X 
CARDAMOMS 
351 
perforated, and which are used by the natives for all 
kinds of spices, rice, etc., which they dry in such trays. 
Owen gives another system of curing when there is 
no house, or stove, or appliances for doing the thing 
well. A day’s gathering should be thrown into a large 
tub or box at 4 p.m., and thoroughly washed in cold 
water. After washing the fruit can be taken out 
of the water and put into a box or sack over night. 
Next morning wash the fruit again and spread them 
out on Hessian cloth or mats in the sun. About 9 a.m. 
they begin to get dry ; they should be sprinkled with 
water from a watering-can, and given a shake-up so 
that all the fruit will get wet. Expose them to the 
sun again to get dry, and when they look dry, say about 
eleven o’clock, water them again as before. Water them 
three or four times a day for the first two days, after 
which you can begin to dry them gradually (without 
watering). This is done by exposing them daily in the 
sun, say from 6 to 11 a.m., and from 1 to 4 p.m. ; from 
1 1 to 1 o’clock, if the sun is very hot, draw a thin cloth 
or mat over the fruit while on the barbecue (a cement 
floor for drying produce) in the sun. This process must 
be carried on daily for a fortnight, or perhaps more, 
until the fruit is thoroughly dried. During the night 
spread them out thinly over your store floor, away from 
any chance of their getting damp, as damp or mildew is 
bad for them. After clipping and sorting out husks 
and light fruit, and separating the split fruit from the 
good, the fruits are sorted by passing them into three 
sizes or grades. 
After the sorting is finished the fruit is sulphured in 
a box prepared for the purpose. The box is made to hold 
a number of trays or tats, say 1^ in. square frame. On 
this nail cane or bamboo tats, or open jute Hessian 
cloths. From the bottom of the box to the first tray 
there should be at least 1 ft. clear space for placing the 
sulphur, which is put in tin saucers. It is well to have 
the saucer resting on a stone while the sulphur is 
burning in the box. 
