CARDAMOMS 335 



sometimes one or two cuts are necessary ; the separated 

 portion is then broken up into bulbs by hand. The 

 objection to this system is that the wounded side of the 

 plant takes a long time to recover, and frequently such 

 plants continue to bear on one side only. 



A better system is to select and mark out a portion 

 of the clearing, and uproot the whole of it. The clumps 

 are then broken up into sets, some of which can be used 

 for replanting. 



In buying " bulbs " from natives, Owen cautions the 

 planter to take care to see that inferior plants are 

 not mixed with the true Malabar cardamoms, as this 

 may cause much loss and disappointment. The velvety 

 feeling on the under surface of the leaf and leaf sheath 

 and the pure white or greenish colour (not tinted with 

 pink) of the bulb distinguishes the right Malabar. 

 " Double bulbs " alone should be bought. These consist 

 of two stems connected together, and should have a 

 shoot or two springing from the leaves. Such bulbs 

 consisting of a single stem and a bulbous base, even if 

 offered cheap, are worthless and sure to fail. A single 

 bulb, however, with a well-developed shoot springing 

 from it, if not denuded of all its roots, will probably 

 succeed. The bulbs should also be fresh, for although 

 the rhizomes retain their vitality for a long time under 

 adverse circumstances, yet the fresher they are the 

 better. The dealers in bulbs buy them in small lots at 

 one rupee a hundred, and in the case of large orders, have 

 to get them from numerous localities at once, so that 

 it frequently happens that a portion of the bulbs de- 

 teriorate greatly before the full complement of the order 

 is obtained. 



Rhizomes can be purchased through the Botanic 

 Gardens at Peradeniya and through European dealers in 

 plants in Ceylon and India, by which means the best 

 bulbs fit for planting may be obtained. It does not pay 

 in the cultivation of cardamoms or anything else to take 

 inferior stock because it is cheap ; it usually eventually 

 turns out much dearer. 



