IX CARDAMOMS 199 



time to gather the capsules is when they are full and firm, 



and commencing to turn from a green to a yellow colour. 



The "pods," as the fruits are sometimes called, are to be Pods to be 



cut with scissors, and a portion of the stalk must be left stalk. 



attached. If the pods be pulled off by the hand they may 



split, and thus ruin the spice. The fruit is cured by exposure Pods dried 



to the sun, but the drying must be gradual so as to prevent '" 



the splitting of the pods. A few hours' sunning in the early 



mornings and in the afternoons, will be sufficient at first, 



and later on the exposure may be longer. When properly 



prepared, the spice is of a light straw colour. After the Winnowing 



capsules are thoroughly dried, the remains of the stalks are 



easily rubbed off, and they are then separated from the spice 



by winnowing. In drying, cardamoms lose greatly in bulk, 



four or five bushels of green pods shrinking to about one 



bushel of dried produce. 



The returns from an acre vary greatly in different seasons. Returns. 

 In the jungle cultivation of Mysore not more than 281bs. are 

 got from an acre, but in Ceylon the average is about i7olbs.j 

 although under most favourable conditions as much as 4oolbs. 

 have been obtained. 



In the home markets three kinds of cardamoms are recog- The three 

 nised, under the curious names of " shorts," " short-longs," grades! 

 and " long-longs." Shorts are capsules from a quarter to 

 half an inch long and a quarter of an inch broad, and the 

 longest of the long-longs is about an inch in length. 



The cardamoms described here are those known as Mala- 

 bar cardamoms. There is another sort found wild in the 

 forests of Ceylon with longer and larger fruits. This used 

 to come to European markets as Ceylon cardamoms, but 

 since the extended cultivation of other cardamoms in the 

 island this distinction has gradually become obliterated. 

 At the present time cardamoms produced in Ceylon consist 

 also of Malabar and Mysore sorts. 



