200 



TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



CHAP 



Large con- 

 sumption. 



PEPPER. Piper nigrum. 



Habitat. PEPPER, or black pepper as it is sometimes called, is the 



dried fruit of a vine found growing wild in the forests of 

 Malabar and Travancore. It is one of the most important 

 of the spices, and its consumption annually is something 

 enormous, pepper to the value of nearly a million pounds 

 sterling being imported every year into the United Kingdom 

 alone. The vine is cultivated extensively in Southern India, 

 Siam, Malaya, Cochin China and the larger islands of the 



h? th^West 5 Malayan Archipelago ; and, although it grows well and bears 

 good crops in the West Indies, planting enterprise has not 

 yet been directed to this important industry. The early 

 history of the pepper trade is similar to that of the other 

 Eastern spices ; the Dutch for a time succeeded in establish- 

 ing a monopoly and long strove to restrict the cultivation to 

 the island of Java. 



Indies. 



The Dutch 

 monopoly. 



The best 

 soil. 



Reclaimed 

 swamps. 



SOIL. The plant is a hardy one, and it will grow in most 

 soils, but the crops will be small on poor sandy soils and on 

 clays. The best soil is a deep, well-drained vegetable loam, 

 such as is found along the alluvial banks of rivers in 

 Malabar. The vine must not be planted on steep hill sides, 

 as the soil is liable to be washed away from the roots 

 during heavy rain. Swamps that have been reclaimed by 

 good drainage are suitable to the cultivation by reason 

 of the large proportion of vegetable matter in the soil. 



Abundant 



rainfall 



necessary. 



Shade. 



CLIMATE. A hot humid climate, such as is found in the 

 sheltered valleys of Jamaica, Trinidad and Dominica, is the 

 best for the cultivation. The rainfall should not be less than 

 from 80 to loo inches per annum, and it must be evenly 

 distributed. Shade is essential : in the Straits Settlements 

 the Chinese, who are the principal pepper growers there, 

 generally establish their pepper gardens in forest clearings. 



