MALABAR PEPIM .!: 



thence to Portugal. Mandelslo (Travelt, in Oleariua. 7/irt. Miucovy, eto., 

 1662, 93, 111) gives certain particulars of the pepper cultivation of tin- 

 M Cuiiriini m D., mi." He states that the traffic goes v\A Surat. 



According to modern writers the method of cultivation presently pur- 

 sued is vcrv simp!.-. ( 'linings are put down during tin- 

 in rich soil, not subject to excessive moi>> I liberally manure'! 



with row-dung as in Bengal and Assam, but with leaf-mould. The trees 

 selected as supports are mostly those which have a rough or prickly bark, 

 such as the jack-tree, the murukku (madar, p. 523), etr. Tin- vin-- 

 grow to 20 or 30 feet, or even higher they are never pruned. All suckers 

 are removed and the ground around kept clear of weeds. In three yean 

 the vine begins to bear. From the third to the seventh year the plant 

 improves. After that it remains in good condition for three or four years, 

 and then deteriorates for about the same period, when it is cut down and 

 new shoots planted. The fruit is gathered as soon as the berries at tin* 

 base of the spike begin to change colour. [Cf. Kew Bull., 1895, 178-80.] 



In April of 1905 a Government farm, under the superintendence of 

 Mr. C. A. Barber, Government Botanist (for the scientific study of the 

 cultivation of pepper), was started at Talliparamba near Telli<-h<>rry, wlm-h 

 may be spoken of as the centre of the South Indian (indeed of the Indian) 

 pepper production. A very large amount of work has already been 

 accomplished, of which Barber has published as yet only a brief note 

 (Agri. Journ. Ind., i., pt. ii., 163-4). "Any one," he observes, "at all 

 conversant with a plantation of black pepper, will have noted the great 

 variation in the bearing power of different vines." This is a consequence 

 of some plants bearing wholly male (staminate) flowers, others only female 

 (pistillate) flowers, while still a third possess both stamens and pistils, but 

 the former so sparsely as to lessen fertility. " In choosing vines for pro- 

 pagation, it will, therefore, be necessary to first determine whether the 

 plant is fully provided with stamens." " It may be taken as a rule that 

 any vine, if fully provided with stamens, will give a good crop, while any 

 vine not so provided will be capricious in its behaviour, being dependent 

 on its neighbours for the swelling of its berries." 



Barber (Varieties Cult. Pepper, in Dept. Agri. Mad. Bull., 1906, iii., 

 No. 56, 126-32, tt. 1-3) says that there are "three main types of good 

 vines freely provided with stamens, the Balamcotta, Kallivalli and Cheria- 

 kodi. Each of these has variations in all directions." 



Balamcotta. This is all round the best pepper, is widely distributed, 

 and apparently the main Tellicherry variety. The leaves are the largest 

 of all. Its general colour is light green, and when full grown is twice as 

 long as broad, oval to ovate, broadest at the middle and one side fre- 

 quently broader than the other. Flowering branches, drooping. Spikes 

 long, usually up to six inches, and the individual flowers distant. It is a 

 strong-growing plant, flushing all over at the same time, and a heavy 

 bearer. 



Kallivalli. This has the reputation of being a heavy bearer, but the 

 flushing is irregular. The leaves are fairly constant, but vary in width 

 according to age. In general colour they are dark green, and the veins 

 much more deeply impressed, almost corrugated, than in balamootta. 

 Flowering branches stand out stiffly and joints close together. Spikes 

 shorter than in balamcotta and frequently seen branched ; sometimes, in 

 fact, the spikes appear tassel-like. The flowers are also a good deal closer 



899 



PIPER 



NIOHUM 



Cultivation 



H :.- . 

 Wrtura. 



VarUUoo. la 



. hM 



Chief Form. 

 Light Green. 



|| -... 

 Simul 



K!u 

 ImguUr. 



Dark Green. 



