CURCUMA LONGA. Roxb. Turmeric.
Amomum curcuma, Gnyel. Zirsud;Urukussarr,AnAm 311ella kua, . MALEAL. Habil, . BEN., Dux., H. Zar chobeh, . PERS.
Arisina, . . . . (JAN. Karlcum, . . . „ Kupciros Indikos, CR. Haridra; Poeta, . SANSK. Haradul„ GUJ., Small. Munjal, . . . .
Koonhet„ . . MALAY. Pasupu; Patnpi, , TEL.
Turmeric is grown all over India and the Archipelago, frequently along the edge of fields of ginger, in the Panjab, Siwalik tract, aud outer hills, from 2000 to 5500 feet, up to the Ravi at least, and occasionally beyond that. It has large whitish flowers, with a faint tinge of yellow, the tuft greenish white. In cultivating it, the ground must be rich, friable, and so high as not to be drowned in the rainy season,—such as the Bengali ryots about Calcutta, call danga. It is often planted on land where sugar-cane grew the pre ceding year, and is deenied a meliorating crop. The soil must be well ploughed and cleared of weeds, etc., and in April and May, according as the rains begin to fall, the soil is raised into ridges 9 or 10 inches high, and 18 or 20 broad, with intervening trenches 9 or 10 inches broad. The cuttings or sets, consisting of small portions of the fresh root, are planted ou the tops of the ridges, at about 18 inches or 2 feet asunder. One acre requires about from 900 such seta, and yields in December and January about 2000 lbs. weight of the fresh root. The tubers are a deep orange inside, bitter, and aromatic. The colour
ing matter of the dried root in bright yellow, soluble in alcohol and water, aud changed to a deep red by alkalies. It is employed by tho wool dyers for compound colours of yellow, as for cheap browns and olives ; as a yellow dyo it is employed only in silk. In 1880-82 only 70,783 cwt. were exported from India. White paper dyed by an alcoholic tincture of turmeric is a very sensitive test for alkalies. The root enters into many of the religious ceremonies of the Ilindus. The entire, or the corners, of every now article of dress, whether of man or woman, are stained before wearing it with a paste made of the root and water. 31ixed with lime, it forms the liquid used in the Arati ceremony for warding off the evil eye. 1Vomen use it largely as a cosmetic, and some smear all the body with it as a detergent. It is a mlld aromatic and carminative, and is largely used as a condiment in curries ; the paste is applied to foul ulcers. Clothes dyed with it aro deemed a protection against fever ; and the Javanese make an ointment of the pounded roots, and rub it all over their bodies as a preservative against fever. NVith it, in conjunction with lime-juice, the Hindus of the sect of Vishnu preparo their yellow tiroochoornum, with which they make the per pendicular mark on their foreheads.—Ainslie; Roxb. ; O'Sh.; Royle ; Dr. Shorts.