FRUCTUS PIPERIS NIGRI. oji) 



the spices of India direct to the city of Antwerp. Strange to sa}', tliey 

 were received with great mistrust ! 



Pepper Avas heavily taxed in England. lu 1623 the imposts levied 

 on it amounted to 5s per lb.; and even down to 1823 it was suhject to 



a duty of 2s. Qd. per lb. 



Production — In the south-west of India, the plant, or Pepper Viae 

 as it is called, grows on the sides of the narrow valleys where the soil 

 is rich and moist, producing lofty trees by which a constant, favourable 

 coolness is maintained. In such places the pepper-vine runs along the 

 ground and propagates itself by striking out roots into the soil. • The 

 natives tie up the end of the vines lying on the ground to the nearest 

 tree, on the bark of which the stems put out roots so far as they have 

 been tied, the shoots above that hanging down. The plant is capable 

 of growing to a height of 20 or 30 feet, but for the sake of convenience 

 it is usually kept low, and is often trained on poles. In places where 

 no vines occur naturally, the plant is propagated by planting slips near 

 the roots of the trees on which it is to climb. 



The pepper plants if grown on a rich soil begin to bear even m the 

 first year, and continue to increase in productiveness till about the 

 fifth, when they yield 8 to 10 lb. of berries per plant, which rs about 

 the average produce up to the age of 15 to 20 years; after this they 

 berrin to decline. , 



When one or two berries at the base of the spike begin to turn reiJ, 

 the whole spike is pinched off. Next day the berries are rubbed oil 

 with the hands and picked clean; then dried for three days on mats, or 

 on smooth hard ground, or on bamboo baskets near a gentle tire. 



In Malabar the pepper-vine flowers in May and June and tne 

 fruits become fit for catherino- at the commencement of the tollowing 

 year.^ i f -ri • 



- The largest quantities of popper are produced in the ^/^f ^^ 'f f^ "^' 

 near Singapore, in Diohor (in the south-eastern coast of the ^^Jalajan 

 Peninsu£),\nd in Penang. The latter island affords on an aveiage 

 about one-half of the total crop. 



Description-The small, round, berry-like ^"its grow somewhat 

 loosely to the number of 20 to 80, on a common pendulous fimt^Uik. 



They are at first green, then become red, ^^^ /^f T'd t>v d^^C 

 yellow; but they are gathered before complete maturity and by d^ 

 "1 that state turn blackish grey or brown. If eft until quite npe tl.cy 

 lose some of - " ' . -n- ^.n .ff 



wrinkled 

 the very sli 



their pungency, and gradually fall ott. ^ 

 ■ies after drying are spherical, about ,; mu 



The berries after dr^ 



in diameter, 



irries after drying are spnenuti ^--" -^ , ^^ remains of 

 on the surface, indistinctly ];ointed ^e ow by tne 

 , ■ --. Jiort pedicel, and crowned still more "f «tinct ly by the ^ 

 ^obed stign/ The' thin pericarp tight yem^- a s^^^ 



embryo 



and mei 



of which in consequence of premature gathering IJ^'^q- 

 rely replaced by a cavity situated l^^bj .^^^^^fji,^^ 



The seed 



-u xnereiy replaced by a cavity si.uauc^^.^^ • ^^^^^ 



Itself contains within the thin red-brown testa » «' \"" °^ ^ culiar 

 and horny without, and mealy within. The pungent taste ana ^ 

 smell of pepper are familiar to all. . . e 



Microscopic Structure-The tmnsvc.o section of a gram ot 



■ F„, . w, ^„„„„t „f a,, ^^^ „, W' |»»«i f-rs: ' ' 



pepper, see Buchanan, Journey from Madras (180' ) *•>'' *'-" ' 



