  chlorine  or  sulphurous  acid.  It  may  be  done  in 
the  other  parts  of  the  world,  but  no  instance  of  it  is  known  in 
Jamaica.1  There  is  scarcely  a  planter  with  intelligence  enough  to 
use,  or  who  would  take  the  pains  to  employ,  such  a  process.  I  tried 
chlorine  gas  as  a  bleaching  agent,  but  at  best  the  product  was  of  a 
dirty  yellow  color.  By  using  the  fumes  of  burning  sulphur,  the 
whole  being  partially  enclosed  in  glass,  the  heat  of  the  sun  aiding  in 
the  experiment,  the  ginger  was  whitened  and  mildew  prevented.  I 
found  on  trial  that  it  might  be  of  service  to  place  the  ginger  in  a 
weak  solution  of  chloride  of  lime  before  drying ;  this  would  aid  in 
bleaching  and  prevent  mould. 
CURING  GINGER. 
After  washing,  the  process  of  drying  follows :  The  tropical  sun  is 
the  drying  agent  in  all  cases.  Large  operators  have  what  is  called  a 
"  Barbecue."  This  is  a  piece  of  ground  several  feet  square,  leveled 
off  and  laid  with  stone  and  the  whole  coated  with  cement.  It  is 
placed  so  as  to  receive  the  greatest  amount  of  sunshine.  The  small 
planter  uses  what  is  called  a  "  Mat,"  consisting  of  sticks  driven  into 
the  ground,  sawbuck  fashion,  and  across  these  sticks  are  laid  boards^ 
palm,  banana  or  other  large  leaves ;  oftener  than  otherwise,  the 
place  for  drying  is  a  few  palm  leaves  spread  upon  the  ground. 
Careful  handlers  put  their  ginger  out  as  the  sun  rises,  and  turn  it 
over  at  mid-day,  taking  it  in  at  sundown.  Rainy  or  cloudy  weather 
invites  mildew.  It  requires  6  to  8  days  for  the  root  to  become 
thoroughly  dry.  I  made  several  tests  to  ascertain  the  loss  in  weight 
by  drying  in  the  sun,  and  found  the  average  to  be  nearly  70  per  cent. 
Ginger  dried  in  the  sun  for  the  market  examined  for  moisture 
gave  the  following  results : 
Six  samples,  well-dried  specimens,  showed  a  further  loss  when 
dried  at  ioo°  C.  as  follows:  7-2,  8-5,  8-9,  9-5,  10,  1 1,  12  per  cent. 
Several  poorly-dried  specimens,  some  of  which  were  damp  and 
mouldy,  gave  from  15  to  26  per  cent,  moisture  when  dried  at  ioo°  C. 
During  the  progress  of  my  attention  to  this  subject,  several  attempts 
were  made  to  utilize  artificial  heat  in  drying  ginger.  Such  a  course 
would,  in  some  respects,  be  a  very  desirable  one. 
1  Bleaching  by  chemicals  and  coating  with  powders  are  market  processes 
unknown  to  the  planters. 
