INVESTIGATIONS ABOUT THE DYING OUT OF PEPPER- 
VINES IN THE DUTCH EAST INDIES. 
UL Pepper Cultivation in the Residency Lampongsche Districten. 
Summary. 
L. This third and last contribution on pepper and its diseases had to 
be published now although not yet finished, as the author is leaving his 
position at Buitenzorg. 
IL. Pepper has been the chief crop of the Lampongs for centuries. It 
is cultivated now in the same parts of the Residency as two hundred 
years ago. Half of the pepper produce of Netherlands India comes from 
this Residency (about 12 million KG). 
Periodically complaints are heard about a decrease of the pepper cul- 
tivation; these are especially frequent when many vines are dying by draught 
in times of high prices. 
These last 50 years the prices of Lampong-pepper 4 times went down 
at 10 guilders and even less per pikol (60 KG) and 4 times went up to 
30 guilders, twice even to 40 guilders per pikol. 
Three varieties are planted in the Lampongs: “lada boelak”, “lada 
Djambi” and “lada belantoeng”. 
IL. Pepper cultivation in de Dutch East Indies has two distinct forms: 
on the one hand the cultivation, as practised since many centuries by the 
Malay in Sumatra, a form of agriculture based on exhausting the virgin 
soil and leaving it alone afterwards, on the other hand the cultivation, as 
practised by the Chinese, a refined form of horticulture. The pepperculti- 
vation in the Lampongs is of the first-mentioned type. 
The production of the vines averages about 1'/, lb. black pepper a 
year, the vines lasting for about 15—20 years. 
IV. A disease caused by Nematodes does not exist. Everywhere in the 
roots Nematodes are to be found, which are practically harmless. Roots of 
159 vines, for the greater part very fine ones, have been examined: in 
150 Nematodes have been found; only in 9 these seemed not to be present. 
Root-fungus is present in rare cases. 
The stem-disease from Malang (Java) has not been found in the Lam- 
pongs. 
