August i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



93 



not dreamed of in these dark days of trouble. It 's 

 bound to come, and I think ' ' Tea " will Ije the 

 chief agent in restoring prosperity m Ceylon — not a 

 higli-pressure, unwholesome state of things, but a 

 solid, lastmg prosperity. I do not profess to deal 

 with tea, save in a broad sense. I am not a tea- 

 planter, and I touch not the mysteries of withering, 

 rolling, firing, fermenting, &c., &c., because 1 have 

 a notion that macliinei-y can do most of It, and there 

 is no good m giving hints to a machine. 



VI. CiRDAMOMs. — This is a choice thijig. A 

 planter's idea of bliss should be 50 acres of card- 

 amoms and 50 acres of "pucka" ledgers. £3,500 a 

 year from the former, and what wealth shall I put 

 down on account of the latter ? It is unspeakable. 

 It takes away one's breath. Let us softly enter and 

 peep at the stores of wealth. 50 acres of jungle will 

 cost £20 an acre to brinf/ into bcariwj. That is £1,000. 

 The returns after that nett £70 au acre with the 

 above result. Away with simia durais, conductors and 

 kanganies. Let us, with our wives, sisters, daughters, 

 sons and brothers, cousins, nieces and nephews, reclme 

 beneath the graceful fronds of the cardamom, and amid 

 the cool fragi'ance from the precious fruit, as it is daintily 

 picked, converse amicably together and dream of wealth. 

 In Nitre Cave, Raugala, Medamahanuwara, Laggala, 

 Matale and the Knuckles cardamoms fruit splendidly. 

 In the ueighljourhood of Ambagamuwa they gi'ow 

 freely but do not bear heavily. A beginnuig has been 

 made in Balangoda and Kukulu Korales, but there is 

 hardly time yet for residts A gi'eat rage is beginning to 

 set in. Sir. George Porter', an authority in this cultivation, 

 made good use of his time at home. There are several 

 kinds of cardamoms : — 



(1) The Ceylon wild cardamom. This would cert- 

 ainly pay and deserves attention. It is very plentiful 

 in the jungles of Nitre Cave, Ambagamuwa, and Kukulu 

 Korale, &c. 



(2) The Malabar cardamom. This is a very small 

 but choice fruit, growing like the above in racemes 

 along the ground, bearing heavily in suit,able localities. 



(3) The Mysore cardamom. Dr. Trimeu should 

 come up to Medamahanuwara or ita neighbourhood, 

 and thus find out wliether this variety does not deserve 

 more distinction (in both senses) than he chose to 

 give it in his last leport. The species is distinct. 

 The racemes grow perpendicularly among the bullis 

 of the siooland tlie under surface of the leaves is smooth, 

 whereas in ihe Malabar kind it is hairy. The Mysore 

 cardamom is very robust and vigorous in habit, ita 

 stools reaching to large dimeneions, and its growth 

 surpassing that of other varieties. The fruit is largi' 

 and I'ound, whereas the Malabar is small and round, 

 while the common Ceylon kind is large, elongated and 

 flattened. The flavour of Ho. 1 lacks both strength 

 and flavour ; in that of No. 2 flavour predominates 

 over strength ; while No. 3 excels both of them in 

 strength and the former only in flavour. Authorities 

 are ai;aiust propagation by seed. Bulbs of a good size 

 are best. T'lese are put out singly or in couples at 

 seven to ten feet distance apart, in a clearing prepared 

 for them, by felling most" of the jungle, save so much 

 as is lequisite to break the full glare of sunlight or 

 daylight. Very little shade is necessary ; indeed some 

 believe that with the robust Mysore no shade is 

 necessary. Fairly rich, moist, rather spongy ground 

 is best ; steep dry hillsides are not suitable. If the 

 bulbs lire near, it ii not necessary to stump them. 

 Put them in slantingly w-ith their heads uphill iiud 

 not too deep, I have said propagation from seed is 

 bad '; therefore it will be inferred that it is not advis- 

 able to use plants. A plant becomes a bulb about 

 the first year ; but bulbs from old stools are the best. 



As to picking the fruit, Ihe ripe capsules are 

 distinguished by their slightly paler colour, and by 

 the bjtossom stalk withering b>ick to the fruit, lu 



the Malabar variety, ripe capsules are known by com- 

 iug off easily i>t the touch , but tliat is of no use, as all 

 capsules have to be clipped off with special scis.'wrs. 

 These capsules have then to be well dried, both in 

 the sun and in a room in whicli the temperature 

 has to be kept up to a certain height. One planter 

 is said to have discovered a sure method of obtain- 

 ing a very clean sample, which fetches a hiL'her price 

 than other samples. Some mystery is "attached 

 thereto. Some hint that lime is employed ; others 

 bleaching powder, or chlorine ; but I believe that 

 what is used is nothing more or less than what the 

 doctor recommended lo his dirty patient afflicted 

 with skin disease— soap and water I ! I may be 

 wrnng, but 1 think I am right. A pale straw-coloured 

 tint, not a white or .soiled appearance, fetches the 

 highest prices. A cardamom room is a pretty sight, 

 with its rows of light shelves for the movable card- 

 amom trays. It is a nice occupation, and could be 

 superintended by the manager's wife. Ladies have not 

 enough to do, and gentlemen in this country mono- 

 polize the gossip ; so oardamom-ouring would be ap- 

 preciated by an energetic, intelligent wife. [So that 

 of the cardamom cultivator as of the Western farmer 

 it may be said that he cannot afford to remain 

 single !— Ed..] 



There is another species found in the jungles, which 

 differs very much from all the others. It is stunted 

 in habit, with large leaves which are hairy, like the 

 Malabar, beneath. The fruit does not appear on 

 racemes, but in close clusters near the root. The 

 flavour is poor. 



Cardamoms can be combined very easily with cin- 

 chona ; for, wlien the cinchonas grow up, and are 

 being subject' d to the spokeshave, cardamoms can be 

 planted under their shade. Suppose the cinchonas to 

 be ledgers, and think it oul, whether this conjlensed 

 method of gardening, with its large returns and small 

 amount of labour, be not a preferable investirj^ut to 

 a wild goose chase over the mythical gold reefs of 

 Southern Indiii. Capitalist ! the above is true and 

 surely it is tempting. Adieu to the wasteful, straggl- 

 ing, ponderous, high-pressure coffee estates. Give 

 me a bungalow containing evi ry comfort and aesthetic 

 enjoyment, and adjoining let there be the ladies' 

 cardamom house filled with the dainty perfume of preoi- 

 ous spice. Farther olf the cinchona store lieaped 

 with scroj)ings from the rich ledger stems ; and, 

 along a well-swept path, let us pass, and visit the 

 cardamom field, which is softly shaded by the foliage 

 of the cinchona ledgerianas. As for other products, 

 such as rubber, black pepper, cinnamon, vanilla, 

 cloves, tobacco, &c., &c., I do not notice them, because 

 their cultivation has not reached an appreciable im- 

 portance. But there is one source of rich harvests, 

 derived not from fruit, leaf, flower, bark, or tap, but 

 from the bowels of the c.-irth : that is rjamming. But 

 unless gemming is carried out wholly by the hands 

 of Europeans — unless natives and immigrant Tamils 

 and Moors are lotally excludeil from (ijierations — no 

 hope of returns can be confidently expected. That 

 untold wealth lies hidden under foot of man round 

 Kukulu Korale, Rakwane and Baiubarabotuwa, and in 

 other places in Sabaragamuwa, is certain. 'That the 

 methods of the natives and Tamils are crude and 

 primitive in the extreme, and are cap,able of immense 

 impriivomcut in the hands of Kuropeans, is also a fact. 

 Capitalists should give their attention to this. I do 

 not for a moment believe that gold-seekiug will pay 

 in Ceylon. It is a forlorn hope, and will soon lapse 

 into obscurity. 



I trust the above notes will be worthy of a place 

 in the Obs'.rcer, and of a peiusal by its readers. If 

 they should raise any discussion, or afford any one assist- 

 ance or knowledge on any point, the writer will bo 

 content. ABEitDONKNijis, 



