THE COKIANDKK PLANT 



CORIANDRUM 



SATIVUM 



Iv immediately followed by a convs|Mjiiding movement in tin- prices 

 of the in.niutiictures. This i.s lar^-lv ;i i -i M i sequence of the stock* that 

 :iiiil tho habit of accepting forward contracts at even lower rates 



:in- 



than the ruling prices for the time being. 



CORIANDRUM SATIVUM, Linn, i FL Br. Ind., ii., 717 ; 

 Duthirand Fuller. Field and Garden Crops, pt. iii., 40, pi. Ixxvi. ; Duthie, FL 

 r inn*,/, /'/am, i., 397 ; Cooke, FL Pres. Bomb., i., 573 ; UMBELLIFKRJE. 

 Coriander, <{fi<int/<t, dhanid, kothamira, khotbir, kuzbarah, kushniz, kotamalli, 

 ivija, nau-nau, ussu, etc. A cultivated plant found all over India. 

 History. As a spice, the umbelliferous fruits of coriander, commonly though 

 oneously designated seeds, were well known in Europe in the earliest times of 

 lii-h we Imve any records. The mention of the resemblance of manna to coriander, 

 iul>ined with the discovery of the latter in early Egyptian tombs, shows it to 

 we boon familiar to Egyptians and Israelites before the Exodus. It seems that 

 , ancient times a good deal of the spice came from India to Egypt, and indeed that 

 affic continued as late as the beginning of the last century. It has now, however, 

 uirrly ceased, owing principally to the very extensive cultivation of the plant 

 t Russia, Hungary, Holland, Morocco, and elsewhere. Semler (Trop. Agrik., 

 1900, ii., 584) points out that all trade in coriander-seed to Continental Europe 

 now disappeared. 



Cultivation. Coriander would seem to be sown at various seasons in the dif- 

 ent provinces of India, frequently as a mixed crop the cold season in Bengal 

 id the United Provinces, the rainy season in Bombay and the autumn in Madras, 

 itliie and Fuller state that it is largely grown in Nepal, whence the fruits are 

 ported to the Basti country. In the Pan jab it is said to be raised in every 

 listrict, being frequently seen in the fields in a semi-wild state. Owing perhaps 

 the irregularity of its culture, statistics of the area under the crop or of the 

 mual outturn are not available, and no sufficient data can be obtained on which 

 base calculations. 



The leaves are eaten by the Natives as a vegetable, also in curries. The 

 lits (seeds) are universally employed as a condiment ; they are one of the in- 

 adients in curry, in confectionery, and in the flavouring of spirits. Many 

 ledicinal virtues are also attributed to the plant. From a European point of 

 new by far its most important use is the extraction of a volatile oil. According 

 Gildemeister and Hoffmann (Volatile Oils, 1900, 541-4) this distillation is said 

 have been first mentioned by Porta in the 16th century ; the oil was included 

 the price ordinances of Berlin (1574) and of Frankfurt-a-Main (1587). It is 

 af erred to as an ingredient in sweetmeats in Camerarius' edition of Matthiolus' 

 treutterbuch (1611, 265 c.). Gildemeister and Hoffmann, moreover, state that a 

 ue insight into the composition of the oil was brought about by Semler (1891) 

 id by Barbier (1893). Its sp. gr. is 0'870 to 0-885, and it is soluble in three 

 Jts of 70 per cent, alcohol at 20 C. (68 F.). But apparently the constituent 

 which the specific odour should be attributed has remained undetermined. 

 7/. Schimmel & Co., Semi-Ann. Rept., 1895, 20-2.] The Indian fruits have the 

 jwest yield of oil, 0-15 to 0*2 per cent., and are accordingly never used for distilla- 

 ion on a large scale. The best fruits for that purpose are those from Moravia, 

 "luringia and Russia, which manifest a yield of 0'8 to I'O per cent. It seems 

 ifortunate that the high prices which have lately been paid for coriander fruits 

 lould not have benefited India (Schimmel & Co., I.e., April-May, 1904, 36). 

 TRADE. The total exports of coriander from India stood in 1903-4 at 62,566 

 t., Rs. 3,87,796 an increase on the 52,827 cwt., Rs. 3,47,318, of 1899-1900 

 have since risen to 72,670 cwt., Rs. 7,18,340, in 1906-7. Most of the traffic 

 from Bengal and Madras to Ceylon and the Straits Settlements. It is not 

 >ssible to obtain any details of the coastwise or inland traffic, but the plant is 

 *gely grown in Nepal and expo'rted thence in considerable quantities to the 

 Inited Provinces. The price in India is about Rs. 3 per 35 Ib. 



\Cf. Bird wood and Foster, E.I.C. First Letter Book, 199, 480 ; Paulus 

 Hgineta (Adams, transl.), iii., 189 ; Taleef Shereef (Playfair, transl.), 82 ; 

 unilton, Stat. Ace. Dinaj., 188 ; Rept. Ind. Hemp Drugs Comm., iv., 67, 215, 

 5, etc. ; Blochmann, Beit, zur Entwick. Offic. Samen und Fruchte. Dies. Bern., 

 1901.] 



427 



D.E.P., 

 ii., 667-0. 

 Coriander. 



History. 



Cultiva- 

 tion. 



Food. 



Medicine. 

 Oil. 



Indian 



Coriiin.ltT. 



Trade. 



