CHAPTER XXVII. 



PEPPERS. 



CHILE PEPPERS. Capsicum annuum. 



French, piment; German, pfeffer; Dutch, Spaansche peper; Italian, pepe- 

 rone; Spanish, pimiento; Portuguese, pimento. 



The settlement of California by people of Spanish birth or 

 descent naturally brought the pepper into early prominence in this 

 state, and the considerable fraction of our population which now 

 traces to south of Europe nations serves to hold the plant in popu- 

 larity. American citizens have also wide liking for the pepper in 

 some of its uses, and the result is, large local demand for the cap- 

 sules both in green and mature states. There is this main division 

 in the demand, the northern races prefer the large, green, mild 

 varieties ; the southern races chiefly use that which is ripe, red, and 

 fiery in flavor. But, of course, this distinction is not to be pushed 

 too far. Each kind has its uses which are observed by all consum- 

 ers. In the California markets the two kinds or conditions stand 

 side by side in such quantities as to make them conspicuous. 



Though the pepper is usually an annual, it carries its profitable 

 productive life into the second year in the thermal regions of the 

 state. The stem has a tendency to become woody and after a period 

 of partial dormancy, it sends out new shoots and bears its second 

 crop. This cannot, however, be expected in a frosty location. 



Garden Culture. Peppers are usually grown from plants 

 started early by artificial heat in the same manner indicated for 

 eggplant. Planting out should be done after danger of frost is over 

 and the soil is well warmed by the sun. Later plants may be grown 

 by planting the seed in drills in the open ground, thinning the plants 

 afterward to suitable distance. Moisture should be evenly main- 

 tained by cultivation or irrigation as needed, but excessive water is 

 undesirable at all times from the seed sowing onward. The plants 

 will endure heat and drouth, but the fruiting is deficient in size and 

 quantity, and for the best success, especially with the large varie- 

 ties, rich, light soil, .well cultivated and adequately moist, is a requi- 

 site. The distance between the plants depends upon method of 

 cultivation. In the hand-worked garden, the plants may be set a 

 foot apart in rows, eighteen inches distant from each other, but 

 usually greater distance is better, and for horse work the rows 

 should be two or three feet apart. 



Field Culture. Field culture for canning and for the trade in 



dried peppers is pursued on a large scale in southern California, 



especially in Orange county, on the deep loams of the gentle slope 



oceanward. An outline of methods is prepared from data fur- 



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