434 SPICES 



CHAP. 



that the roots are carefully dried and separately boiled 

 in a mixture of cow-dung and water, then dried and 

 sent to market (Watt's Dictionary). 



A planter in the Indian Planters' Gazette says 

 the rhizomes are sorted into two sizes, the smaller and 

 larger ones, as the latter require more boiling. They 

 are then thrown into separate pots filled with water, 

 with an admixture of cow-dung and tamarind leaves. 

 They are then boiled for two or three hours according 

 to their size and spread out to dry. The boiling and 

 drying makes them shrink to half their original size, 

 and the loss in weight varies from 30 to 40 per cent. 



Mukerji says that the rhizomes are to be cut in two 

 if too fat, dried and boiled in water mixed with cow-dung, 

 but that as soon as the water begins to boil it should 

 be taken from the fire, and the turmeric taken out and 

 put out in the sun. The heap should be stirred and 

 turned two or three times a day, and the smaller pieces 

 sorted out as they dry, leaving the thicker pieces to dry 

 for another day or two. Daily in the evening the 

 turmeric exposed to the sun should be rubbed, the 

 rubbing making the rhizomes clean and smooth. 



AREAS OF CULTIVATION 



There has never been any great amount of cultiva- 

 tion of turmeric outside the East Indies. Its demand 

 is, except for its use as a dye, almost exclusively for 

 curry powder, which has always been associated with 

 the East Indies, and has not found favour in the 

 western world. Nor is it to any great extent in demand 

 in Europe. Its cultivation and use in Western India 

 may be of comparatively recent date, as Linschoten, 

 who spent several years on the Malabar coast from 1596, 

 does not mention it while describing the curry stuffs of 

 that region. 



The plant has been introduced from the East Indies 

 into most of the Botanic Gardens of the world, but in 

 the greater part of the tropics curry is not the common 



