roduction which has a greater diversity of
names. This diversity proves, as usual, the wide diffusion of the
plant in its wild state. The ginger of the Indian Archipelago is
however inferior in quality to that of Malabar or Bengal. In the
cultivation of ginger great improvement may be adopted and expense
saved. The garden plough and small harrow should be used.

The present mode of preparing the land for this crop in the West
Indies, is by first carefully hoeing off all bush and weeds from the
piece you intend to plant; the workmen are then placed in a line, and
dig forward the land to the full depth of the hoe, cutting the furrow
not more than from five to six inches thick. The land is then allowed
to pulverise for a short time; you then prepare it for receiving the
plants by opening drills with the hoe, from ten to twelve inches
apart, and the same in depth, chopping or breaking up any clods that
may be in the land. Two or three women follow and drop the plants in
the drills, say from nine to ten inches apart. The plants or sets are
the small knots or fingers broken off the original root, as not worth
the scraping. The plants are then covered in with a portion of the
earth-bank formed in drilling. It requires great care and attention in
keeping them clean from weeds until they attain sufficient age. It
throws out a pedicle or foot stalk in the course of the second or
third week, the leaves of which are of similar shape to that of the
Guinea grass.

Ginger is a delicate plant, and very liable to rot, particularly if
planted in too rich a soil, or where it may be subject to heavy rains.
The general average of yield is from 1,500 to 2,000 lbs. per acre in
plants, although I have known as much as 3,000 lbs. of ginger cured
from an acre of land. The planting season generally commences in
Jamaica in February and March, and the crop is got in in December and
January, when the stalks begin to wither. The ginger is taken from the
ground by means of the hoe, each laborer filling a good-sized basket,
at the same time breaking off the small knots or knobs for future
planting.

A good scraper of ginger will give you from 30 to 40 lbs. of ginger
per day. It is then laid on barbacues (generally made of boards) to
dry. It takes from six to ten days to be properly cured. The average
yield in weight is about one-third of what is scraped. When intended
for preserving, the roots must be taken up at the end of three or four
months, wh