Am.  Jour.  Pharm.) 
February,  1898.  J 
In  the  Land  of  Ginger. 
Buyers  also  require  the  hands  and  fingers  to  be  firm  and  full,  with- 
out wrinkles  or  spots.  They  generally  assort  into  four  or  five 
grades,  that  which  is  shriveled  and  small  being  the  lowest.  The 
dark  varieties  form  another,  the  heavy,  tough  and  flinty  a  third. 
These  four  are  finally  assorted  by  placing  hands  which  are  small  but 
of  good  texture  and  color  as  one  grade.  The  larger-sized,  well- 
bleached  hands  into  the  highest  grade. 
The  ratoon  finger  sorts  generally  bring  the  lowest  price,  as  they 
are  small,  soft  and  soggy,  and  lack  flavor.  Ginger  gathered  green 
shrivels  much  in  drying,  and  is  less  aromatic  and  pungent  than 
when  fully  matured.  Ginger  that  has  mildewed  is  spotted,  and 
the  mildew  starts  a  decomposition  that  affects  the  flavor.  Ginger 
put  in  bags  or  laid  away  before  being  thoroughly  dried  will  mould 
and  acquire  a  musty  odor  and  flavor,  which  it  is  impossible  to  remove. 
The  largest-sized  hands  are  carefully  selected  by  buyers  and 
shipped  to  special  markets,  usually  to  England.  I  noticed  hands 
weighing  as  much  as  eight  ounces ;  many  of  them  weighing  from 
four  ounces  upward. 
Ginger  is  packed  in  barrels  for  shipment. 
ECONOMICS. 
The  amount  of  ginger  exported  from  this  Island  during  the  last 
ten  years  is  shown  in  the  following  table1 : 
Pounds. 
1887  1,121,827 
1888   1,141,877 
1889   1,002,653 
1890  {%  year)    .   554,193 
1891  1,219,197 
1892  1,822,531  jJ 
1893    1,526,884 
1894  1,672,384 
1895  1,736,460 
1896  1,960,609 
1  Figures  obtained  from  the  office  of  the  collectors-general  of  Jamaica  show 
that  more  than  one-half  of  the  crop  is  shipped  direct  to  the  United  States  ports. 
The  amount  of  ginger  imported  into  the  United  States  from  all  parts  of  the 
world,  from  the  years  1890  to  1894,  was  as  follows  : 
Pounds. 
1890  2,328,825 
1891  •   •  2,697,989 
1892   1,431,295 
1893  2,927,942 
