Ginger lozenges are used as a confectionery which frequently benefits dyspepsia and generally encourages flesh.
Ginger-beer powders are made by mixing two ounces of white sugar with twenty-six grains of bicarbonate of soda, five grains of powdered ginger, and one drop of essence of lemon, put in white paper. In blue paper put half ounce of tartaric acid. In drinking use in the same way as seidlitz powder.
The following is a good recipe for making ginger beer, and it has a high medical authority as yielding a very superior beverage, and one that will keep for several months: White sugar, twenty pounds; lemon juice, eighteen fluid ounces; honey, one pound; bruised ginger, twenty-two ounces; water, eighteen gallons. Boil the ginger in three gallons of water for half an hour, then add the sugar, the lemon juice, and the honey with the remainder of the water, and strain through a cloth; when cold, add the white of one egg and half an ounce of essence of lemon; after standing for four or five days, bottle. The bottles should be laid on their sides in a cellar, and the beer is ready for use in about three weeks. If a little yeast has been used the beer is ready in about two days, but in this case the beer does not keep well.
MONTEGO
PORT ROYAL, JAMAICA
The principal consumption of ginger is not only as a useful aromatic spice, but when applied to the nostrils it acts as an irritant and produces sneezing. The native doctors prize it highly as a stimulant. It is especially valued for paralytic and rheumatic troubles, and also for intermittent fevers. Europeans often use infusions of ginger for delicate nerves in place of tea. The green root cut into strips and steeped is thought to be superior to the dried root.
Rhizome chewed relieves toothache and powerfully increases the flow of saliva, and to the stomach it operates as a stimulant, first to the alimentary canal and, secondly, to the body in general, especially the organs of respiration. In enfeebled and relaxed habits, especially of old and gouty individuals, it promotes digestion and relieves flatulency and spasms of the stomach and bowels. It checks and prevents nausea and griping, which is sometimes produced by some drastic purgative, and a ginger plaster when applied to the forehead will relieve headache. When powdered and used with hot water and applied externally it produces a sensation of intense heat, and slight redness, and adds cordial qualities to the tonic.
Powdered ginger may be taken in doses of ten grains or more in the form of a pill or in tea. When used to excess, however, it is very dangerous, as it slowly destroys the lining of the stomach and causes lingering pain and agonizing death.