408 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Dac. 1, 1903. 
NATURAL C a A.RA.Cr ERISTICS AND USES. 
[Mr P C MicM^ihoa, of Woxisiile, Unigala, 
wrote tlie followiag essay for circalatioa ab tlie St. 
Louis Exposition under tiia scheims appoved by tha 
Executive Comrnittee: but, it having bem rej 'cted, 
with regret, by the Cardamom Commitcee of the 
P.A., as too long, Mr MacMaboa sends it to ua 
for publicitioQ : — 
Cardamoms of commerce are the cured fruit of 
capsules with their seeds, of a plant known batani- 
cally as Elettaria OardamoDiuiii M it. M my kinds 
more or less related to the above afrow wil l in the 
the higher mountain-forests of Oaylon, Southera 
India, C Jchin-OUiua. Madagascar, and a few other 
countries. Of the above-named species what is 
known as the " Mysore " variety is the kind 
now almost entirely cultivated in Ceylon. It is 
distinguished from some of the others by a more 
robust habit, smooth glossy leaves, tall and erect 
influrescence, unfurrowed acd slightly-elongate 
capsules. The plant is of a bulbous nature and 
in the laying out of a plantation two of its bulbs 
with the whole of their long sterna, which some- 
times reach to the length of 12 feeo are planted 
in shallow holes, at the distance of 7tt. by 7ft. or 
8ft. by 8ft. according to the fancy of the planter or 
the nature of the soil he is bringing inio cultiva- 
tion. The stems are allowed to lie flat on tha 
ground. Great cave must be taken in choosing 
soil, as only the richest loam of the primeval forests 
will successfully grow this product. The trges 
of the latter must be thinned out, to afford the 
plants sufficient light, and at the same tiins, exclude 
the direct rays of the tropical sun. After two months 
shoots appear above ground from the planted 
bulhs, and as these grow and mature they in turn 
throw out further shoots orsteins, until at the end of 
three years a large clump of from 3 to 4 feet in 
diameter is formed— infl >resc nee or racemes which 
also rise from the bulb intermingling with the 
stems or in sloping sltuaiions gracefully hanging 
over. The racemes are now covered for rho whole 
length with bracts from which spring the pietty 
orchid like flowers of whitish colour with centre 
pink markings. These flowers are great favouritiea 
of the wild bees of the Island, who gather from 
them a rich store of honey and wax, .and, at the 
same time freely bestow their humming services 
in successfully fructifying same — the fruit buds of 
which after three to four months' growth changing 
into ripe capsules. When arrived at this state they 
are collected by the labours of the estate into bags 
and carried Lo the curing factory, where they are 
at first washed and for several days after bleached 
and dried in the sun, care being taken to avoid dis- 
colouration either by rain or damp and at the 
same time prevent as much as possible, by not too 
great exposure, the capsules from bursting and 
loosing their precious seeds. The next work is 
clipping the dried stems of the cipsules which 
came off with thern when being plucked. This work 
is done by women with small scissors, and is a slow 
and delicate operation. After having been clipped 
they are further bleached and dried, and then 
sorted into different grades usually called Nos. 1, 
2, 3, 4, " splits, " and " seeds, " after which they 
are packed in paper-lined boxes and despatched to 
the metropolis of the island, Colombo, where they 
are either sold locally for export to India or 
shipped to England and the "continent" for com- 
mercial gale. 
The uses and virtues of cardamoms have been 
Itaowa to many of the Eastern nationa from the 
earliest periods, and so highly do the Hindoos 
value them, that they have bestowed on the seeds 
the political name of " grains of paradise." In 
the receptions of the higher classes of this nation 
among themselves sugar-coated cardamoms are 
always presented to the guests, and often on these 
occasions the youthful mother of the house, if there 
happen to be such a one, hands or leads round for 
inspection, what she in the intensity of her delight 
loves to call her "sugar cardamom," namely her 
.!atest-born babe and favourite child. The consump- 
tion of cardamoms by these people and the Burmese 
is very great and must reach close on 1,000,000 lbs, 
annually. They use them extensively in cooking, 
in the manufacture of confectionery, toilet, oils, 
medicines, tooth-powders, and in masticating with 
the betel leaf which is a kmdof pepper. In England 
and the oiher States of Europe they aie also largely 
u^ed, and the export from India and Ceylon, Indo- 
China to there totals now over another 1,000,000 
lb. per year. The principal uses which the home 
countries apply them to are the manufacture of 
cakes, confectionery, sausages, liquors, and in the 
packing of fruit, fish, etc, etc. In the public bars 
too, they are also coming into use, for dispelling 
from the breitth of the frequenters the n luseatiug 
smell of tobacco and alcohol. In medicine and for 
toilet purposes their use is legion, and far too 
numerous to mention here. On the whole it may 
be safely said that as a spice they are now the most 
appreciated of any known to mankin i. This to 
some extent is shown by the rapid extension of 
cultivation in Ceylon — th it island in 1883 exported 
only 21,655 lb, while in 1902 it rose to fil5,922 lb. 
and tins year it is expectel to yield 753,000 In. 
It is to be regretted that this " giant republic" 
so far this year has taken direct only 1,215 lb. By 
the help of the betcer knowledge of the spice which 
this great Exposition will afford its people, and the 
fast rising commercial marine which the nation is 
sendioo forth, it may safely be predicted that a 
larger imporc of cardamoms and more reciprocity 
of trade will soon spring up between it and '' little 
Ceylon," the Taprobaueof the ancient Greeks and 
*' Pearl of India." 
TEOUT-FISHING UP TO DATE. 
Nowhere but in America would anyone have 
been d^.ring enough to attempt the packing of six 
miles of excelleuC trout-fishing into 104 acres of 
land. The Castalia Trout Ciub, of Cieveiand, 
Oaio, according to V.C., have not merely at- 
tempted this fsdt bub have been successful in their 
attc'mpb. Within the narrow limits at their 
disposal they cut out of the solid limestone six 
miles of winding channel, with cunning eddies and 
seductive pools besprinkled along its course. The 
club possesses its own hatchery, and spawn is 
obDained from sound parent-fish out of the stream 
itself. — Westminster Budget, Oct 16. 
TROUT FOR AUSrR.^LLlAN RIVERS. 
The R.M.S. " Orrauz" brought from Sydney 
last week a consignment of young Rainbow trout 
for some of our inland streams. Altogether 1,000 
trout were shipped ab Sydney, bub only 600 survived 
the voyage. The Inspector of Fisheries (Mr T 
Duffield) has forwarded the trout to gentlemen 
in different parts of the state with the object of 
stocking some of the rivers — Adelaide Observer, 
Oct. 24. 
