A REVISION OF THE GENUS CAPSICUM. 59 



saicin " which occurs mainly in the placenta and seed and 

 which is volatile when exposed to the air. In its effects 

 Capsicum is a stimulant, stomachic, and a rubefacient.* 



Commercially the red pepper is employed more as a 

 condiment than for any other purpose, and it is used as a 

 seasoning in almost every dish by the inhabitants of warm 

 climates. Cayenne Pepper is one of the important prod- 

 ucts, consisting mainly of the fruit of the small pungent 

 varieties reduced to a fine powder. It is sometimes pre- 

 pared by mixing wheat flour with the dried fruit and making 

 into cakes with yeast. After baking until quite hard and 

 brittle these are reduced to powder and sifted. When 

 prepared in this manner it has been known under the name 

 Cayenne Pepper Pot^ and when simply dried, powdered, 

 and mixed with a little salt, it has been known as Cay an 

 Butter. t According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 

 Mandram is a West Indian stomachic prepared by mashing 

 a few pods of bird pepper and mixing them with sliced 

 cucumbers and shallots to which have been added a little 

 lime-juice and Madeira wine. 



There are various brands of pepper sauce, which consist 

 chiefly of the unground fruit of the pungent varieties 

 preserved in brine or strong vinegar. Tabasco Pepper 

 Sauce or liquid pepper is said to be the pulp of the ripe 

 fruit of the Tabasco variety extracted by pressure and so 

 handled as to retain all flavor, strength, aroma and color of 

 the ripe fruit. Tabasco Catchup is made from the same 

 variety. Paprika is a well-known Hungarian condiment 

 made from the fruit which is ground after the seeds have 

 been removed, and is, therefore, much less pungent than 

 the Tabasco sauce. Chilli con came consists of the small 

 pungent peppers finely ground and mixed with meat. It is 

 much used in the Southern United States. In Mexico the 

 fruit forms a very essential ingredient in the tamales so 



* Waggaman, Bot. Mat. Med. 228. 1895. 



f Phillips, Cult. Veg. 1 : 123. 1822. 



I Miller, Gard. Diet. 1797 [ed. Martyn]. 



