354 SPICES 



CHAP. 



scissors. The women in India squat on the floor, and, 

 resting the right elbow on the ground, feed the scissors 

 with the left hand. The stalk is very small, and requires 

 some care and practice not to cut the fruit itself. These 

 women work very fast, and Mr. Ozanne, who describes 

 it, saw an old woman clip 90 cardamoms a minute. 

 These women are paid at the rate of ^ anna for the 

 clipping of 1 padi (10 padis are 26 Ibs.). Some can even 

 earn 2^ annas a day, and therefore must clip 13 Ibs. a 

 day. 



In Ceylon the coolies cannot clip more than 3 Ibs. a 

 day, but this includes picking out broken and brown 

 capsules as well. 



SORTING 



The crop is sorted, when dry, into split and entire 

 capsules, and the entire capsules are sorted according to 

 colour ; the perfectly cured ones, of a straw colour ; those 

 which are discoloured with a brownish tinge or stained 

 on one side ; and those which are nearly black, due 

 usually to gathering and curing in unfavourable weather. 



Cardamoms are valued not only according to their 

 colour, but according to their plumpness and heaviness, 

 and the sound and mature conditions of their seeds. 

 Good samples afford about three-fourths of their weight 

 of seeds. Thus 200 Ibs. shelled at various times during 

 ten years afforded 154^ Ibs. of seed. (Messrs. Allen and 

 Han bury, in All about Cardamoms, by A. M. and J. 

 Ferguson. ) 



There are several forms of the capsule known in 

 commerce ; of the Indian forms there are two classes, 

 according to size, the ovoid or nearly globular, J to f in. 

 long, termed shorts, and those of a more elongated form 

 xV to A i n - l n g> called short longs. 



They are also distinguished by the names of localities, 

 Malabar, etc. ; the most valued occur as shorts and short 

 longs. They are most highly valued, and are shipped 

 from Bombay to Europe. 



Madras are chiefly long forms (short longs), and are 



