840 
SPICES 
CHAP. 
at least. In some grounds, with a good and not too 
abrupt a slope, drainage is hardly necessary, except for 
a few surface drains to run off the rain as it falls, and to 
dry the roads through the estate. 
Planting Out. — Seedlings must not be transplanted 
too young, as they are very delicate and do not bear 
transplanting well. It is therefore advisable to sow the 
nursery beds thinly, so that the plants may be allowed 
to become of a good size, about I ft. tall, before shifting, 
[f planted too close they interfere with each other’s 
growth, and it is difficult to move them without injury 
to the roots. Should the seedlings be found to be 
coming up too closely, it is advisable to prick them out 
into baskets ready for planting out when they are big 
enough. This is better than shifting them into other 
beds, and transplanting later. In all plants, especially 
those of a herbaceous character, the less you interfere 
with the roots by shifting the better, and this is most 
important in the case of young seedlings. 
In any case, even if crowded, they should not be 
moved at all till they are at least 4 in. tall, and have 
developed the second and third leaves. 
In Kanara, the system, according to Mollison, is to 
thin out the seedlings if they come up too close, leaving 
the remainder for four or five months in the seed-bed, 
which is kept moist. They are then transplanted to a 
second nursery. 
Eice-beds in the neighbourhood of the gardens are 
commonly used, where there is a plentiful supply of 
water. 
A series of narrow channels is cut in the rice-bed 
parallel to each other, and 2 to 2^ ft. apart. The soil from 
the furrows is put on the ridges between, so that a series 
of ridges and furrows is formed over the whole space. 
On the ridges the little cardamom plants are planted in 
two rows, and 9 to 12 in. apart. A shade of bamboo 
covered with palm leaves tied on gives enough shadow 
and protection from the wind and rain. The irrigation 
water is allowed to run through the channels continu- 
