350 SPICES 



CHAP. 



with a good draught of wind. The cardamoms took 

 longer to dry than if they had been exposed to the sun, 

 but there was no perceptible difference between them 

 and the sun-dried ones. 



However, the sunlight would no doubt be of advantage 

 to partly bleach the cardamoms and make them of an 

 attractive colour. 



In case of sudden showers Owen suggests putting 

 the drying trays on wooden rails 3 ft. above the ground 

 and to have a tarpaulin covering which can be readily 

 spread over them on the approach of rain. Formerly 

 coffee planters used to have a somewhat similar apparatus 

 for drying the coffee, which, however, was quicker and 

 more convenient ; the roofing was fastened to a frame 

 which ran on wheels, and a simple push sent the roof 

 quickly along so as to cover a whole row of trays at 

 once. 



The Curing -house. This is required in damp or dull 

 weather. It is a simply constructed building of wood, 

 roofed by the ordinary local thatch. Owen recommends 

 that the walls be open, of louvre-boarding, or open 

 trellis round the room, with plain shutters to close when 

 the weather is rainy. Thus you get a free current of 

 air when it is dry, and a protection from damp in the 

 rain. It should have as many glazed windows as possible 

 to admit the light. During wet weather one or two 

 stoves, according to the size of the house and amount of 

 the crop to be dried, are requisite. Owen suggests the 

 connecting of the two stoves by a pipe traversing the 

 room .with one smoke pipe for the outlet of the smoke 

 for the two stoves. This, of course, will economise the 

 heat. 



He recommends trays of wire gauze, 24 meshes to 

 the inch, but this is expensive. More usual are the 

 ordinary trays of split bamboo, which, he suggests, 

 should be partly covered with gunny bags, so as to 

 prevent the seed falling through. This, however, I 

 should say, would hardly be wanted, as it is easy in any 

 Oriental village to get bamboo trays which are not 



