The first was belledi or baladi (an Arabic name), which, as applied to ginger, would signify “country” or “wild,” and denotes common ginger. Second: Calombina, which refers to Calumbum, Kolam or Quilon, a port in Travancore, frequently mentioned in the Middle Ages. Third: Micchino, a name which denoted that the spice had been brought from or by way of Mecca. [Illustration: BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF COCHIN] [Illustration: CLEAN AND AIRY CHOWRINGHEE ROAD (Esplanade at Left) LOOKING NORTH OVER CALCUTTA, INDIA Copyright by Underwood and Underwood, N. Y.] It is inferred from the examination of specimens of preserved ginger that are sent abroad from China that the Chinese have a species unknown in other countries. This inference is in harmony with the well-known Chinese secretiveness, a characteristic of this strange people which is not only inbred but also inborn. It is possible, however, that some other plant which is not true ginger may be used in making the celebrated Canton preserved ginger, but, while this possibility is suspected, it has not been proven. The British and American markets derive their supply of ginger from various parts of the world. The principal kinds found in commerce are Jamaica (Fig. 5), Cochin (Fig. 3), and African (Fig. 4), the Sierra Leone district producing the bulk of the African. Although each of these in its turn has several varieties and qualities, the best and most valued kind of all is Jamaica (Fig. 5), and next to it is the Cochin (Fig. 3). The Cochin when bleached resembles Jamaica to some extent. Ginger is classified into several species, as the narrow leaf, the broad leaf, and the Japanese red leaf; the narrow leaf being the most esteemed. Ginger thrives best on rich clay or cool loam soil that is well drained. New land which has been plowed but two or three times is best adapted to its cultivation. The ground should be dug up and cleared of weeds. The plant will not grow in dry sand or hard clay soil. Ginger, being an underground stem of tuberous-appearing roots, takes its botanical name, rhizome, from the Spanish word rais, a root. These roots are known in commerce as races, and in Jamaica as hands, from their irregular palmate form. The real roots are the fibers thrown off the rhizomes.