FRUCTUS PIPERIS NIGRI. -579 



the spices of India direct to the city of Antwerp. Strange to say, thisy 

 were received with great mistrust! 



Pepper was heavily taxed in England. In 1623 the imposts levied 

 on it amounted to 5s per lb.; and even down to 1823 it was subject to 

 a duty of 28. Qd. per lb. 



Production — In the south-west of India, the plant, or Pepper Vine 

 as it is called, grows on the sides of the narrow valleys where the soil 

 is rich and moist, producing lofty trees by which a constant, favourable 

 coolness is maintained. In such places the pepper-vine runs along the 

 ground and propagates itself by striking out roots into the soil. The 

 natives tie up the end of the vines lying on the ground to the nearest 

 tree, on the bark of which the stems put out roots so far as they have 

 been tied, the shoots above that hanging down. The plant is capable 

 of growing to a height of 20 or 30 feet, but for the sake of convenience 

 it is usually kept low, and is often trained on poles. In places where 

 no vines occur naturally, the plant is propagated by planting slips near 

 the roots of the trees on which it is to climb. 



The pepper plants if grown on a rich soil begin to bear even in the 

 first year, and continue to increase in productiveness till about the 

 fifth, when they yield 8 to 10 lb. of berries per plant, which is about 

 the average produce up to the age of 15 to 20 years ; after this they 

 begin to decline. 



When one or two berries at the base of the spike begin to turn red, 

 the whole spike is pinched off. Next da}'^ the berries are rubbed off 

 with the hands and picked clean ; then dried for three days on mats, or 

 on smooth hard ground, or on bamboo baskets near a gentle fire. 



In Malabar the pepper-vine flowers in May and June, and the 

 fruits become tit for gatherincr at the commencement of the followinor 

 year. 



The,largest quantities of pepper are produced in the island of Rhio, 

 near Singapore, in Djohor (in the south-eastern coast of the Malayan 

 Peninsula), and in Penang. The latter island affords on an average 

 about one-half of the total crop. 



Description — The small, round, berry -like fruits grow somewhat 

 loosely to the number of 20 to 30, on a common pendulous fruit-stalk. 

 They are at fii-st green, then become red, and if allowed to ripen, 

 yellow ; but they are gathered before complete maturity, and by drying 

 in that state turn blackish grey or brown. If left until quite ripe they 

 lose some of their pungency, and gradually fall off. 



The berries after drying are spherical, about \ inch in diameter, 

 wrinkled on the surface, indistinctly ])ointed below by the remains of 

 the very short pedicel, and crowned still more indistinctly by the 3- or 

 4-lobed stigma. The thin pericarp tightly encloses a single seed, the 

 embryo of which in consequence of premature gathering is undeveloped, 

 and merely replaced by a cavity situated below the apex. The seed 

 itself contains within the thin red-brown testa a shining albumen, grey 

 and horny without, and mealy within. The pungent taste and peculiar 

 smell of pepper are familiar to all. 



Microscopic Structure — The transverse section of a grain of 



' For a full account of the cultivation of through Mysore, Canara, and Malabar, ii. 

 pepper, see Buchanan, t/'oam«//ro7»Jfarfra« (1807)455-520; iii. 158. 



