134 The Caraway Seed Industry in Holland, [may, 



vated in India by Mr. Howard, of the Pusa Research Station. 

 This report goes to show that it is possible to isolate from the 

 mixed stocks grown in that country wheats of practically any 

 association of characters, and of many diverse types, ranging 

 from emmer, probably the first cereal cultivated by man, to 

 wheat of a quality rivalling that of No. i Manitoba Hard. 



The caraway plant ( C arum car vi) is a biennial, about ij to 

 2 feet high, which is cultivated for its seeds in some parts of 

 England, particularly in Essex and 



^ Ss% Kent ' and als ° in Holland ' Germany, 

 in Holland. and Northern Russia. The seeds are 



used in confectionery, and also for 

 flavouring spirits. On the Continent it is largely used for 

 the distillation of kiimmel, and for the production of an 

 essential oil known as caraway oil, which is used for per- 

 fumery and medicinal purposes. The caraway oil imported 

 into this country appears to come chiefly from Holland, 

 where the area under cultivation has recently been greatly 

 extended, and was in 1910 about 19,500 acres. The crop is 

 grown chiefly in North Holland, Groningen, Zeeland, and 

 North Brabant. A memorandum as to the method of culti- 

 vation in that country has been supplied to the Board through 

 the Foreign Office by the Dutch Ministry for Foreign 

 Affairs, in which it is stated that caraway is well able to with- 

 stand the cold of winter, though a cold, wet, early summer 

 is prejudicial to growth. In the Netherlands and in more 

 northerly regions, even in the extreme northern districts of 

 Scandinavia, it can be cultivated without difficulty. 



It grows in various kinds of soil, especially in a medium 

 clay, but deeply tilled fertile soil, rich in humus and free 

 from weeds, is probably most favourable. 



Cultivation. — Caraway is a biennial plant, and therefore 

 produces its seed the second year. For this reason it is sown 

 under the cover of other plants, usually the pea. This plant, 

 especially varieties with short stalks, does not choke the 

 young caraway plants, and as it ripens comparatively early 

 the caraway is able to develop strongly in the autumn after 

 the peas have been cut. In the province of North Holland 

 caraway is also grown under mustard and poppy when culti- 



