— 32 — % 



must now be paid), we have been compelled to work up considerable 

 parcels in the course of the summer on account of the exceptional demand 

 which set in from the United States. We have been under the necessity 

 to raise the price of our distillate on several occasions, but this has not 

 adversely affected the extent of the demand. A few samples of "cheap" 

 cardamom oil were shown on examination in our laboratory to be heavily 

 adulterated, the most surprising sophistication of all having been practised 

 in England, where a camphor oil preparation which had turned out a 

 failure was offered under the name of cardamom oil. 



The cultivation of cardamoms, to which we have briefly referred on 

 a previous occasion 1 ) is described in detail in a British journal 2 ). 



The cardamoms of British commerce are all derived from Elettaria 

 Cardamomum, Maton 3 ), N. O. Zingiberaceae, which grows wild or is culti- 

 vated on the Malabar coast and in Ceylon. There is a large market for 

 the spice in Calcutta; the annual consumption in India and Burma is 

 computet! to be nearly 1 000 000 lbs. Formerly scarcely any other than 

 Malabar cardamoms were imported into Britain, but the Mysore variety 

 now affords most of the fine quality. The latter plant possesses a more 

 robust habit and bears exposure better than the Malabar type. It is not 

 known how the district name "Mysore" came to designate the variety of 

 a cardamom plant. There appear to be two varieties of Malabar plants, 

 var. minus being confined to Southern India and var. majus growing in 

 Ceylon. The latter is distinguished by its shorter stems, broader leaves, 

 and less globose fruit. In the shady mountain forests of Canara, Cochin, 

 and Travancore the cardamom plant grows between the altitude of 2500 

 and 5000 feet. The plant is best suited to a rich, moist, loamy soil, 

 protected from strong winds. These conditions are met with in the betel- 

 nut and pepper gardens of Mysore and of Canara, and also in the culti- 

 vated cardamom valleys of Ceylon. 



In the forest-district of Coorg (Mysore) the cardamom gardens are 

 laid out in February or March, simply by making clearings in the forest, 

 a space of some 20 to 30 yards of jungle being left between the gardens. 

 Superstition plays an important part, felling of the trees only permissible 

 on certain days of the week and before noon. The natives also believe^ 

 that the presence of such plants as ebony, nutmeg, and pepper favourably 

 affects the development of the cardamom plants. In the fifth year a full 

 crop is produced. After seven years more the plants become sickly. 

 Some of the large trees in the jungle-screen surrounding the fields are 



*) Report April 1910, 29. 



2 ) Chemist and Druggist 80 (1912), 367. 



8 ) Comp. Report October 1910, 32. 



