VIII 



PEPPERS 257 



with nearly equal vigour in all varieties of soil, between 

 the two extremes of sand which prevailed near the 

 coasts, and the stiff yellow clays of the hills. Sand, 

 however, is quite unsuitable for the plant unless mixed 

 at least with a good proportion of humus, and it is, as a 

 rule, advisable to avoid land which can be definitely 

 classed as sandy, 



Rocky soil is equally objectionable, though in Ceylon 

 it was said that pepper grew very well over rocks. Under 

 light shade it might do well, provided that the soil 

 between the rocks is rich enough for the plant, but 

 exposed rocks are so strongly heated by the tropical 

 sun that pepper would soon be destroyed by the 

 excessive heat. 



CULTIVATION FROM SEED 



Black pepper is almost invariably grown from 

 cuttings, but it may be grown >from seed. It is stated 

 that pepper vines grown from seed take a very long 

 time to fruit, and indeed it has been said that in some 

 localities they will not fruit at all from seed. In this 

 case they probably revert to the unisexual form, i.e. 

 the original wild form ; on the other hand, there are 

 many places, at least, where pepper is readily raised 

 from seed and grows well and quickly. It is certainly 

 preferable to grow from cuttings, as it is then possible 

 to be sure that a good heavy fruiting strain can be 

 secured, cuttings generally coming true more frequently 

 than seedlings. There are cases, however, where, for 

 some reason or other, it is necessary to raise pepper 

 from seed. Thus in some parts of the world it has been 

 found expensive or almost impossible to introduce pepper 

 by cuttings, which have to travel in a Wardian case, 

 and seed is the only form in which the plant can be 

 introduced. Seed of pepper is, however, by no means 

 a good traveller, and has often failed in cases of long- 

 distance travelling. 



It is said (Simmond's Tropical Agriculture) that 

 in Malabar it is often raised from seed, and that 



s 



