X 
CARDAMOMS 
339 
that cardamoms require a certain amount of shade. 
Plants grown in full sun seem to deteriorate soon, and 
even if some plants thus grown do develop rapidly the 
racemes do not grow to any size, only extending to a 
few inches in length, in fact only as far as the shade of 
the foliage extends. If the method of growing in 
clearings in forests is adopted, a certain number of trees 
are left standing to make a light shade, and it is 
advisable to have this light shade too dense at first to 
allow for death of trees or loss by wind. The loss ot 
trees after clearing brushwood and small timber away, 
and letting the light into the forest, is always greater 
than might appear likely, and a large proportion of the 
trees left standing will be certain to die after thinning 
out. It is easy to thin out the trees if the shade is too 
dense at a later period. In many parts of India, e.g. in 
Kanara and Mysore, the plant is grown between betel- 
nut palms or bananas, or in gardens of mixed cultivation 
where the other cultivated plants give it the requisite 
shade. 
In such a cultivation as this, it is undoubtedly best 
to select a piece of ground upon which there are a 
number of trees already. Secondary growth of small 
trees is suitable, if procurable. Failing this, it will 
be requisite to plant rapidly growing shade trees, such 
as the rain -tree, Inga Saman^ Saga, Adenanthera 
pavonina, Albizzia moluccana, or the like. As trees 
to give shade are naturally slower in growth than the 
cardamoms, they should be planted as early as possible. 
In selecting the best trees for rapid growth, the planter 
will have to use his judgment to a considerable extent, 
for a tree which is of rapid growth in one country or at 
one altitude is not necessarily suited for another region 
or height. It may grow in one place more slowly or 
not at all, while in another it grows with great ra 
and is in every way suitable. 
Draining . — The extent and depth to which drains 
should be dug depends on the nature and slope of the 
soil. In flat wet land they will require to be 2 ft. deep 
