426 
SPICES 
CHAP. 
with yams, maize, castor - oil, brinjals, onions, etc. 
(Watt’s Dictionary of Economic Products). 
It is often planted on old sugar-cane fields, and is 
considered an ameliorating crop. Most Bengal native 
gardens have a patch of turmeric to supply the native 
curry powder, for which it is much in demand. 
Turmeric will grow luxuriantly in shade if not too 
dense, but it produces larger and better rhizomes in the 
open ground, exposed to the sun. Low-lying wet 
ground does not suit it, and it will not stand being 
flooded. In ground too dry, and in dry seasons of con- 
siderable duration, irrigation is necessary, and as this 
supplying of the plant with water makes a considerable 
difference to the cost of cultivation, damp soils are 
preferred when obtainable. 
Preparation of the Soil. — In most parts of India 
where the plough is commonly used, the ground is 
ploughed over as for ginger, and all weeds cleared away. 
In the Malay peninsula, the Chinese, the usual culti- 
vators, hoe the ground and make it loose and friable, in 
the same way as they prepare the ground for ginger. 
It is said that lands intended for turmeric do not require 
so much working over as those for ginger, but six or 
seven ploughings are sufficient for the crop. 
Planting. — Turmeric, like ginger, is propagated by 
small pieces of the rhizome. These are usually in India 
planted in the early part of the year ; in Patna, about 
the 20th of May ; in Bengal, from February to June ; 
in Madras, in June or July. These various dates, given 
in Watt’s Dictionary, seem to suggest a difference in 
the time of rainfall, as it is essential that it should be 
planted when the soil is damp. In the Malay peninsula, 
no special time is selected for planting, as the rains are 
pretty constant throughout the year and it can be 
planted at almost any time. 
The principle of planting is much the same as for 
ginger. The ground is dug into ridges and furrows. In 
Bengal, the ridges are made 9 or 10 in. high and 18 or 
20 in. wide, with trenches 9 or 10 in. wide between, or, 
