MINOR VEGETABLE PRODUCTS.AND THEIR SOURCES. 201 
of a fine red or crimson color when fresh, becomes a golden yellow when 
dry, and artificial heat is sometimes applied to produce this purely fan- 
ciful cojor, as it adds no intrinsic value to the article. The nuts are 
liable ti Je injured by insects; to guard against which they are washed 
over with lime, or steeped in lime and water for several weeks after 
gathering. Occasionally they are exported in the shell to prevent de- 
struction by insects. The most esteemed are those of Penang, which 
are about an inch in length, shaped like a damson plum, pale-brown in 
color, and furrowed on the exterior, and gray inside, with veins of red. 
running through them. Penang mace is also valued above that from 
other localities; itis usually of a pale cinnamon color when dry. Inferior 
nutmegs are those sent into market after the oil has been distilled 
from them, when they are comparatively valueless. Various ingenious 
methods of dressing up inferior nutmegs have been.resorted to, for the 
purpose of increasing their value, and even a kind of artificial article 
has been fabricated by admixture of bran, clay, and powdered nutmeg, 
pressed into shape in molds, and colored wooden nutmegs have had a 
reputation. 
Black pepper,—This condiment has been in use from the earliest his- 
toric times, and is frequently mentioned by early Roman writers. The 
pepper-plant, Piper nigrum, (Piperacece,) is a shrubby, climbing vine 
which attains a height of 15 to 20 feet. It is a tropical plant cultivated 
in the East and West Indies and South America. The plants are placed 
at the base of trees that have rough or prickly bark, or trained on stakes. 
The fruit when ripe is of a red color, but for commerce it is gathered 
before it is fully ripe, and laid in the sun to dry, when it becomes black 
and shriveled. White pepper is the same fruit allowed to remain on 
the vine until more fully matured, and the skin removed by maceration 
in water and subsequent friction; the pale color is sometimes increased 
by submitting the fruit to the action of chlorine. Like many other 
articles of daily use, ground pepper is frequently adulterated with mus- 
tard, ground rice, wheat, &c., and artificial pepper-corns have been man- 
ufactured with oil-cake, clay, and a little cayenne. Pepper-dust, the 
refuse and sweepings of warerooms, is used to mix with the ground 
article. According to chemical analysis, pepper contains a hot, acrid 
resin and a volatile oil, as well as a tasteless crystalline substance called 
piperine, which has been recommended as a substitute for quinine. Its 
use in cases of ague, to ward off the paroxysm, was practiced by the 
ancients. 
Cayenne pepper.—This is produced chiefly from the fruit-pods of Capsi- 
- cwn frutescens, (Solanacee,) although other species and varieties are 
used for the same purpose. These are natives of South America and 
the East and West Indies, but are largely cultivated everywhere in 
warm regions, their pungent fruits being used in immense quantities in 
tropical countries. In Guiana the inhabitants eat them in such abun- 
dance as to astonish travelers. Their consumption in India is also 
very great; ground into paste between two stones, with a small quan- 
tity of oil, ginger, and salt, they form the only seasoning which thou- 
sands of people can obtain to flavor their insipid rice. To form Cayenne 
pepper, the ripe fruits are dried in an oven, or on a hot plate, and then 
reduced to powder in a mortar, or passed through a mill. It is then 
sifted through a thin muslin sieve, and preserved in closely stopped 
bottles. An inferior article is prepared by mixing the coarsely ground 
powder with wheat flour, which is mixed with water and made into 
cakes that are baked hard, then ground fine, and sifted. More danger- 
ous adulterations are made by adding red lead and other substances. 
