X 
CARDAMOMS 
335 
sometimes one or two cuts are necessary ; the separated 
portion is then broken up into bulbs by hand. The 
objection to this system is that the wounded side of fhe 
plant takes a long time to recover, and frequently such 
plants continue to bear on one side only. 
A better system is to select and mark out a portion 
of the clearing, and uproot the whole of it. The clumps 
are then broken up into sets, some of which can be used 
for replanting. 
In buying “ bulbs ” from natives, Owen cautions the 
planter to take care to see that inferior plants are 
not mixed with the true Malabar cardamoms, as this 
may cause much loss and disappointment. The velvety 
feeling on the under surface of the leaf and leaf sheath 
and the pure white or greenish colour (not tinted with 
pink) of the bulb distinguishes the right Malabar. 
Double bulbs ” alone should be bought. These consist 
of two stems connected together, and should have a 
shoot or two springing from the leaves. Such bulbs 
consisting of a single stem and a bulbous base, even if 
offered cheap, are worthless and sure to fail. A single 
bulb, however, with a well-developed shoot springing 
from it, if not denuded of all its roots, will probably 
succeed. The bulbs should also be fresh, for although 
the rhizomes retain their vitality for a long time under 
adverse circumstances, yet the fresher they are the 
better. The dealers in bulbs buy them in small lots at 
one rupee a hundred, and in the case of large orders, have 
to get them from numerous localities at once, so that 
it frequently happens that a portion of the bulbs de- 
teriorate greatly before the full complement of the order 
is obtained. 
Ehizomes can be purchased through the Botanic 
Gardens at Peradeniya and through European dealers in 
plants in Ceylon and India, by which means the best 
bulbs fit for planting may be obtained. It does not pay 
in the cultivation of cardamoms or anything else to take 
inferior stock because it is cheap ; it usually eventually 
turns out much dearer. 
