Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-23
GINGER FACTS.
Plant Grows Wild in Asia-Oultivat
ed in South America.

flant grows W1lo In AS1a--Oult1Vet.
ed in South America.
From Harper's Weekly.
Ginger is the dried underground stem
of a plant that grows wild in southeast
Asia and i'm the Malay archipelago. and
is cultivated extensively in South Amer
Flea and the West Indies. particularly ia
maica. The ginger produced In Jamaica
is recognized as Of superior quality and
commands more than double the price OF
any other. The botanical name Of the
stem is rhizomes. the real roots OF the
ginger plant being the fibers which are
given off from the rhizomes. Leafy shoots
rise from the underground stems to
height of one to three feet. according to
conditions of soil and climate. The plant
bears a blossom on q stalk separate firm
the leaves. Ginger requires rich soil.
we'll drained, rich vegetable loan being
best adapted to its cultivation. These
conditions being met. it may be grown
from the sea level to high mountainous
regions. provided the rainfall be abundant
or irrigation adopted.
The plant is propagated by division OF
the rhizomes, each rhizome being CAREFUL
ly divided into small pieces. pains being
taken to leave at least one shoot bud on O
out in the field in holes that have been
specially prepared for the purpose at
distances of about foot apart. Ii Is
essential that the land should be well
cleaned and trenched. the weeds and rub
bish being buried In the trenches to en-
rich the SOIL The best time for planting
is i'm March or April. The plant is Guilt
waited in much the same way as the po-
tato. Manure is generally placed I'm the
holes when the planting takes place and
also spaded into the ground when the
same land is used for several years In
succession.
The plant is in blossom about Septem-
ber Thereafter the shoots wither, and
the rhizomes increase I'm size. and by
January or February the spice is ready
to gather. The plant is dug out Of the
soil with a fork. care being taken not to
injure the rhizomes. or hands, as they
are termed i'm Jamaica. The hands vary
i'm size some being very large and weigh
ing over half a pound.
After the hands" have been Invested OF
the fibrous roots and all adhering mold
and dirt they are scalded for some min
utes in boiling water. to destroy their vi
tality and then dried In the sun. when
they become the ginger OF commerce..
The darker kinds are sometimes bleached
by exposure TO fumes OF chloride or lime
or burning sulphur What is known IS
'scraped,' .'uncoated" and white" GIN
ger is prepared by scraping the hands"
with a knife until the dark outer skin Is
removed. and then drying them In the
sun. When cultivated under favorable
conditions. an acre of land will produce
as much as 1900 pounds.
Ginger is shipped in bags. which gener-
ally contain a hundredweight each of the
spice. There is a considerable acreage OF
land under cultivation of ginger In ia
maica, mostly I'm the hands of small 'et-
tiers I'm the southern part of tile island.
During the last fiscal year about !. 900
pounds were exported from this island.
some 9J00OO pounds being taken by the
United States and 600.O00 by Great Brit
ain. Canada took nearly all the balance.
The crop last year was little more than
two-thirds of the usuaf amount, because
of the severe and long-continued drought
i'm the island.