Ginger differs in quality and in commercial value in different localities. It is also influenced by the cultivation, harvesting, and preparation, but all true ginger has the same starchy, fibrous rhizome; the best quality is plump, with little or no epidermis, while the inferior quality is frequently coated and is not so plump. Borneo or Cochin (Fig. 3) (or bleached ginger) is said to be produced by submitting the root to the action of the fumes of burning sulphur or by washing it in chloride of lime, but by chemical analysis it has been found that the bleached appearance is due to the application of common whitewash to the root, which is dusted over while wet with marble dust. This treatment, of course, injures the quality of the root. [Illustration: KINGSTON, JAMAICA] The Cochin ginger is what is called the white ginger. It is prepared by washing and scraping the roots one at a time. This process takes much time, and the only benefit to be derived from it is that it makes the root more agreeable to the eye, and for that reason causes it to bring a much higher price. At the time of digging the rhizomes boiling is kept in the field with frequent changing of water, and the roots intended for market are plunged into the boiling water and allowed to remain for about ten minutes. This process injures the aromatic spirits of the ginger. At the first of the year, in January or February, the harvesting takes place. The form in which ginger is harvested differs in different countries. In some countries the ginger is dried with the epidermis removed. This is known as scraped ginger. In other countries the ginger is harvested without removing the epidermis. These two forms of the product are known commercially as coated and uncoated ginger. The scraped ginger is exported mostly from Cochin and Brazil, the coated from Africa and from a district of India, and is known as Malabar ginger. It is exported from the city of Calcutta. When the roots are first dug they are placed in baskets suspended by ropes and are pulled by two men with ropes at each end of the basket for two hours each day for two days, giving them a good shaking up to remove the scales and rootlets. The rhizomes are next spread on a raised platform to dry for eight days and are then shaken, when two more days’ drying puts them in keeping state for the market. They are put up in parcels of one hundred pounds each. The product is known as black ginger. With proper care much money might be made by cultivating ginger in India, but since this crop receives but little care it has but a small market value. The roots many times are cared for by simply smearing with cow manure. They are hung about huts to dry and become shriveled and dirty, and although they may be well smoked, they will be badly bored by the bamboo insects.