XI 



CAPSICUMS 379 



of being soft they are firm, and eventually develop 

 pustules white or pinkish in colour, turning black. 



A somewhat similar fungus I have also met with in 

 Chinese gardens in Singapore. It appears as an oval 

 or circular blotch gradually spreading, at first of a 

 black colour, but as the tissue is destroyed becoming 

 brown and dry with a black margin. The epidermis 

 is cracked and pushed up, and the whole pericarp is 

 affected and dies ; eventually the fruit shrinks and 

 withers up. This fungus the Chinese say is worse in 

 wet weather, and causes a considerable loss. I have 

 not seen the fruit of it, so am unable to identify it. 



The treatment recommended is spraying with copper 

 carbonate solution or potassium sulphide. Copper 

 sulphate might also be used in the form of Bordeaux 

 mixture. The Chinese leave the infected fruits on the 

 plant, or merely throw them on the ground. They 

 should be collected and destroyed. 



Mukerji states that in India chilies are very subject 

 to fungoid diseases, but less so to those of insects, and 

 mentions two fungus diseases by local names, Dolbhanga- 

 rog and Kutelaga, no description of which is given, and 

 I am unable to find any identification of them, but of 

 these he says : " When these overtake a crop it is not 

 feasible to stop them. In fact, chili cultivation has 

 to be given up for two years successively in a locality 

 affected by either of these diseases before it can be 

 taken up again. Bordeaux mixture and invigorating 

 manures have been used in vain." 



CAYENNE PEPPER 



Cayenne pepper is the finely ground powder of 

 chilies. The kind generally used is the bird's-eye chili, 

 and this is the source of the Japan and Zanzibar 

 cayenne pepper. Nepal cayenne pepper, remarkable 

 for its violet odour, is made from a small variety of 

 Capsicum annuum. Its colour is not bright red as is 

 the case in Japanese, but brownish. A condiment, sold 



