CH. VI] SPICES 85 



care. In Ceylon it is done only with the leaves of Croton 

 lacciferum, other manures being rejected. The leaves are 

 picked after the first year, and in different places the plant is 

 allowed to go on from one to six or more years in bearing. 



The cultivation is very profitable, but there is a large 

 outlay before any return can be obtained, and considerable 

 risks are run from attacks of disease. 



Cardamoms. Though an important industry in Ceylon 

 and Southern India, this is as yet a comparatively unknown 

 spice in Europe or America. It is chiefly used in India for 

 confectionery, cooking, and masticating, but is steadily coming 

 into use elsewhere, and deserves to be more widely known. 

 About 7000 acres are now devoted to the growth of this spice 

 in Ceylon, and about the same in Southern India. In Ceylon 

 it is chiefly grown in the mountain districts north of Kandy, 

 at an elevation of 3000 to 4000 feet. 



The plant itself (Elettaria Cardamomum) belongs to the 

 ginger family, and is not unlike ginger in appearance, but very 

 much larger, growing to a height of about 5 to 10 feet. It is 

 cultivated in clumps under the shade of the trees of the forest, 

 which has its undergrowth thinned out to make room for it. 

 The flowers are borne in little racemes, and are succeeded by 

 little capsule fruits, which are picked, spread out in trays or on 

 barbecues (or drying grounds), and slowly dried and bleached. 

 The essential part of the spice is the seed contained in the 

 capsules, but the latter are always dried with the seeds, and so 

 far as possible without splitting. If the seeds were sold without 

 the capsule, they could be easily adulterated with other similar 

 and less valuable seeds. Lately a considerable demand for green 

 or unbleached cardamoms has sprung up. 



The exports of cardamoms from Ceylon in recent years, have 

 been 



1901 559,704 Ibs. 1905 829,276 Ibs. 



1902 615,922 



1903 909,418 1910 639,007 



1904 995,680 1911 564,819 



Until about ten years ago the cultivation of this spice was 

 very profitable, and of course there was a rush into planting it, 



