ery rare, the
former is the common article of commerce. According to one of my
correspondents, Mr. Hepburn, chemist, of Falmouth, Jamaica, the common
or long turmeric is indigenous to that island, growing luxuriantly in
the mountainous districts, in rather damp soils, its locality being in
the vicinity of rivers, water-courses and springs. In this respect it
differs from ginger, which requires a rather dry soil for its culture.
I am not aware that this plant possesses the property of impoverishing
the soil like the ginger. From the general habits of the plant in its
natural state, we may gather the following rules for our guidance in
its culture. The plants should be laid down in rows of five or six
inches distant from each other, in a soil moderately damp, of an
aluminous or clayey nature, and free to a great extent of the more
soluble alkalies, potash and soda, as these, by absorption, may
destroy the coloring matter of the plant, and so diminish its value as
a dye-stuff. Finally, in preparing the roots for exportation, they
should be cleansed from all earthy particles, exposed for drying in
the shade, and without any further preparation bagged for shipment.

The coloring matter of turmeric is of an orange yellow color
exceedingly delicate and capable of change, either from the action of
light or of alkalies, which turn it to a dark brown color. It is
slightly soluble in water, and readily soluble in an alkaline
solution, becoming dark brown. Alcohol extracts the coloring matter.
The uses to which turmeric is applied are two: as an ingredient in the
curry powder and paste, and as a dye for silk. It was some time ago
used as a medicine; but though retained in the "Pharmacopoeias" of the
present day, it is entirely discarded by the practitioner as a
curative agent. The best Bengal and Malabar turmeric fetches a price
nearly as high as that of ginger, and I see no reason why the West
India planter could not send it into the British market quite as cheap
as the East India trader. According to Dallas, 397 bags of turmeric
were exported from Jamaica in 1797.

Turmeric is grown about the city of Patna and Behar. It is much
cultivated about Calcutta and all parts of Bengal. One acre yields
about 2,000 lbs. of the fresh root. It is also grown on the central
table land of Afghanistan. The exports from Calcutta in 1841 were
11,000 Indian maunds, and 28,137 in 1842. The value of that exported
from Madras in 1839 was 40,000 rupe