THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
4i5 
Dec.  r,  1892.] 
CARDAMOMS. 
Zingiberaceous  planters  are  frequently  met  with  j 
in  the  tropical  forest.  Large  specimens  of  Blettaria,  . 
particularly  Elettaria  speciosa  form  a constant 
constitution  of  the  underbush — for  instance,  upon 
Java.  The  leaves  of  the  Elettaria  often  reach  an 
enormous  length,  up  to  15  and  20  feet,  and  for  this 
reason  sarve  as  a magnificent  ornament  of  the  forest. 
Elettaria  cards, momum  white  et  maton  is  in- 
digenous to  Ceylon,  but  not  to  Java.  Its  cultivation 
is  carried  on  in  a number  of  districts,  the  total 
amount  of  the  harvest  of  1891  being  estimated 
at  443,000  pounds. 
In  British  India  cardamoms  are  cultivated  chiefly 
in  Coorg  and  Mysore  2,500  to  5,000  feet  above  sea  level. 
Some  of  the  Mysore  plantations  have  an  extent 
of  1,000  acres.  The  cultivation  was  first  commenced 
in  1871  by  a few  coffee  planters. 
Upon  Ceylon  the  Dutch  collected  cardamoms  about 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  At  that 
time  the  export  amounted  to  7,000  to  8,000  pounds. 
Subsequently  it  fell  off  considerably  amounting  to 
only  5,500  pounds  in  1813.  Some  years  ago  the 
cultivation  was  started  in  nearly  all  districts  below 
the  level  of  4,000  feet,  which  resulted,  of  course, 
in  over-production  and  a great  decrease  in  value 
of  the  product.  In  1887  to  1888  there  were  under 
cardamom  cultivation  4,572  acres.  The  production 
amounted  to  250,000  pounds  from  regular  plantations, 
and  100,000  from  the  so-called  kampong  cultivation 
(crude  country  farming). 
There  are  three  kinds  of  cardamoms  to  be  found 
in  Ceylon;  the  indigenous,  the  Malabar,  and  the 
Mysore.  All  three  are  probably  only  varieties  of 
one  and  the  same  species. 
•‘Malabar”  cardamom  has  a pale  green  “indi- 
genous” a red  stem  of  dark  color  near  the  bottom. 
The  fruit  of  the  “indigenous”  cardamom  (in  Sin- 
halese, “ensal”)  is  known  in  commerce  as  “Ceylon 
natives,”  and  less  esteemed  than  the  “Malabar” 
(called  "rota  ensal.”)  The  former  is  longer  than  the 
latter.  The  Mysore  variety  is  more  robust  than  the 
others.  It  grows  at  higher  altitudes,  is  more  hardy, 
and  has  larger,  not  velvety,  leaves. 
Good  soil  and  moisture  are  the  chief  requisites 
for  a successful  cultivation.  Tropical  valleys  are 
the  most  favorable  localities.  Some  shade  appears 
to  be  necessary,  and  the  excess  of  winds  must  be 
guarded  against. 
Cardamoms  ripen  very  irregularly.  When  growing 
in  stiff  loam  and  exposed  to  too  much  rain,  the  plant 
grows  vigorously,  but  bears  no  fruit. 
When  the  plantation  is  started  in  the  forest,  the 
undergrowth  is  first  removed  and  the  forest  thinned 
out  so  as  to  still  preserve  the  requisite  amount  of 
shade.  The  soil  is  drained  by  suitable  trenches  where 
required,  and  all  weeds  carefully  removed. 
Planting  is  usually  done  in  rows,  so  far  as  the 
remaining  trees  permit  In  good  soil  plants  are  set 
at  distances  of  7 feet.  Propagation  is  made  mostly 
by  planting  pieces  of  the  tuberous  rhizome,  rarely 
by  seeds.  A special  part  of  the  plantation  is  usually 
reserved  for  propagating  purposes.  The  plants  raised 
there  are  taken  completely  out  of  the  ground,  and 
the  root  divided  into  the  several  tuberous  sections, 
which  are  either  planted  at  once  or  first  developed 
in  a nursery  and  then  transplanted.  Plants  raised 
from  seeds,  of  course,  require  a longer  time  before  they 
bear  fruit,  but  the  seed  method  has  the  advantage 
that  the  planter  is  always  sure  of  the  variety,  while 
he  has  no  such  assurance  when  he  has  to  buy  pieces 
of  rhizome  in  the  market,  particularly  from  natives. 
The  pieces  of  rhizome  are  laid  immediately  under 
the  surface  of  the  soil.  After  three  or  four  years  the 
plants  produce  fruit,  but  a full  harvest  is  not  obtained 
until  the  fifth  year.  They  continue  bearing  for  six 
or  seven  years  and  sometimes  longer.  The  usual 
yield  of  au  acre  of  five-year-old  plants  is  estimated 
at  300  pounds.  The  plants  flower  throughout  the 
whole  year.  Fruit  and  flower  are  always  seen  on  the 
plant  at  the  same  time.  But  the  harvesting  is  con- 
fined to  the  time  between  the  end  of  August  aud 
the  beginning  of  the  next  April,  more  particularly 
to  the  last  three  months  of  the  year. 
The  capsules  are  collected  when  they  become  firm, 
but  before  they  have  become  entirely  yellow,  in  which 
latter  condition  they  are  apt  to  burst  on  drying. 
Fully  ripe  fruit  separate  easily  from  the  stem,  those 
nearly  ripe  do  not.  A coolie  can  gather  as  much  as 
12  to  15  pounds  per  day.  Four  pound  fresh  capsules 
furnish  one  pound  of  dry. 
In  order  to  impart  a yellow  straw  color  to  the 
capsules,  they  are  subjected  to  a so-called  “curing” 
process.  They  are  first  placed  for  a short  time  into 
cold,  and  then  for  a minute  into  boiling  water,  next 
they  are  exposed  to  the  sun,  three  hours  during  the 
morning,  and  two  during  the  afternoon,  which  bleaches 
them.  In  some  mills  of  Colombo  the  fruits  are  some- 
times treated  with  sulphur  fumes.  When  the  fruit 
is  picked  the  stems  still  adhering  are  broken  off. — 
Montreal  Pharmaceutical  Journal. 
«, 
AN  IMMENSE  POULTRY  FARM. 
Americans  are  not  noted  for  doing  anything  on  a 
small  scale.  Even  the  poultry  farms  are  the  largest 
of  any  in  the  world.  Except  in  Egypt,  artificial 
hatching  is  carried  on  more  extensively  than  in  any 
other  country.  Mr.  Ross  A.  Smith,  of  Charleston, 
S.  C. , gives  an  account  of  a visit  to  the  largest 
poultry  farm  in  this  country,  or  in  any  other,  under 
one  management. 
The  owner  is  Dr.  T.  A.  Greene,  of  Boston,  but 
the  farm  is  located  at  Long  Island,  New  Hampshire, 
and  is  known  as  the  Roxmont  Poultry  Farm.  It 
consists  of  1,300  acres ; 200  are  under  cultivation  to 
raise  feed  for  poultry  kept  on  the  place,  and  thirty- 
five  carloads  are  purchased  besides. 
Fifteen  thousand  hens  and  four  thousand  ducks 
are  the  average  number,  and  120,000  chickens  and 
ducks  are  hatched  annually  by  seventeen  incubators 
of  640-egg  capacity  each,  and  they  are  kept  in  ope- 
ration all  the  time. 
One  laying  house  1000  * 25  feet  and  600  houses  6*8, 
incubator,  house  70*40,  two  stoves  and  cellar.  When 
all  the  incubators  are  located  the  upper  stories  are 
used  as  nurseries  for  chickens  just  hatched,  up  to 
eight  days  old. 
One  hundred  tons  of  coal  is  annually  used  to  heat 
the  buildings  and  furnish  power  to  grind  and  cook 
feed.  Ten  thousand  ducks  and  45,000  broilers  are 
marketed  annually,  and  the  daily  shipment  of  eggs 
averages  220  dozen.  The  Roxmont  farm  represents 
a capital  of  §120,000,  and  netted  a profit  the  first  year 
of  86,000,  with  a fair  prospect  of  doubling  it  this  year. 
Here  is  an  instance  where  capital  invested  in  poultry, 
properly  managed  in  a business  way,  pays.  As  a 
rule,  poultry  on  a large  scale  has  not  been  a profit- 
able investment  for  its  owner,  but  it  has  been  a 
lack  of  management  or  mismanagement,  undertaken 
by  an  inexperienced  person.  We  are  glad  to  present 
this  statement  to  our  readers,  for  we  know  it  is 
authentic.  Knowing  Mr.  Smith  personally  and  of 
his  public  career  for  several  years,  we  can  vouch 
for  the  correctness  of  this  statement.  I wish  we  had 
one  capitalist  in  Florida  who  had  sand  enough  to 
back  such  an  enterprise.  If  it  can  be  made  profit- 
able in  frozen  New  Hampshire,  it  certainly  can  be 
in  our  almost  perfect  climate  in  Florida. 
This  is  practical  poultry  culture,  with  the  fancy 
left  out.  Eggs  and  meat  are  the  objects  sought  after. 
The  varieties  are  not  mentioned,  but  no  doubt  a cross 
is  used.  As  the  fowls  are  raised  for  market,  princi- 
pally eggs,  I should  say  are  secondary  to  a meat 
supply,  and  broilers  are  the  most  prominent. 
E.  W.  Amsden. 
—Florida  Dispatch. 
[Like  banana  and  orange  growing,  poultry  rearing 
on  a large  scale  requires  to  have  a good  market 
close  at  hand.  That  and  cheap  grain  existin  America. 
—Ed.  T.A.] 
HINTS  AND  HELPS. 
To  Remove  Paint  Stains  from  Floors. — Soak  them 
with  benzine  or  turpentine  for  a short  time,  then 
rub  with  §mery  paper  or  pulverized  pumice  stone, 
