342 SPICES 



CHAP. 



hole. Care must be taken not to plant the rhizomes 

 too deep, and to allow for the earth settling and sinking 

 some inches. 



It is advisable to support the leaf stalks with stakes 

 to which they are attached with plantain bast, or some 

 such fibre, in order to prevent their being beaten down 

 by wind or rain, especially if the position is much 

 exposed. In well sheltered spots this is less necessary. 



Weeding and Manuring. There used to be, it 

 appears, a popular idea that weeds did not grow under 

 the shade of cardamoms, but, at least for the first year, 

 some weeding is necessary. After the cardamom fields 

 are well and densely grown, weeding becomes unnecessary, 

 as the plants crowd out the weeds. Some amount 

 of clearing up, removing dead stems, and weeding is 

 usually required about the end of the second or third 

 year. A single rhizome will produce as many as twenty 

 stems or more, and these stems die after a few years, 

 and are replaced by new ones. 



Manure does not seem to be often used anywhere, 

 but in Bombay it is usual to give leaf-manure in March 

 and April of each year, if the supply is abundant, but if 

 not it is supplied every second year. 



There is little else to do besides keeping a look-out 

 for pests and blights till the plants commence to fruit, 

 which takes place in the first year after planting out, or 

 about three years from seed. 



CROPPING 



The first crop is usually a small one, the second one 

 a partial crop, and the third, that is five years after 

 planting, a full crop. 



The smallness of the first crop is accounted for by 

 several causes. The plants have not, by the third year, 

 fully developed, and have only a few leafy stems. The 

 supplies are not yet in bearing, and those that are fully 

 developed for their age are more liable to the attacks 

 of insects and other enemies. Probably, also, a large 



