362 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Nov., 1902. 
by exposure to the sun, being spread out for the purpose on large mats, and. 
taken in at night. Four days’ good sun dries them properly, but too much 
exposure would result in the bursting of the capsules. After being dried, they 
assume a yellowish white colour. If rains comes down, the drying is effected 
by means of the smoke of wood fires, but by this process the cardamoms turn a 
darkish colour, which reduces their value. ‘I'he last process, before the dried 
capsules are packed in close baskets and made ready for market, consists in: 
removing the fruit stalks and all impurities. Precautions arealso taken to keep. 
dry and green capsules apart ; besides which, different qualities of capsules are 
carefully separated, those having the largest number of fruit-bearing racemes on 
one stem fetching the best price and being technically known as “ full crop.” 
‘The Coorgs have several superstitions regarding the cultivation of carda- 
moms. The felling of the big trees must be completed by noon, for it is deemed 
unlucky to fell in the afternoon, Tuesday and Friday are considered very 
auspicious days for beginning cultivation, whereas Sunday is always avoided as 
unlucky. The presence of certain plants, such as ebony, dammer, wild nutmeg, 
and wild pepper, near the felled trees is looked upon asa sure sign that the 
site cleared for new gardens is favourable for a rich crop. To ascertain this, a 
few big trees are sometimes felled one year and the following year, the presence 
or absence of the lucky trees just named is looked for, and only if they are 
found is the site used for a garden. 
Cardamoms serve a great variety of purposes, and possess, therefore, 
considerable commercial value. In commerce, several varieties are distinguished 
according to their sizeand flavour. The most esteemed are knownas “shorts,” bein 
from a quarter to half-an-inch long and about a-quarter broad. TJ ollowing those 
come “short longs” and ‘long longs,” also distinguished by their size, the 
largest reaching about an inch in length. The * shorts” are more coarsely 
ribbed and of a brown colour. They are commercially called Malabar car- 
damoms or Wynaad cardamoms, and reckoned the best of the tree. ‘The “long 
longs” are more finely ribbed and of a paler colour, the seeds being white and 
shrivelled. ‘The “short longs” differ from the latter only in being shorter or 
less pointed. Large cardamoms, distinct from these, are furnished by a dif- 
ferent species of amomum. 
In Travancore, where the cardamom grows spontaneously in the hills, in 
the deep shade of the forest, the cultivation has hitherto been almost entirely 
in native hands. The cultivators early in the season go up from the low 
country, cut the brushwood, burn the creepers, and otherwise clear the soil for 
the growth of the plants as soon as the rains fall. The rainy months are 
terribly malarious, so the cultivators hurry back to return at crop time. Tilla 
few years ago, cardamoms were State monopoly, but this system has been almost 
totally abolished and a system of land tax introduced instead, with consider- 
able profit to the Sirkar. In Coorg and Wynaad, also, the industry is almost 
entirely in native hands, though the cultivators can always obtain remunerative | 
prices from planters and European merchants. On the Anger Kandy Settlement, 
near Tellichery, there are fine gardens, which yield very satisfactory returns. 
The cardamom is not very largely used in English cookery, but in Northern 
Europe it is extensively consumed, being much in requisition for flavouring 
pastry. In India it is greatly prized, and is an article of almost daily use, 
being substituted for tobacco as well as for betel and pan, as well as partaken 
of in conjunction with these articles. The capsules are used by natives in 
flavouring sweetmeats and certain cooked dishes, while, when tender, they are 
pickled. The use of the spice, both as a medicine and a luxury, has gone up 
steadily, so that cardamom cultivation, systematically conducted, would be a 
suitable industry, especially for native capitalists and planters. The cost of 
cultivation does not amount to much, while by the adoption of improved methods, 
such as timely transplantation, trenching, manuring, and irrigation, quantity 
and quality of crop could both be substantially improved. ‘The plant easily 
repays care bestowed npon it, almost the only necessary conditions being that 
it should be raised on congenial soil and harvested and cured with due regard 
to the needs of buyers and consumers. F 
