CARDAMOMS 349 



Mollison says a well -grown, healthy plant may yield 

 up to -J Ib. of dry cardamoms, and at 300 or 400 plants 

 per acre, as grown among betel palms in Kanara, this 

 gives 150 to 200 Ibs. dry cardamoms per acre. 



In Travancore the yield, according to the Madras 

 Manual, only comes up to 20 or 25 Ibs. per acre. This 

 is, however, in a form of wild cultivation, where the 

 owners of gardens in forests merely clear away the 

 creepers and brushwood around the plants once a year. 



CURING 



The object to be aimed at in curing the cardamoms 

 so as to be of the highest commercial quality, is to 

 produce a light straw-coloured fruit with no black or 

 brown spots on it and as little split as possible. 



A certain proportion of split cardamoms, composed chiefly 

 of over-ripe fruit, is unavoidable, but our endeavour should be 

 to reduce this to a minimum. The curing of cardamoms is a 

 very simple matter in dry weather, sun-drying being the most 

 effective and cheapest method. Long exposure to the sun 

 during hot weather, the attempt in fact to dry the fruit quickly, 

 is a mistake, for the seed inside gets heated, swells, and bursts 

 its covering. Three hours' exposure in the morning and two 

 hours in the afternoon is as much as it is safe to give. In 

 showery or unsettled weather, of course, full advantage must be 

 taken of whatever sunshine there is. The slower the drying 

 process, the smaller is the proportion of split fruit, and hence too 

 long protracted exposure to the sun or to artificial heat should 

 be avoided. (Owen's Notes on Cardamom Cultivation.) 



In Southern India as described by Ludlow, 

 the cardamoms are dried by exposure to the sun on 

 large bamboo or date mats. Those nearly dry are not 

 allowed to get mixed with the green ones, and four 

 days in the sun is sufficient if the sun is strong. A 

 shed is required close to the drying-ground in case of 

 rain, so that the capsules can be quickly taken there 

 out of risk of wetting. 



Ferguson, in All about Cardamoms, says that he hung 

 up a few racemes, with branches and capsules, in a room 



