TURMERIC, Curcuma lancet,. see CURCUMA, a plant of the natural order scitaminau a native of the East Indies. much cultivated both in India and in Cochin-China. The leaves arc lanceolate. sheathing each other at the base, about a foot long; they spring from the crown of the root, and from their center rises a short leafy spike, with small The root is divided into several fleshy fingers, oblong, and as thick as a man's thumb, sometimes crooked when young, and the root then abounds in a kind of a•row-root; but in a more advanced stage, it contains in large quantity a peculiar, resinous, yellow substance, which is used as a dye-stuff, and for other pur and is called turmeric. It appears in commerce in the form of dried roots, or as a powder. It depends for its value chiefly on a resinous principle called cureumin, whirl) is scarcely soluble in water, but easily soluble in alcohol and ether. The yellow color obtained from turmeric is not very durable, although it is employed as a dye both for silk and wool. Chemists make much use of turmeric as a test for alkalies, which change its yellow color to reddish brown, as rho also their carbonates and phos phates, some of the alkaloids, and horacic acid. Turmeric test-paper is made by immers
ing unsized paper in tincture of turmeric. It is much employed in the east in medi cine, as a gentle laxative, diuretic, and stimulant. It is also much used as a condiment with many kinds of food, and is the principal ingredient in curry-powder. For its cul• tivation, turmeric requires a rich friable soil, and a situation not liable to he flooded. It is propagated by cuttings of the root, which are planted at distances of eighteen in. or two feet. It is planted in April of May, and the crop is gathered in December. This kind of turmeric is sometimes distinguished by the name of Lorca TURMERIC; and the name of Romm TURMERIC is given to kampferia pandureta, a plant of the same order, also a native of the East Indies, the roots of which are shorter and rounder, but otherwise of very similar quality. They are not nearly so much an article of commerce as the other kind, but ire particularly valued for the preparation of au artificial gold. varnish, as they yield a better color than the long or true tuineric. The Arabic name of tunicric is karkum, whence curcunza.