156 



[August, 1012. 



Hevea root disease, though it is of 

 interest to the mycologist rather than 

 to the botanist, Ihe name Forties semi- 

 tostus was bestowed by Berkeley on a 

 fungus collected in Northern India. In 

 1898, it was recorded for Singapore 

 among a parcel of fungi sent to Kew 

 by Ridley. In 1904 Ridley reported to 

 the occurrence of a root disease on Hevea 

 at Singapore which he ascribed to Fomes 

 semitostus. Bancroft states that the 

 fructification was identified by Massee 

 at Kew as Fomes semitostus. That view 

 was taken in Ceylon when the disease was 

 discovered here in 1905, and as the fungus 

 was identical with that in Singapore, 

 the name of Fomes semitostus was adopt- 

 ed. But on enquiry at Kew last year, 

 all knowledge of Ridley's fungus on 

 Hevea was disclaimed. It now proves, 

 as has been previously hinted, that the 

 Singapore identification was incorrect ; 

 and according to Lloyd, the common 

 root disease fungus of Hevea should be 

 known, not as Fomes semitostus, but as 

 Polyporus lignosus, a name which was 

 given to it by Klotzsch. It is quite a 

 different fungus from that which was 

 named Fomes semitostus by Berkeley. 



T. PETCH. 



CARDAMOM CULTIVATION. 



The cultivation, curing and commerce 

 of cardamom is the subject of an exhaus- 

 tive paper in the Chemist and Druggist 

 of March 9th last. It contains a very 

 full account of cardamom culture as 

 carried on in Ceylon— from which we 

 take the following notes : 



It is in Ceylon that the cultivation of 

 cardamom has been raised to a fine art, 

 with consequent improvement in the 

 quality of the product. About 1884, 

 when the price of the spice ruled high, 

 cardamom-growing was tried in nearly 

 every Ceylon Plantation. Remarkable 

 success was met with in some instances, 

 yields of 200 lb. to 300 lb. per acre being 

 obtained, The acreage under cultivation 

 increased until 1902, after which year 



low prices led to a reaction. The favour- 

 ite cardamom districts of Ceylon are 

 Matale (1474), Medamahanuwara (1499), 

 and Hewaheta (395). The figures in 

 parenthesis relate to the acreage under 

 cultivation in 1910, when 7,426 acres of 

 land of the value of 445,560i. w*as given 

 over in Ceylon to cardamom cultivation. 



Cultivation. 



Portions of the forest lands or sheltered 

 moist hollows in plantations are selected. 

 Sufficient vegetation is left, to give a 

 chequered shade with light and air. 

 Holes 1| ft. to 2 ft. wide and 12 in. to 15 

 in. deep are dug 7 feet apart in rows at 

 a similar distance. The best bulbs to 

 plant are double ones, consisting of two 

 stems connected together. 



The use of seedlings instead of bulbs is 

 growing. The seeds which are obtained 

 from fully ripe fruit are dried by a short 

 exposure to the sun, and steeped in 

 water foe a few hours before growing in 

 the nursery bed. The Mysore variety is 

 the most easily grown from seed, but 

 apparently only a small proportion 

 germinates. Planting can be done at 

 any time when there is no dry spell of 

 weather. The seedlings will produce a 

 maiden crop in three years. 



Picking. 



In Ceylon the plants flower almost all 

 the year round, but principally in 

 January to May. Picking begins end of 

 August and continues until April, 

 October to December yielding most 

 fruit. In India the wasteful method of 

 of pulling off whole racemes is followed, 

 but in Ceylon careful attention is given 

 to picking. The capsules are cut before 

 they ripen, the slight turn of colour to 

 yellow and the firmness of the fruit be- 

 ing the indications. An average daily 

 picking is 10 lb. 



Cubing 



is effected in dry weather by exposure 

 to the sun. Three hours exposure in the 

 morning and two in the afternoon are 

 sufficient. In wet weather slow drying 

 is effected by gentle artificial heat on 

 trays contained in racks in the curing- 

 house, but the product is more brown in 

 colour and accordingly less valuable. 



