82 
In  the  Land  of  Ginger. 
I  A  m,  Jour.  Pharm. 
I    February,  1898. 
IN  THE  GINGER  MARKET. 
The  markets  of  these  West  India  towns  are  the  important 
centres  of  commerce.  Here,  in  a  large  open  space  near  the  quay, 
a  great  hurry  and  clatter  of  brisk  business  proceeds  under  the 
beautiful  blue  sky  and  blazing  sunshine. 
Quashie  requires  much  conversation  to  complete  a  bargain.  One 
would  suspect  by  the  bustle  and  noise  that  the  entire  wealth  of  the 
Island  was  changing  hands  every  few  minutes,  but  the  truth  is,  the 
most  prolonged  and  loud  wrangle  closes  a  transaction  involving  a 
minute  fraction  of  a  penny.  There  are  a  few  benches  or  stalls  under 
the  market  arcade,  but  they  require  a  rental  fee  ;  so,  for  many,  an  up- 
turned barrel  outside  constitutes  a  stall.  Those  who  have  no  barrel 
pile  their  wares  on  the  ground  between  their  sprawling  black  limbs. 
It  is  a  good  place  to  study  fruits  and  vegetables  monstrous  in  size, 
with  outlandish  names,  but  luscious  in  looks.  Many  kinds  of  drugs 
are  here  in  their  primitive  state,  ginger  in  abundance.  Nearly 
every  other  seller  cries  out :  "  Buckrayouwangingafoobuy  "  (white 
master,  do  you  want  to  buy  ginger  ?) 
These  black  people  speak  with  a  rolling  current  of  vowels  and 
consonants,  pouring  them  out  so  rapidly  that  none  but  an  acclimated 
ear  can  detach  an  intelligible  word.  The  ginger  is  not  weighed,  meas- 
ured or  counted,  the  standard  is  a  "  heap."  A  heap  of  ginger  is  a 
pile  that  enlarges  or  diminishes  according  to  the  law  of  supply  and 
demand.  If  the  hands  are  finely  shaped  and  large,  there  are  fewer 
in  the  heap  ;  if  they  are  small,  dark  and  snarly,  the  heap  is  made 
larger.  If  the  price  of  ginger  goes  up  in  London  or  New  York, 
it  is  because  the  heaps  in  this  market  have  been  made  smaller.  If 
the  price  goes  down,  these  heaps  have  become  larger  and  finer.  The 
price  of  ginger  in  the  drug  exchanges  of  the  world  is  the  reflection 
of  the  changing  size  of  these  petty  heaps  in  Ginger  Land. 
The  ruling  price  in  Kingston  and  Montego  Bay  for  the  heap  is 
a  penny-ha'penny  (about  three  cents).  Heaps  purchased  by  me 
varied  according  to  quality,  but  the  average  weight  was  from  one- 
fourth  to  one-half  pound. 
The  buyers  of  ginger  for  shipping  are  expert  and  accurate.  They 
grade,  sort  and  price  with  a  quick  eye  and  ready  touch  gained  by 
years  of  practice.  The  highest  grades  are  large-sized  hands  of 
light  and  uniform  color,  free  from  evidence  of  mildew.  This  grade 
is  brittle  and  cracks  easily,  but  broken  pieces  depreciate  the  value. 
