84 
In  the  Land  of  Ginger. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharrru 
I    February,  1898. 
The  yield  and  profit  of  the  ginger  crop  depend  somewhat  upon 
the  nature  of  the  soil.  In  favorable  seasons  rainfall,  sunshine, 
planting,  care  and  curing,  are  also  factors.  An  average  yield  can 
be  estimated  at  from  1,000  to  1,500  pounds  dried  ginger  per  acre. 
In  exceptional  cases,  2,000  pounds  have  been  gathered.  There 
are  planters  in  Jamaica  who  plant  ginger  here  and  there  in 
patches,  and  gathering  as  little  as  a  hundred  pounds  in  a  yean 
Ginger  is  well  adapted  to  the  small  planter,  and  admirably  suited  to 
the  peasantry  of  Jamaica,  who,  by  slow  evolution,  are  passing  from 
serfdom  to  manhood  and  independence. 
The  exact  cost  of  producing  this  crop  is  difficult  to  calculate. 
The  present  output  is  largely  the  product  of  domestic  labor,  whose 
value  is  hard  to  compute;  when  this  class  of  labor  is  hired,  it  becomes 
very  costly.  The  figures  in  the  following  table  are  approxmate 
only;  as  now  conducted  there  is  chargeable  against  the  crop  the 
item  of  rent,  or  tax,  (if  the  cultivator  is  an  owner)  the  labor  is 
mainly  that  of  the  family. 
An  approximate  estimate  of  the  expenditures  and  receipts  on  an 
acre  of  land  planted  in  ginger  are  as  follows : 
Ground-rent  or  tax  ,   $5.00 
Clearing  land,  ploughing  and  planting   40.00 
Cost  of  plants   50.00 
Digging  and  preparing   .   15.00 
Peeling    45.00 
Drying   25. oo- 
Delivery  at  market   10.00 
$190.00' 
Fertilizer  (if  used)  50.00 
Superintendence  20.00 
$260.00 
Yield:  1,500  to  2,500  pounds  (cured  ginger),  at  12  cents  per 
pound,  $180  to  $300. 
Viewed  from  this  standpoint,  the  cultivation  of  ginger  on  a  large 
scale  would  be  far  from  remunerative.  In  this  connection  we  may 
note  that  a  Royal  commission,  appointed  to  investigate  the  depressed 
condition  of  the  industries  in  the  West  India  Islands,  have  recently 
submitted  a  report  to  Her  Majesty's  Government.  Among  the 
recommendations  made  was  "  The  settlement  of  the  laboring  popu- 
lation on  small  plots  of  land  as  peasant  proprietors."  This  corrobo- 
rates our  view  that,  from  the  Jamaica  standpoint,  it  is  better  economy 
to  leave  the  cultivation  of  ginger  remain  where  it  is.  The  introduction. 
