TUEMEBIC. 



435 



W bat is comprised under the term " curry stuff," I am not 

 aware, but it appears to be a bulky article, for it was imported to 

 the extent of 32,000 cwt. in 1852.^ 



There are two varieties of turmeric usually sent into Europe 

 from the East (whence all the turmeric imported into Europe is 

 obtained), the " long " turmeric (^Curcuma longd), and the 



round," or as it is better known the " Chinese turmeric," 

 The latter description is very rare, the former is the common 

 article of commerce. According to one of my correspondents, 

 Mr. Hepburn, chemist, of Ealmouth, Jamaica, the common or 

 long turmeric is indigenous to that island, growing luxuriantly 

 in the mountainous districts, in rather damp soils, its locality 

 being in the vicinity of rivers, water-courses and springs. In this 

 respect it differs from ginger, which requires a rather dry soil for 

 its culture. I am not aware that this plant possesses the pro- 

 perty of impoverishing the soil like the ginger. Erom the 

 general habits of the plant in its natural state, we may gather 

 the following rules for our guidance in its culture. The plants 

 should be laid down in rows of five or six inches distant from each, 

 other, in a soil moderately damp, of an aluminous or clayey nature, 

 and free to a great extent of the more soluble alkalies, potash and 

 soda, as these, by absorption, may destroy the coloring matter of 

 the plant, and so diminish its value as a dye-stuff. Einally, iu 

 preparing the roots for exportation, they should be cleansed from 

 all earthy particles, exposed for drying in the shade, and without 

 any further preparation bagged for shipment. 



The coloring matter of turmeric is of an orange yellow color, 

 exceedingly delicate and capable of change, either from the action 

 of light or of alkalies, which turn it to a dark brown color. It 

 is slightly soluble in water, and readily soluble in an alkaline 

 solution, becoming dark brown. Alcohol extracts the coloring 

 matter. The uses to which turmeric is applied are two : as an 

 ingredient in the curry powder and paste, and as a dye for silk. 

 It was some time ago used as a medicine ; but though retained in 

 the " Pharmacopa3ias " of the present day, it is entirely discarded by 

 the practitioner as a curative agent. The best Bengal and 

 Malabar turmeric fetches a price nearly as high as that of ginger, 

 and I see no reason why the West India planter could not send 

 it into the British market quite as cheap as the East India trader. 

 According to Dallas, 397 bags of turmeric were exported from 

 Jamaica in 1797. 



Turmeric is grown about the city of Patna and Behar. It is 

 much cultivated about Calcutta and all parts of Bengal. One 

 acre yields about 2,000 lbs. of the fresh root. It is also grown 

 on the central table land of AfFghanistan. The exports from 

 Calcutta in 1841 were 11,000 Indian maunds, and 28,137 in 1842. 

 The value of that exported from Madras in 1839 w^as 40,000 

 rupees, or £4,000 ; iu 1840, £4,200. The quantity shipped from 

 that Presidency in 1850 was 6,877 bags. 



In the neighbourhood of Dacca about 200 lbs. of seed is sown 



2 r 2 



