Nov, I, 1886.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



335 



CARDAMOMS IN SOUTHERN INDIA. 



CooRG, 28th Sept. 1S86. 



Dear Sir, — I think if your correspondent ■' Aber- 

 doneusis" ecu d give the uett price per lb. realized 

 for ihe whole crop ;refu.se inciuded) of the M.M.M. 

 & O.C.C. estates, it would be a better coraparison 

 with Ceylon it other S.I. marks. I believe the above 

 estates send only the very fiiiest of their cardamoms 

 to the London Market. 



Though not up to all the " tricks of the trade " I 

 managed to n^-lt Rl 6 per lb. for my crop this season, 

 the whole of it being sold in the country. The fancy 

 bleaching, which our Mysore friends think so pro- 

 found a secret, is very generally known now. Cue of 

 the firms on ihe Coast make cardamom, pepper and 

 ginger curing a special branch of their business, and 

 I hear a partner of the same firm is going in exten- 

 sively for cardamoms in the Wynaad. It would be 

 interestiug to know if the Cejlou planters are still 

 planting them to any extent ; and if the estimated 

 250,000 lb. f<H- this season is likely to be exceeded 

 in the ensuing season. 



The lease of card<imom jungles in Ooorg having ex- 

 pired this year, the Commissioner invited tenders for 

 their lease for any period not exceeding 21 year.s, 

 subject to rather stringeut rules. I enclose for your 

 'readers, benefit, a copy of tbe form of agreement the 

 fortunate tenderer must enter into. Strange to say, 

 notwithstanding the new rules and the heavy decline 

 in the cardamom market, the rents in most cases 

 have gone up cousulerably, clearly shewing that the 

 natives at least consider it a paying spec. 



The cardamom crop will be a mediume one. The 

 rain in January' forced the racemes out too early and 

 not being followed by showers in March, the b ossom 

 got burnt up. The monsoon has been light and en- 

 joyable, the heaviest rain being in July. The weather 

 for planting could not have been better, 



Showers and sunshine. Yelakee. 



rOHM OF AGEEEMENT IN RESPECT OF LAND LET i-QR 

 THE CULTIVATION OF CARDAMOMS. 



I son of of 



village Nad Taluk, being the successful 



tenderer for the lease, for the space of years 



from the 18S6, of the Malle situated in 



the village of in nad of the Taluk, 



the estimated area of which is acres, and which 



is bounded as follows : — 



North 



South 



East 



West 

 do hereby agree and contract to abide by the following 

 eonditious : — 



1. The sum of Rupees shall for the first 7 years 

 be paid by me anau«lly into the Government Treasury 

 on account of the rent of the said malle on or bf fore 

 the 2Uth January of each year, commencing from Janu- 

 ary 1887. In the case of tliis lease being for 14 years 

 or under, the amount of the aforesaid rent shall 

 be subject to revision by the Deputy Conservator of 

 Forests at the end of the 7tli year from the date of 

 the lease, according as circumstances and the ruliug 

 prices of Cardamoms may justify. In the case of 

 this lease being for 12 years or under, the amount 

 of rent as prescribed on revision at the end of the 

 7th year as aforesaid shall be similarly subject to 

 revision at the end of tbe 14th year from the date 

 of the lease. If the Commissioner require a fixed 

 deposit on account of rent from me, I will comply 

 with such requisition. For the due payment of rent 

 as above provided for I name and as 



my securities, 



2. If I fail to pay rent as above provided for on 

 the appointed date the Comrnissioin r' shall be at 

 liberty to cancel this lease and to grant it to some 

 other person or perfons % to dispose of it otherwise 

 as maj' seem to him fit. Any loss accruing to Govern- 

 ment from such canrelmcnt and release shall be re- 

 coverable from me, together with interest and process 

 charges, under the rules or existing practice' for the 



recovery of land revenue. The Cardamom crop raised 

 from the said malle will be held by me liable for the 

 Gcfernment demand for rent as a first charge. 



3. I will not cut any trees in the said malle except 

 such as it is indispensable to cut for the purpose of 

 making plots for the cultivation of cardamoms, or for 

 erectiiig cooly lines or other louildings iucideutal to 

 such cultivation. I will replace immediately every 

 tree felled by two suitable saplings. If any tree be 

 cut for other than the purposes above described I 

 hold myself liable to pay the value of the trees as 

 determined by the Deputy Conservator of Forests 

 together with such penalty not exceeding R50, as may 

 be fixed by the Commissioner, on e.ach tree so cut 

 down. No timber or produce, except cardamoms, 

 pepper arekanut and resin on which assessment is 

 paid as specified in the scliedule hereto attached shall 

 be taken from the jungle without the special permis- 

 sion of the Deputy Conservator of Forests. 



4. (1) I will cultivate the malle according to the 

 plot method; (2) no plot shall exceed in area more 

 than one-sixth of an acre; (3) and I will leave a bolt 

 of Forest of at least .SO feet, round each plot. 



5. Should I make any plot larger than one sixth of 

 an acre, or by any means bring a plot into such a 

 bad condition as to prevent its regrowth iuto forest, 

 and to render it unfit, for cardamom cultivation, I 

 agree to pay in respect of every such plot a penalty 

 of RIOO. 



6. I engage to keep the boundary marks of the said 

 malle clear and to show the boundaries of the said 

 malle to the Deputy Conservator of Forests or to any 

 Official whom he may depute to inspect the malle. 



7. 1 will not cultivate cardamoms or fell trees or 

 otherwise interfere with th*^ forest or soil beyond the 

 boundaries of the said malle. 



8. If any above mentioned conditions bo contravened, 

 or if after being warned, I neglect to encourage the 

 growth of young trees in the plots of the aforesaid 

 malle the Commissioner shall be at liberty to cancel 

 this lease, and to prosecute me under any Forest 

 Rules for the time being in foi'ce. 



Signature of lessee 

 Signature of 

 ]st Witness 

 3ud Witness 



Countersignature of Deputy 



Conservator of Forests. 



THE ENGLISH TOBACCO CROP. 



In reference to the British harvest, one has 

 now to include a greater and a lesser novelty — 

 namely, maize and tobacco. In April last, when Lord 

 Harris found the Royal Agricultural Society considered 

 the date too advanced to attempt the experiment of 

 growing tobacco, he said, with some confiilence, "But 

 the R'>y'l Hoiticultural Society will try a quarrer 

 of an acre at Chiswick." Whereon the writer of this 

 article remarked, " But the public will not be satis- 

 fied with Royal societies or gardeners' experiments — 

 farmers wi'st c/ro'w it themfelve>i, and by the acre." 

 At this juncture the president and hon. secretary of 

 the En^lage Society, believing the attempt might yet 

 he made in 18S6, applicid to and obtained from the 

 Inland Revenue Department very prompt permission 

 /or several Agriculturists to grow " tlie Indian weed.' 

 As a result, there are now at this date, grooving and 

 maturing, several acres of English tobacco. I visited 

 two lots last week, and I have to record the first 

 impression of seeing the crop— this was, that the 

 dangers and difficulties said to be lying in wait for 

 the British agriculturist in the cultivation of tobacco 

 are ending, as difficulties often will end when they 

 are met, in smoke. A farmer who is making the 

 experiment, upon my asking him whether, if the crop 

 would paj', he would hesitate to grow it, replied, he 

 should -willingly grow fifty acres next season, just as 

 he might fifty acn-s of any other plant. 



But, speaking vvitli all reserve of what is only a 

 beginning, and as referring only to two fields, I may 

 mention that I have received from the Revenue 

 Department a list which includes a score of growers, 



