P — 33 — 



felled; the falling trunks kill many of the cardamom stems, thus stimula- 

 ting the rhizomes to produce new shoots, thereby renewing the producing 

 capacity of the plot for another eight years, when the process of renov- 

 ation is repeated. 



In Ceylon the cultivation is carried out much more systematically. 

 The favourite cardamom districts are Matale, Medamahanwara, and Hewa- 

 hata. The undergrowth of the land intended for a cardamom-plantation 

 is cleared; holes are dug, l*/a to 2 feet wide, 12 in. to 15 in. deep and 

 7 feet apart in rows at a similar distance. The bulbs must not be plan- 

 ted too deep or they will rot. The use of seedlings instead of bulbs is 

 increasing, however, the Mysore variety being most frequently grown from 

 seed. Curiously enough, only a small proportion of the seed germinates. 



In Ceylon the plants flower almost all the year round; picking begins 

 at the end of August and continues until April. The fruit is carefully 

 dried by exposure to the sun or in wet weather by artificial heat. Machines 

 for removing the calyx tube and the stalk have been introduced and after 

 passing through these the capsules are graded and treated with sulphur- 

 vapour. 



The table below shows the exports for the past ten years. 

 Exports from Ceylon. 



Year 



Acreage 

 planted 



Export 

 in lbs. 



Year 



Acreage 

 planted 



Export 

 in lbs. 



1901 



8621 



559 704 



1907 



8451 



789 495 



1902 



9746 



615 922 



1908 



8350 



715418 



1903 



9500 



909 418 



1909 



7738 



824 008 



1904 



9300 



995 680 



1910 



7426 



639 007 



1905 



8870 



874 625 



1911 



7300 



564 819 



1906 



8744 



732 136 









Carrot Oil, Wild. An oil of wild carrot, which was obtained in the 

 French Department of Puy-de-D6me by the distillation of the entire plant 1 ) 

 was most probably the product of Daucus Carota, L. The oil gave the 

 following constants: d 150 0,9016, « D — 6° 56', sap. v. after half an hour's 

 boiling with alcoholic potash about 169, after one hour's boiling 195,4, 

 ester v. after acet. 226,8, sol. in its own vol. of 80 p. c. alcohol. When more 

 alcohol was added, opalescence ensued. 



Cassia Oil. The movement in prices in this important article is 

 clearly shown in the table below, which refers to 80 to 85 p. c. oil, the 

 only quality supplied by us: — 



x ) Berichte von Roure-Bertrand Fils, April 1912, 31. 



