Birds and all Nature, Vol. V, No. 2, February 1899
Various
Various
Birds and all Nature, Vol. V, No. 2, February 1899
GINGER
Zingiber officinale Roscoe
DR. ALBERT SCHNEIDER,
Northwestern University School of Pharmacy
"And ginger shall be hot i' the mouth, too."
    – Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, II., 3.
THE well-known spice ginger is the underground stem (rhizome) of an herbaceous reed-like plant known as Zingiber officinale. The rhizome is perennial, but the leaf and flower-bearing stems are annual. The stems are from three to six feet high. The leaves of the upper part of the stem are sword-shaped; the lower leaves are rudimentary and sheath-like. The flowers occur in the form of conical spikes borne upon the apex of stems which bear only sheath-like leaves.
The ginger plant is said to be a native of southern Asia, although it is now rarely found growing wild. It is very extensively cultivated in the tropical countries of both hemispheres, particularly in southern China, India, Africa, and Jamaica. The word ginger is said to have been derived from the Greek "Zingiber," which again was derived from the Arabian "Zindschabil," which means the "root from India." It is further stated that the word was derived from Gingi, a country west of Pondecheri where the plant is said to grow wild.
True ginger must not be confounded with "wild ginger," which is a small herbaceous plant (Asarum canadense) of the United States. The long, slender rhizomes of Asarum have a pungent, aromatic taste similar to ginger. According to popular belief this plant has a peculiar charm. Friends provided with the leaves are enabled to converse with each other, though many miles apart and speaking in the faintest whisper.
The early Greeks and Romans made extensive use of ginger as a spice and as a medicine. During the third century it was apparently a very costly spice, but during the eleventh century it became cheaper, owing to extensive cultivation, and was quite generally used in Europe. Dioscrides and Plinius maintained that this spice was derived chiefly from Arabia. The noted traveler and historian, Marco Polo (1280-1290) is said to have been the first European who saw the wild-growing plant in its home in India. As early as the thirteenth century a considerable number of varieties of ginger were under cultivation, which received distinctive names as Beledi, Colombino, Gebeli, Deli, etc., usually named after the country or locality from which it was obtained.
At the present time Jamaica supplies the United States with nearly all of the ginger, and this island is, therefore, known as "the land of ginger." Cochin-China and Africa also yield much ginger. In Jamaica the process of cultivation is somewhat as follows: During March and April portions of rhizomes, each bearing an "eye" (bud), are placed in furrows about one foot apart and covered with a few inches of soil. The lazy planter leaves portions of the rhizomes in the soil from year to year so as to avoid the necessity of planting, such ginger being known as "ratoon ginger" in contradistinction to the "plant ginger." The planted ginger soon sprouts, sending up shoots which require much sunlight and rain, both of which are plentiful in Jamaica. The field should be kept free from weeds which is not generally done for several reasons. In the first place pulling the weeds is apt to loosen the soil about the rhizomes which induces the development of "ginger rot," perhaps due to a fungus. Secondly, the Jamaica ginger planter is naturally lazy and does not like to exert himself. The careful planter burns the soil over before planting so as to destroy the seeds of weeds. In brief it may be stated that ginger is planted, tended, and gathered much as potatoes are in the United States. As soon as gathered the rhizomes are freed from dirt, roots, and branches and thrown into a vessel of water preparatory to peeling. Peeling consists in removing the outer coat by means of a narrow-bladed knife. As soon as peeled the rhizomes are again throw