434 
SPICES 
CHAP. 
that the roots are carefully dried and separately boiled 
in a mixture of cow-dung and water, then dried and 
sent to market (Watt’s Dictionary), 
A planter in the Indian Planters' Gazette says 
the rhizomes are sorted into two sizes, the smaller and 
larger ones, as the latter require more boiling. They 
are then thrown into separate pots filled with water, 
with an admixture of cow-dung and tamarind leaves. 
They are then boiled for two or three hours according 
to their size and spread out to dry. The boiling and 
drying makes them shrink to half their original size, 
and the loss in weight varies from 30 to 40 per cent. 
Mukerji says that the rhizomes are to be cut in two 
if too fat, dried and boiled in water mixed with cow-dung, 
but that as soon as the water begins to boil it should 
be taken from the fire, and the turmeric taken out and 
put out in the sun. The heap should be stirred and 
turned two or three times a day, and the smaller pieces 
sorted out as they dry, leaving the thicker pieces to dry 
for another day or two. Daily in the evening the 
turmeric exposed to the sun should be rubbed, the 
rubbing making the rhizomes clean and smooth. 
AREAS OF CULTIVATION 
There has never been any great amount of cultiva- 
tion of turmeric outside the East Indies. Its demand 
is, except for its use as a dye, almost exclusively for 
curry powder, which has always been associated with 
the East Indies, and has not found favour in the 
western world. Nor is it to any great extent in demand 
in Europe. Its cultivation and use in Western India 
may be of comparatively recent date, as Linschoten, 
who spent several years on the Malabar coast from 1596, 
does not mention it while describing the curry stuffs of 
that region. 
The plant has been introduced from the East Indies 
into most of the Botanic Gardens of the world, but in 
the greater part of the tropics curry is not the common 
