PEPrER. 



477 



both on account of tLe vegetable mould commonly found in soil so 

 situated, as well as on account of the facilities of water-carriage 

 which such a situation generally affords. But the land should never 

 be so low as to be liable to inundation. Declivities, unless very 

 gentle, are to be avoided, because the soil loosened' by culture is liable 

 to be washed away by heavy rain. Plains, whether naked or covered 

 with long grass, will not answer, unless broken up well with the 

 plough and enriched by manure. Above all, the pepper- vine loves a 

 moist climate. 



In Malabar the pepper-vine is often raised from seed, and experi- 

 enced men have been known to express a decided preference for this 

 mode of propagation, because the vine so raised bears for fourteen 

 years. On the other hand, though the cuttings yield for only seven 

 years, or just half the period, the crops they give are greater, and the 

 berries are both of larger size and of superior quality. It is for this 

 reason, therefore, that in Malabar the cultivation is practised with 

 cuttings or suckers, which are put down into the ground before the 

 rain sets in, in June. The soil must be rich, but it should also be free 

 from any accumulation of moisture below, or the young plants are apt 

 to rot. The cuttings are usually planted at the foot of trees with 

 rough bark, on which .the vine as it grows finds a support. The 

 creeper will climb up about 20 or 30 feet, but it is purposely kept 

 lower for facility of collecting the berry. During its growth every 

 sucker is removed, and it is pruned, thinned, and kept clear of weeds. 

 In three years the vine begins to bear. After the berries have been 

 gathered, they are dried on mats by exposure to the sun, when they 

 change colour from red to black. Much experience is required as to 

 the proper time for gathering. The trees which are generally selected 

 in Malabar to support and shade the pepper-vine are the jack, the 

 mango, the cashew-nut, and other similar trees ; so that the pepper 

 is an additional crop which the cultivator gathers from his orchard 

 lands, even while they also are bearing. 



Although the quality of the pepper grown in Malabar is considered 

 to be better, the largest quantity of the spice is produced in Sumatra, 

 where the method of cultivation is somewhat different. In that island 

 the pepper-vine is raised in plantations regularly laid out. The 

 ground is previously cleared of wood, ploughed up, and sown with 

 rice, among which the cuttings are put down at a distance of five 

 feet from each other in every direction, with the green sapling of 

 some tree of quick growth and rough or prickly bark, which soon 

 takes root and affords support and shade to the vine as it grows. 

 It grows most luxuriously in moist, rich soils, provided it obtains 

 good shade. Like most other vegetable productions in hot climates, 

 it requires but little trouble or attention after it has once been planted, 

 other than watching the proper season for collecting the berry. In 

 Sumatra, the layers or cuttings are put down in September. The plant 

 is afterwards left to itself for twelve or eighteen months, it is then 

 buried with all its branches, so as to leave only a small arch of the 

 stem above ground. From this arch new shoots sprout out, three or 

 four of which are allowed to climb up the tree, and are expected to 

 produce flowers and fruit in a year after. It is inferred that, by 



