CAYENNE PEPPER. 429 



are natives of the East and West Indies, and other hot climates. 

 C. annuum is the species commonly noticed, but there seems 

 to be numerous varieties, which by many are reckoned species. 

 Thus, O. frutescens is a shrubby plant, which, along with G. 

 minimum, supplies the variety called bird-pepper, it grows to a 

 larger and more bushy size ; O. baccatum has a globular fruit, and 

 furnishes cherry or berry capsicum. They are all of the simplest 

 culture, and may even be grown with very little care in England. 

 Culture appears to increase the size, but to diminish the pungency 

 of the fruit. In capsicums irritant properties prevail so asto obscure 

 the narcotic action. Their acridity is owing to an oleaginous sub- 

 stance called capsicin. Cayenne pepper is used in medicine chiefly 

 in the form of tincture, as a rubefacient and stimulant, especially 

 in cases of ulcerated sore throat. It acts on the stomach as an 

 aromatic condiment, and when preserved in acetic acid it forms 

 chilli vinegar. 



Ked pepper may be considered one of the most useful vegetables 

 in hygiene. As a stimulant and auxiliary in digestion it has been 

 considered invaluable, especially in warm countries. A kind 

 called the tobacco red pepper, is said to possess the most pungent 

 properties of any of the species. It yields a small red pod, less 

 than an inch in length, and longitudinal in shape, which is so ex- 

 ceedingly hot that a small quantity of it is sufficient to season a 

 large dish of any food. Owing to its oleaginous character, it has 

 been found impossible to preserve it by drying, but by pouring 

 strong boiling vinegar on it a sauce or decoction can be made, 

 which possesses in a concentrated form all the essential qualities 

 of the vegetable. A single drop of this sauce will flavor a whole 

 plate of soup or other food. 



The " wort" or Cayenne pottage may be termed the national 

 dish of the Abyssinians, as that, or its basis "dillock," is invari- 

 ably eaten with their ordinary diet, the thin crumpet-like bread of 

 tefF or wheat flour. Equal parts of salt and the red cayenne pods 

 are well powdered and mixed together with a little pea or bean 

 meal to make a paste. This is called " dillock," and is made in 

 quantities at a time, being preserved in a large gourd-shell, 

 generally suspended from the roof. The "wort" is merely a little 

 water added to this paste, which is then boiled over the fire, with 

 the addition of a little fat meat and more meal to make a kind of 

 porridge, to which sometimes is also added several warm seeds, 

 such as the common cress or black mustard, both of which are 

 indigenous in Abyssinia. ("Johnston's Abyssinia.") 



A great quantity of Agi or Guinea pepper is grown in Peru, 

 the natives being very fond of this condiment. It is not uncom- 

 mon for an American Indian to make a meal of twenty or thirty 

 pods of capsicum, a little salt, and a piece of bread, washed down 

 by two or three quarts of chica, the popular beverage. 



