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counting food and clothing. With a good gardener to look after them 

 their work is better and cheaper than that of the ordinary free coolie 

 who works for a monthly wage. 



The foregoing represents in brief outline the unvarying routine 

 of a Chinaman's pepper garden. When the price of pepper was high 

 it was possible to make large profits, but at the present day with an 

 abnormally low price for the product, it is difficult for the average 

 gardener to pay his way. So depressed is the industry that hundreds 

 of gardens have been completely abandoned of late years and only 

 those are likely to continue who, having a little capital of their own, 

 can afford to run the concern unassisted by the merchant money 

 lender. 



At the present time ("1908) the price of pepper in Kuching is $17 

 per picul whereas a few years ago it had reached a price of more than 

 $60 per picul. (The exchange value of the dollar was then only about 

 I of the present dollar). 



Considering the magnitude of the pepper industry it is somewhat 

 unfortunate that so little has been attempted in the way of possible 

 improvements in the methods of working. It is very unlikely that the 

 Chinese agriculturist will care to experiment with western novelties, 

 but nevertheless it would seem quite possible that some appreciable 

 reductions in the cost could be effected ; and thereby an industry 

 which is threatened almost with extinction could be considerably 

 resuscitated. The Chinese gardener is at present obliged to endure 

 unnecessary expense in his insecticide and apparently also in the 

 manure. The costly item of the insecticide is Tobacco and so far, 

 a satisfactory substitute has not appeared. Very recently, a series of 

 interesting experiments have been conducted by Mr. R. E. Hose of 

 Busau in the hope of providing cheaper insecticides, and artificial 

 manures, but the results are as yet inconclusive. These experiments 

 have certainly proved the excellence of the Chinaman's insecticide and 

 although it will no doubt be possible to replace it by a cheaper one, 

 nevertheless,, the problem is by no means easy, as the pepper vine is 

 very sensitive, quickly dropping its leaves if subjected to drastic treat- 

 ment. At any rate an improvement can be effected by the use of a 

 better spraying apparatus, the one used by the Chinaman being a 

 comparatively coarse syringe. 



As regards the manurial treatment, we are here presented with a 

 question of some interest. I have previously mentioned that each 

 vine should be supplied at regular intervals with certain amounts of 

 prawn dust and burnt earth, and that the soil is ordinarily of poor 

 quality : yet not infrequently does it happen that a gardener unable to 

 afford prawn dust manures his vines with burnt earth only and for 

 years good crops have thus been obtained. To the pepper grower, 

 burnt earth is of primary importance and it is considered to be an 

 absolute essential. The method of preparing it is simple but it re- 

 quires sound judgment and care to produce burnt earth of the best 

 quality. In one corner of his garden, the labourer spreads out a 

 quantity of brushwood and over this some logs of wood cut from the 

 jungle ; on the top of this comes another layer of brushwood and over 

 the whole is heaped up a large quantity of soil. The heap is fired 



