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ed between August and December. Each season, when fruiting is 

 nearly over, a catty of prawn refuse is supplied to the roots of each 

 vine ; this is the manure for the next season's crop. The average life 

 of a vine is from 10 to 12 years, but this depends very much on the 

 care bestowed on its cultivations. 



Crop. In a well conducted garden the fruiting vines are covered 

 with fruit spikes and each spike is thick with many well formed 

 berries. As everybody knows, the white pepper and black pepper of 

 commerce are products to the same vine, the difference between them 

 depending simply on after treatment of the picked berries. Botanically 

 speaking, black pepper is the entire fruit whilst white pepper is the 

 seed only. When preparing white pepper the spikes of fruit are picked 

 off just as they are turning red : the berries are loosened from the 

 spike stalk by pressing underfoot. These berries are collected and 

 tied up in large bags which with their contents are allowed to soak in 

 water for a week or ten days. It is usual to arrange for running 

 water which receives the full heat of the sun as the decomposition of 

 the skin on the pepper corns is thereby accelerated. When the skins 

 have become sufficiently loose, the pepper is put into tubs w T here it is 

 stamped underfoot and well washed until all the skins and stalks have 

 been removed. Finally, the pepper corns which remain are spread 

 out on mats and dried in the sun : the product is now ready for the 

 market. 



In making black pepper, the fruit is picked before it is ripe, earlier 

 than would be the case if white pepper were the object. It is then 

 spread out on mats to dry in the sun, and as it dries, the skin of the 

 pepper corn turns black : afterwards it is rubbed by hand so as to 

 separate the berries from the stalks which latter are winnowed out. 

 A better method of preparing the article is to boil the fresh berries in 

 water for a short time and then dry them as above. In this way the 

 skins are rendered tougher and the skins have a more uniform colour. 



Insecticides. The spikes of flowers and of fruits of the pepper 

 vine are the victims of insect attack and to prevent partial or even 

 etire loss of the crop it is absolutely necessary to resort to insecticides. 

 The Chinaman always employs for this purpose a watery extract of 

 crushed 'tuba' (Derris elliptica) and strong tobacco. This is applied 

 to the flowers from a syringe and it proves very effective : the smell 

 of the tobacco clings to the garden for several days. The proportions 

 commonly adopted are one catty of ' Tuba, ' one catty of Tobacco, and 

 five gallons of water : such a quantity would be sufficient for ten vines. 

 It is usual to apply the insecticide three times, at intervals of a week 

 or more, while the fruit is setting. This insecticide although excellent 

 for its purpose is comparatively expensive : in 1907 the price of 'Tuba' 

 was 8-12 cents per catty and of tobacco 35 cents per catty. 



Labour. It usually happens that the man in charge of a pepper 

 garden is also the owner — it is often heavily mortgaged — and this man 

 may be sufficient for a small garden. However, as already mentioned 

 the pepper vine requires much personal care and it is found that one 

 coolie cannot properly deal with more than 400 vines. In gardens 

 of 1,000 vines or more it is the costom to employ one or two "Sinkehs" 

 (indentured coolies) who cost from $30 to $60 each for the year not 



