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Show 9 . NARROW-LEAVED GINGER gr gula ‘ r i on posed of five irre cor Ss. y t etal ete s, g lipped, and pearance of bein are V whi i i I1 NARROW-LEAVED GINGER, he hat aw * som ." ey have.., § succee ded y a cay sule CODe- of seeds. > ea t number grea ls, and a 5 tain iniing three ce 1 2 HISTORY. genous in the East ro Gixcer is a perennial plant, indi a islands. It is er but nowintroduced into the West Indi as potatoes are new — there very much in the same manner for preserving in syrup, is fit for digging once a-year, unless e or four months, at when it should be dug at the end of thre = which time it is tender and full of sap. was and r, embe Sept in us It is a hot-houseplant, flowers with sicegardens at first cultivated in 1731, by Mr. Miller, in the phy Chelsea. k and the Gincer is distinguished into two sorts, the blac means of white. The formeris rendered fit for preserving by is necessary to boiling water, the latter by insolation ; and asit sun, select the fairest and roundest sorts for exposure to the white ginger is commonlyone third dearer than black. ly Black Ginger consists of thick and knottyroots, internal of e ray. Whit ow-g ly yell a of rnal an orange or brownish colour,exte ow, yell ishredd ly Ginger is less thick and knotty, internal of a and externally of a whitish-gray or yellow. It is firm and resinous, and more pungent than the black. Pieces which are worm.-eaten, light, friable, or soft, and very fibrous, are to be rejected. Candied Ginger should be prepared in India, from the young and succulent roots. When genuine, it is almost transparent. That manufactured in Europe is opaque, fibrous, and hard, and not to be comparedto the other. Ginger has a fragrant smell, and a hot,biting, aromatic taste. Neumann obtained bydistillation with water from 7680 parts of white ginger, about 60 of a volatile oil, having the smell and distinguishing flavour of the ginger, but none ofits pun- gency. ‘The watery extract was considerably pungent, and amounted to 2720, after which alcohol extracted 192 of a very pungent resin. MEDICAL USES. y ape the a Alcohol applied first extracted 660 of pungent resin, and water afterwards 2160 of a mucilaginous extract, with Fittle taste, and difficultly exsiccated. ‘The Llack ginger contained less soluble matter than the white. Ginernis a very useful spice in cold flatulent colics, and in laxity and debility of the intestines ; it does not heat so muchas the peppers, but its effects are more durable. It mayalso be applied externally as a rubefacient. The employment of ginger in beer is well known, where the latter would produce muchflatulency. Dyspeptic patients from hard drinking, and those subject to flatulency and gout, have been known to receive considerable benefit by the use of ginger tea ; taking two orthree cupfuls for breakfast, suiting it to their palate. Manygoutypatients have for years been in the habit of tak. ing a tea-spoonful of ginger powder, mixed in anyliquid, an hourbefore dinner, and, they declare, with very considerable ade vantage. When employed with food it is called a condiment, and by stimulating the stomach and bowels it may be considered as one of the most useful. It is often employed as a corrective with rhubarb, and other drastic purges, to prevent gripings of the bowels, and it stimu. lates them so as to require a less dose to act upon them. As ginger promotes the circulation through the extreme ves. sels, it is to be advised in torpid and phlegmatic habits, where the stomachis subject to be loaded with slime, and the bowels distended with flatulency. Hence it enters into the compound tincture of cinnamon and the aromatic powder. PREPARATIONS, Syrup or Gincer. (Syrupus Zingiberis.) Take of ginger, bruised, four ounces; boiling distilled water, three pints. Macerate for four hours, (twenty-four, Dub,) and strain the liquor; then add double-refined sugar, and make into a syrup, according to the mode prescribed, Sugar.) Tincture or Ginger. (Vide article Saccharum, (Tinctura Zingiberis.) Take of ginger, in coarse powder, two ounces; proofspirit, two pints. Digest in a gentle heat for seven days, andstrain, This tincture is cordial and stimulant, and is only employed as a corrective to purgative draughts. Ba |