SPICES AND FLAVORINGS 241 



CARDAMOMS 



The cardamom plant is a perennial herbaceous plant (Elet- 

 taria cardamomum) , native of Ceylon and India and belong- 

 ing to the same family with ginger. The plant produces 

 large creeping rhizomes or rootstocks and leafy stems 6 to lo 

 feet high in dense clumps. The leaves, somewhat resembling 

 those of the ginger, are i to 3 feet long and are provided 

 with conspicuous pirmate veins. The flowering stems are 

 about 2 to 3 feet high and bear numerous flowers in short 

 racemes. The fruit of the cardamom is rounded and usually 

 somewhat 3-angled. It is 3-celled, each cell containing about 

 5 seeds. The fruit is picked in a green condition, dried, and 

 bleached in the sun and usually further bleached by sulphur- 

 ing. The capsules are then cream white and papery in tex- 

 ture, being about yi to ^ inch long. Cardamoms are propa- 

 gated by division of the rootstocks, which are planted about 

 8 feet apart both ways. During the early stages of growth 

 some shade is desirable. The cardamom plant begins to bear 

 at the age of 3 years and comes into full bearing at 6 years. 

 From this time on for many years a yield of 100 to 300 pounds 

 of dried cardamoms may be expected per acre. The plant 

 bears the year round but the best crop is obtained during 

 the dry season. It is desirable to harvest the fruits by cutting 

 them off with scissors. A good day's picking for one laborer 

 is 10 to 15 pounds. The world's supply of cardamoms comes 

 almost entirely from India, especially the Malabar coast and 

 Ceylon. Ceylon exports about 500,000 pounds annually. 

 Cardamoms are used as an ingredient of curry powders, for 

 flavoring cakes and liqueurs, and in aromatic drugs and for 

 various other purposes. 



CASSIA BARK 



The cassia tree of southern China (Cinnatnomum cassia) 

 is closely related to the true cinnamon and is said to have 



