SGITAMINE.^. 411 



copious mucous discliarge, and relieve the congestion. (0/j. cif. 

 p. 231.) 



Cuttimtion. — Turmeric requires a loamy soil and abundance 

 of manure and water ; tlie ground must be well worked and 

 raised into ridges, 9 or 10 incbcs bigh and 18 to 20 broad, with 

 intervening trenches 9 to 10 inches broad. The sets, which 

 consist of small portions of the root, are planted on the tops 

 of the ridges, at about 1 8 inches to 2 feet apart. One acre 

 requires about 900 such sets, and yields about 2,000 lbs. of tho 

 fresh root {Roxh.). Other authorities state the yield at from 

 1,000 to 2,000 lbs. Dalzell and Gibson give very much 

 higher figures for the best garden soil in Guzerat, viz., 5,000 to 

 20,000 lbs.' per acre. They state that the return to the culti- 

 vator is equal to that obtained from sugar-cane, dz., Rs. 300 

 per acre. The time for planting is usually about the end of 

 May, but it depends greatly upon the setting in of the rainy 

 season. The crop may be raised in the following March or 

 April ; if left in the ground new shoots appear upon setting in 

 of the following rains and the crop is lifted about 20 to 21 

 months after planting. In some parts of India it is not con- 

 sidered good practice to Hft the plants the first year. When 

 lifted, the roots have to be scalded in boiling water or by steani- 

 ing them in their own juice, and to be dried in the sun or in an 

 oven. Turmeric being much cultivated along with other crojis 

 it is impossible to obtain any reliable acreage returns. 



Description* — The rhizome of the tumicric plant, like 

 that of most Curcumas, consists of a central ovoid portion and 

 several lateral elongated portions, all of a deep orange colour, 

 from these proceed a number of radicles, at the ends of some of 

 which colourless oval tubers are produced. The central and 

 lateral rhizomes form the round and long turmeric of commerce. 

 The former vary a good deal in size and shape ; they may be 

 pyriform, ovoid, or almost round, and are generally cut up into 

 two or more pieces ; the latter arc cylindrical, tapering towards 

 the extremities, and often more or less bent ; both arc marked 

 by transverse furrows, and bear remains of the rootlet^s aud 



