VIII 



PEPPERS 311 



each slip having a hardwood stick about 2 or 3 ft. long near 

 it to cling to. At the same time, they plant out in the field 

 the supporting trees, called in Malay dedup, at intervals of 6 ft. 

 each way, which are allowed to grow one year before transplant- 

 ing the pepper plants from the nursery near them, which plants 

 are, of course, then also one year old. In that time the dedup 

 tree grows from 12 to 15 ft. high. Then holes are made 1 ft. 

 square, and the same depth, prepared as Mr. Dobree describes, 

 near each tree, in which they plant the cuttings taken from the 

 nursery. Only one plant is put in each hole. They do not 

 make a small mound round each vine, as Mr. Dobree says the 

 Chinese do at Singapore. No manure at all is used. 



The vines of three years' growth in the field yield their first 

 small crop. Two years after, they are in full bearing, yielding 

 an average of 3| catties per vine of dry black pepper. An acre 

 contains one thousand two hundred (1,200) vines, yielding at 

 this rate forty-two (42) pikuls. This greatly exceeds Mr. 

 Dobree's account of the returns at Singapore, although manure 

 is used there and not at Arra Kudah. 



The pepper is gathered about the middle of the year, and is 

 dried by being spread out on the ground exposed to the sun and 

 wind, fire not being used. 



He did not know the difference of weight between green 

 and dry pepper, but thinks it is not nearly so great as described 

 by Mr. Dobree. 



To make white pepper, they bury thoroughly ripe black 

 pepper in damp ground for five days, when they take it up. 

 By that time the skin is rotted, which is washed off and the 

 corns then dried in the sun. 



I did not inquire the cost of cultivation, to compare with 

 Mr. Dobree's estimate, as nothing reliable could be learnt on 

 this point, and would be most likely misleading rather than 

 otherwise. No doubt it is much less costly to the Achinese 

 here than to the Chinese in Singapore. 



The above is all the information I could obtain without 

 visiting Arra Kudah, which I hope will be sufficient for your 

 purpose. Yours sincerely, 



H. DE MORNAY. 



(Straits Settlements Government Gazette, 15th August 1884.) 



LITERATURE 



BARBER. " Varieties of Cultivated Pepper." Dept. Agric., Madras, iii. 56. 

 NAIR, C. P. K. Tropical Agriculturist, 1906, p. 562. 

 HEWITT, J. C. Agricultural Bulletin Straits Settlements, vii. 189. 

 DERRY, R. " Trang Pepper." Agric. Bull. Straits Sett. viii. 240. 



