79 
of the post you must make it bend down to the bottom, and start up 
again. Three times must this be done before the pepper is expected to 
fruit heavily, otherwise it is skinny and wretched. don’t know why 
it won’t fruit in Jamaica, but I expect I should if I saw it. 
The difficulty, however, appears to have been overcome in Trinidad :— 
SUPERINTENDENT, ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, TRINIDAD, to ROYAL 
NS, 
Royal Botanic Gardens, ‘Trinidad, 
Sir, sas uary 9th, 1894. 
I BEG to report that our vines of Piper nigrum have ‘this year 
given a good crop. I send you a sample for the 1 Economic Museum, 
which has been grown by Mr. C. W. Meaden, of the Prison Department 
at the Convict Depôt, from plants supplied by this , departme nt. There 
appears to be every prospect eme & black pepper" can be "niger 
rown in Trinidad, as Mr. Meaden has harvested a crop of some 200 lbs., 
some trees bearing as much as two pounds each. Our own pete is not 
yet ripe. We should be thankful for a report on this sample. 
am, &c., 
(Signed) J. H. Han 
The Director, Royal Gardens, Kew. ipis BEN 
Messrs. W. & D. Harvest to ROYAL GARDENS, Krew. 
Dowgate Dock, Upper Thames Street, London, E.C. 
Dear Sin, January 30, 18 
Tur sample of black pepper grown in "Trinidad, which you have 
sent us, is a good merchantable article. It is clean and bold, and re- 
sembles the better qualities of AR black pepper, except that it 
has rather more husk or outer skin. The market value in Mincing 
Lane would be about 23d, to 24d. per Ib. 'This is an extremely low 
price for black pepper of good quality, free from dust, but the market 
is now depressed beyond former cp by the very large stocks held 
in Europe, and by what appears about an unlimited ‘production in 
the Straits Settlements. It is de ery long since that pepper of this 
quality would have readily fetched in publie : v from 5d. to 53d. per lb. 
e remain, &c. 
Jobn R. Jackson, Esq. (Signed) W. & D. Harvest. 
Coffea sp., Sierra Leone.—Last year plants were distributed Hon 
Kew under this name to most of the Colonial and "M Gardens. The 
were raised from s collected in Sierra Leone by M M Me Ange! 
when attached to the Commission for the Delimitation ‘of the An 
French frontier in 1892, and subsequently identified by him as a species 
of Coffea. The curator of the Botanical Station, Dominica, inquires if 
they are likely to be C. stenophylla, > sag ie by Mr. Scott-Elliot in 
his notes on the Economic Plants of Sierra Leone (Kew Bulletin, 1893, 
p. 167), which appears to be preferred » the Liberian Coffee by French 
spikes: On PE plants at Kew, it is evident that it has nothing 
to do with C. stenophylla, G. Don, but has spines — Coffea never 
has, and is more likley to be a Randia or Canthiun 
