PREPARATION (>K TIIK Klfl/uMK 



~.-.-,i ;il,.| 



Vi.-M. 



' I'M'- 



of Error. 



Prepara- 

 tion for 

 Market. 



Bengal 

 System. 

 Rhizomes 

 are stewed. 

 Sun-dried. 



M-i'Iriis 



CURCUMA 



LONGA 



Cultivation 



MI together is probably much less. Of North Arcot, A. F. Cox 



(M,i>' ' I *'.'">. i., L'76-7) says that the plant o< in|ticH the ground 



ulv a, year. Ten maunds are sown to an acre and the yield is about 



L'tH) maunds. When prepared as a condiment the root is called kari 



i (Tamil) and hum jMisupu (Telegu), and when prepared as a dye it 



is saya manjal and saya pasupu. Buchanan-Hamilton (Journ. Mysore, Mysore 



-07, i., .'528 <) ; ii.', 450, 469 ; iii., 85-6) gives a full account of the 

 cultivation \vitnessed by him. 



The above review has been deemed desirable since no single person 

 udird province by province the production and yield of turmeric. 

 It may have been observed that the yield per acre and the duration of the 

 ire matters of the greatest obscurity. This seems due to various 

 Hirers of error : it is often a mixed crop ; the returns are given in maunds, 

 measure that may vary from 82 to 25 Ib. ; it is often not possible to 

 >\vr whether the figures mentioned refer to dry or green tubers ; and 

 stly, ignorance regarding the races of plant grown. It is difficult to 

 elieve that soil or difference in methods of cultivation could account for 



of from 15 to 262 cwt. per acre. 



Preparation of the Rhizome. Various systems of preparing the 

 lizomes for market appear to be in vogue. In Bengal they are cleaned, 

 ripped of the fibrous roots and heated gradually in earthen pots, the 

 louths of which are carefully closed by lids fastened with cowdung. The 

 zomes are thus stewed in their own juice and freed thereby of the raw 

 lell. Afterwards they are dried in the sun, for nearly a week, being 

 jtected at night from dew. In some localities (especially Madras) the 

 >mes are boiled in water, to which a little cowdung has been directly 

 Ided, this practice being believed to protect the tubers against insects, 

 the United Provinces the bazar-turmeric is prepared by boiling and 

 rying in the sun. In the Kumaon district the prepared roots are soaked 

 lime-juice and water instead of being boiled anew. In the Panjab the 

 rying is done by artificial heat. 



Uses of the Turmeric. When intended to be used as a dye the 

 >mes are boiled a second time, powdered while still wet, and a decoction 

 le of this paste with water. The history and properties of turmeric 

 TE have been very fully dealt with in the Dictionary and it is unnecessary 

 repeat the details here, though desirable perhaps to invite attention to 

 sent publications. Formerly turmeric dye was very largely used in 

 idia at marriage ceremonies, etc., but this practice has considerably 

 jlined of late. On ceremonial occasions it was also largely employed to 

 ib on the skin, and is so used to this day. [Cf. N. N. Banerjei, Monog. Dyes 

 1896, 15-6.] The dye is cheap, easily prepared and easily removed, 

 it these conditions are also even more characteristic of aniline dyes, which 

 >nsequently largely replace the old vegetable dyes. The principal use 

 the dye in India at the present day is as an auxiliary to such other 

 lyes as aJ-dye (Morimla tim-tor'm), safflower (Cart/Hi nuts), lac dye 

 etc., etc., and in the production of shades of green along 

 rith indigo. It is still fairly largely employed in calico-printing and in 

 le coloration of Native-made paper. In Bengal it is extensively employed 

 i dyeing cotton clothes, toys and other articles of sola pith (.ffischynomene 

 ipera, pp. 29-30). In the United Provinces it is said to be more 

 Himionly used as a condiment than as a dye, and is as a rule grown along 

 nth ColiH-fisiff (niti(fn(n-nin (Hadi, Monog. Dyes, U. Prov., 1896, 77). 



447 



dried. 



U. Prov. System. 



Kumaon 

 System. 

 Soaked In 

 Lime-juice. 



Dye. 



Auxiliary to 

 Other Dyes. 



