424 
SPICES 
CHAP. 
in Tamil ; Katha, Cingalese ; Kunyet in Malay, Kuong- 
huyuh in Cochin-China, and Kiang-hoang in Chinese. 
The English word turmeric is of unknown deriva- 
tion, and the old word for it, terra-merita, seems rather 
to be derived from it. From the Arabic Kurhum, we 
get the Latin Curcuma. 
HISTORY 
Turmeric does not seem to have been known as early 
as ginger, and never ranked in importance as high as that 
spice, being chiefly valued for its colour. Dioscorides, 
A.D. 77 or 78, mentions a kind of “cyperus’' which 
resembles ginger, but when chewed has a yellow colour 
and bitter taste, — doubtless turmeric. Marco Polo men- 
tions it as occurring at Koncha (the neighbourhood of 
Fokien, in China) in 1280, describing it thus : “ There 
is also a vegetable which has all the properties of true 
Saffron, as well the smell as the colour, and yet it is not 
really Saffron. It is held in great estimation, and being 
an ingredient in all their dishes, it bears on that account 
a high price. This could only refer to turmeric, though 
it is used more as a dye-stuff in China nowadays than a 
spice. In medieval times it was commonly known as 
Indian Saffron {crocus indicus), by which Latin name 
Garcia da Orta mentions it. He states that in his time 
much was produced in Cananor and Calicut, and a small 
quantity from Goa. Great plenty was imported by the 
Arabs, Persians, and Turks, who obtained it from India. 
VARIETIES 
There does not seem to be much variation in the 
plant or its produce. In the trade, however, it is dis- 
tinguished into China, Madras, Bengal, and Cochin. 
China turmeric is the most esteemed, but is seldom to 
be met with in the market. Madras and Bengal are 
the ordinary trade turmerics. Cochin turmeric does 
not appear to belong to Curcuma longa at all, but to 
be the produce of C. aromatica. 
