8i0 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [June 1, 1904. 
the coral sand of the islands, which is abundant 
knd cheap, can be used to supply lime ; the wood 
a^he?^ too, which can sometimes be obtained, contain 
abont 30 per cent, of lime, in addition to the more 
valuable potash. When ihe cocoa is harvested ind 
prepared, the husks and pulp can bo returned to the 
eoil, but the beans are completely removed, so that 
pbtash they contain is lost to land. 
ANALYSIS OP THE COCOA BEANS. 
Cocoa beans, like all fruits rich in carbohydrate?, 
are rich also in potash. ICO Samoan cocoa beans 
were found to weigh 66*4 grams, of which 7"2 grams 
(ID'S percent.) were shells and the remaining 59'2 
grams (89'2 per cent ) were kernels. The shells con- 
tained 5 8 per cent, of ash, in 100 parts of which 
there were 41'6 parts of potash (K2O), 8 0 parts of 
(Ca O), and 19'8 parts of phosphorus pentoxide (P^O^). 
The kernels contained 2 8 per cent, of ash, in 10" 
parts of which there were 31"8 parts of potash, 5'2 
parts of lime, and 37"5 parts of phosphorus pentoxide. 
From this it follows that 100 lbs. of cocoa beans 
contain 0-88 lbs. of potash in the kernels and 0-26 lbs. 
of potash in the shells, making a total of I'll lbs 
of potash. Allowing 
200 COCOA TREES PER ACRE, 
and assuming that they yielded the exceptionally good 
harvest of 4| lb. per tree, there would be 900 lb. of 
beans removed per acre, taking with them 10| lbs. 
of potash. This would be the loss if all the husks 
and refuse were returned to the soil, which, however, 
does not always happen, and besides this a certain 
amount of potash is used in producing the annual 
increase in size of the tree, and is consequently 
stored away in the wood. This estimate points to 
abont 20 lb. of potash as the amount that should 
be supplied per acre in the manure. It could be 
given by applying about 40 lb. per acre of commercial 
potassium chloride manure, costing about 11. 10s. at 
Stassfnrt, in Germany, the pKce of manufacture ; 
in addition to this, the cost of freight would have 
to be allowed for. If good wood ashes were pro- 
curable, about 200 lbs. of them would give the re- 
quisite 20 lbs. of potash ; but if they had been ex- 
posed to rain or wet, the valuable potash in thsm 
would have beeu washed out, as it is present in a 
soluble state. 
MAlfUBING TO IMPROVE THE SOIL. 
This manuring may be expected not only to supply 
food to the tree, but also to improve the physical 
condition "of the soil and increase its power of re- 
taining moisture in dry weather. It should bs 
applied in the dry weather when the weeding of 
the plantation is undertaken, and should be hoed 
into the surface of the soil extending to a distance 
of about 3 ft. from the stem all round, and this area 
should be covered with a layer of dead weeds to 
protect the soil from drying. As the upper portion 
of the tap root is surrounded by a thick web of crown 
root?) which lie close under the surface, any hoeiug 
must always be done very superficially and v/ith 
great care to avoid injuring tho roots. 
Iritis hoped that the experiments which are now 
being carried on in Samoa according to Prof. Wohlt- 
man's directions will yield results of great value for 
the^'guidance of cocoa planters. — Imperial Institute 
Bulletin. 
CARDAMOM CULTIVATION, 
THE INDUSTRY IN INDIA. 
The growing of cardamoms is one of the minor 
planting industries of some considerable importance 
in Ceylon, and the pushing of the sale of this ex- 
cellent spice has lately been carried out somewhat 
extensively in Australia, in Europe especially in 
Germany, France and Sweden. Iq America as yet 
little has been done with cardamoms, but the 
epecial display of the apice iu the Ceylon Court at 
the St. Louis Exposition and also in the Indian Exhi- 
bit will doubtless result in making the product better 
known among the American salesmen, and helped 
and encouraged by judicious booming, farther and 
larger imports will follow. The proposed Cardamom 
Cess, presently under discussion by a Special Carda- 
mom Oommittee appointed by the Ceylon P, A,, 
if approved finally lay Government, will do much to 
push on the sale. 
In India'where the cardamom is indigenous planters 
do ne t seem, according to a writer in " Capital," to 
take Eo much trouble over the cultivation as in Ceylon. 
Greater attention ought to be paid in India to 
the systematic cultiva'ion of cardamoms, which the 
Hindus valued so highly recently, that they have 
named the seeds " grains of paradise." In India and 
Burmah alone, the use of the spice is very consider- 
able, and has been computed to reach nearly one mil- 
lion lbs, annually. But as the market is extending 
producers ought to be on the alei t, and planters in India 
should endeavour to emulate the enterprise of Ceylon, 
in which Island the area under cadamoms is very 
steadily increasing. 
THE MYSORE VARIETY. 
It is noteworthy that the variety now entirely cul- 
tivated in Ceylon is what is known as " Mysore." 
It is distinguished from some of the others by a 
more robust habit, smooth glossy leaves, tall and 
erect, iuflorescence, uufurrowed and slightly elongate 
capsules. The plant is of a bulbous nature, and 
two of the bulbs with their stems are planted in 
holes, at a distance of 7 ft. by 7 ft., the stems being 
allowed to lie fiat on the ground. 
CULTIVATION AND PBEPAHATION OF THE CI10P3. 
It has been found that only the richest loam of 
the primeval forest will grow this product. The 
forest trees must be thinned out to afford eufQcient 
light, but at the same time the direct rays of the 
sun must be excluded. After two months shoots come 
up, and as they grow they throw out further shoots,, 
until at the end of three years a large clump is 
formed. The racemes are now covered for the whole 
length with bracts from which spring the iiowera. 
In three or four months the fruit buds change into 
ripe capsules, and then picking begins. Labourers 
collect the capsules in bags and carry them to the 
factory, where, after being washed, they are bleached 
and dried in the sun for seveial days, precautions 
being taken against disooluration by rain or damp. 
On the other haod, over exposure tends to burst the 
capsules. After this drying and bleaching, the dried 
stems of the capsules are clipped off with small scissors 
by women clippers. Then follows another process 
of bleaching and drying, after which the cardamoms 
are sorted and packed in paper-lined boxes for ex- 
poration, 
METHODS IN COORG. 
Cardamom cultivation, as carried out by the natives 
of Coorg, is deeply interesting in several respects. To 
begin with, the Coorgs say that the plant will 
only grow in places where the ground has been 
shaken and opened up by the fall of large trees. 
The first thing, however, in laying out a garden in the 
jungle is to select certain particular trees to be 
tolled. Superstition decrees that this must be under- 
tiikou only on certain days of the week, the felling to 
be completed within a forenoon. Moreover, the 
presence of certain plants, such as ebony, nutmeg and 
pepper near the felled monarchs of the forests, is 
taken as an indication that the site is highly suit- 
able for a garden. Felling operations begin in 
February or March, and within three nontbs, by 
which time the monsoon has set in, 
YOUNG CARDAMOM PLANTS 
spring up spontaneously on all sides, mostly round the 
fallen trunks. By the beginning of the second year, 
when they have attained a height of abont 2 feet, 
weeding operations are started, each plant being 
