504 



PIMENTO, OR ALLSPICE. 



state, the woods of whicli being felled, the trees are suffered to remain 

 on the ground till they become rotten, and perish. In the course of 

 twelve months after the first season, abundance of young Pimento 

 plants will be found growing vigorously in all parts of the land, being, 

 without doubt, produced from ripe berries scattered there by the birds, 

 while the fallen trees, &c., afford them both shelter and shade. At the 

 end of two years it will be proper to give the land a thorough clean- 

 ing, leaving such only of the Pimento trees as have a good appearance ; 

 these will then soon form groves, and, except for the first four or five 

 years, require very little subsequent attention. In July and "August, 

 soon after the trees are in blossom, the berries become fit for gather- 

 ing, the fruit not being suffered to ripen on the tree, as the pulp in 

 that state, being moist and gelatinous, is difficult to cure, and when dry 

 becomes black and tasteless. It is impossible, however, to prevent 

 some of the ripe berries from mixing with the rest, and if the propor- 

 tion of them be great, the price of the commodity is considerably 

 injured. It is gathered by the hand. One laboui'er on the tree 

 employed in gathering the small twigs bearing the branches, will give 

 employment to three below (who are generally women and children) 

 in picking the berries, and an industrious picker will fill a bag of 

 70 lbs. in the day. It is then spread on a terrace and exposed to the 

 sun and air for some days, in the course of which it loses its green 

 colour and becomes of a reddish-brown; when perfectly dry the 

 stalks are removed, it is passed through a fanner, bagged, and is ready 

 for shipment. The term sometimes used to denote the in-gathering 

 of the crop is not picking, but " breaking," because, with each cluster 

 of berries a portion of the branch is broken off, the tree thriving all 

 the better for the spoliation. The returns from a Pimento walk in a 

 favourable season are prodigious. A single tree has been known to 

 yield 150 lbs. of the raw fruit, or 1 cwt. of the dried spice, there 

 being commonly a loss in weight of one-third in curing; but this, 

 like many other of the minor productions, is exceedingly uncertain, 

 and perhaps a very plenteous crop occurs but once in five years. 



Before the war with Russia, there was a large demand for Pimento 

 in that country for use in spiced bread, but during the blockade it was 

 found that a tree growing on the banks of the Amoor yielded a bark 

 which, when grated, was pungent enough to yield a spice, and the 

 Russian market was thus lost. 



The acreage under Pimento seems to vary. In 1871 it was returned 

 at 6902 acres, in 1874 it was only 1392 acres. Between 1830 and 1850 

 the crops ranged from 8,000,000 lbs. to 5,500,000 lbs. The following 

 have been the exports from Jamaica : 





Lbs. 





Lbs. 



1866 



, 4,866,239 



1871 .. , 





1867 



.. 7,595,800 



1872 .. . 



.. 5,140,898 



1868 



.. 4,373,259 



1873 , 



,. 6,024,551 



1869 



, 6,575,249 



1874 



, 5,762,256 



1870 



.. 5,243,109 



1875 , , 



.. 5,262,797 



The United States takes about one-third of the Jamaica crop. 



In 1789, Browne, in his 'History of Jamaica,' stated the export of 

 Pimento to be 438,000 lbs,, valued at 22,000/. In 1805, our imports 



