riPEllACE.E. 231 



CuAViCA, Miquel. 



Flowers dioecious. Bracts stipitate, pdtatc. Stamens 2 or 4. Oiary scssilo, 

 with .'5 to 6 sessile stigmas. Berries closely packed, often unilini; with, or half 

 immersed in the more or less succulent rachis. Shruhs or woody climbers. Leaves 

 alternate. Spikes solitary, pedunculate, leaf-oppo.sed. 



C. MACUOSTACHYA, Miq. Katchall (K.). 



*C. (Piper) bktle, L. India and Eiirma. Katchall. 



Kwon-ywet. Betel vine. 



This plant is cultivated all over India and Burma. It is planted in rows and 

 trained on a lattice work, or on poles, witliin an inclosure fenced on all sides and at 

 top, by a screen of grass or thatch, or a framework of bamboo, with the double 

 effect of promoting a moist atmosphere within and bleaching the leaves by the 

 exclusion of direct light. The plants are well watered, and a small door admits 

 the proprietor for the purpose of gathering the leaves, which are made up iu bundles 

 for the market. The leaf is warm and aromatic in flavour, and the ' pan,' so 

 universally chewed by all classes in India, is a little conical mouthful of an outer 

 wrapper of betel leaf, witliin which are folded a few chips of areca nut and 

 cardamoms or some spice. Previously to wrapping up these ingredients, the leaf 

 is smeared over with a paste made of fine sliell lime, without which alkaline addition 

 the tine red colour imparted to the saliva by chewing would not bo developed. The 

 areca nut, even when cut into small chips, is of course hard, and taxes the teeth 

 to chew properly, so old Burmans, who have lost their teeth, carry about a little 

 mortar, in which they bruise the ingredients of their ' betel ' before putting it into 

 their mouths. Chewing pan, when not extravagantly indulged iu, is a harmless 

 and probably beneficial luxury, and the preparation of the ingredients gives the 

 Burman as much pleasure as the preparation of his favourite pipe does the European 

 smoker. 



C. EiiiEsioiDES, "Wall. (M.). Burma. 



Tor-kwon. 



As Kurz does not include this plant, he probably regards it as identical with 

 the last. 



*C. (Piper) loxoum, L. (il.). 

 C. Hoxbury/iii, Miq. 



Peik-khyen. 



Long pepper is a creeper easily cultivated, and should be trained like hops on 

 poles. It is propagated by cuttings, and as the unripe fruit is the most powerful, 

 it is gathered when the berries are still green and before they ripen and turn red. 

 The root is used as a drug as well as the berries, but its properties are milder. 



Piper, Linnatis. 

 *P. xioRFM, L. (M.). Occasionally cultivated. 

 IS^ga-yok-koung. 



As in the case of P. longum, the berries dried before being perfectly ripe 

 constitute the black pepper of commerce. The white pepper is the same beriy 

 allowed to ripen, and then decorticated by maceration in water, the flavour conse- 

 quently being rendered milder than that of black pepper. 



The (jualities for which different peppers are valued depend on the presence of 

 an aromatic volatile oil, a resin, and a crystallizable principle, I'iperine, which is 

 present in all parts of the plant, but more abundantly iu the root and fruit. Pepper 

 seems to possess some merit as a febrifuge, and in mild forms of the disease, or in 

 malarious localities, is no doubt of considerable value, from its powerfully stimulant 

 and carminative properties. 



