200 SPICES 



CHAP. 



much alike, but experienced planters can distinguish 

 them apart. 



" It is held by botanists," he says, " that the so-called male 

 trees are not necessary to the fructifying of the bloom of the 

 bearing trees, and that they are simply barren trees of no use 

 to the grower, and except where they are useful as shade trees 

 are better out of the way. Many growers, however, find it 

 difficult to reconcile this theory with actual experience, holding 

 that when the male trees are cut out the yield of the other 

 trees is not so great." 



The pimento is certainly not a unisexual plant like 

 the nutmeg. Being allied to the clove, it has much 

 the same structure of the flower. It is not likely, 

 therefore, that the flowers are, strictly speaking, male 

 and female respectively, but possibly the so-called male 

 flowers possess some defect in the stamens which 

 prevents their fertilisation. Plants in the Singapore 

 Botanic Gardens, though flowering freely, never set a 

 single fruit, on account of some such defect. It should 

 not be difficult to discover the cause of this production 

 of " male " trees in the West Indies. 



CROPPING 



The berries grow in clusters, and are in the best 

 condition for spice when they are full but not ripe, in 

 July and August, while still green. When fully ripe 

 they are black, glossy, sweet, and spicy. The unripe 

 berry is more spicy, and somewhat peppery in taste. 

 They are about the size of a black currant. They are 

 gathered by lads, who climb the trees and pull down 

 the branches with a hooked stick, breaking off the 

 twigs which bear the branches of fruits. The boughs 

 are thrown down, and women and children gather them 

 up, pick off the berries into baskets, throwing away the 

 stems and leaves. Kipe berries are kept separate from 

 green ones. This breaking of the branches does not 

 injure the trees, but, on the contrary, acts as pruning, 

 which is necessary in order to make the trees crop 

 regularly. A good picker can fill a 70 Ib. bag a day. 



