70 



by two or three houses, and attempts by others to obtain it had not been 

 very successful. There was no doubt that the pepper as used was an 

 untreated product. Tbe late Dr. Brady, on his return from Japan, 

 passing through Vienna, came across a comparatively tasteless pepper, 

 which caused considerable discussion at the time, as there was a large 

 amount of it on the market, but the substance had been pretty much 

 lost siaht of since. He thought it would well repay inquiry, as very 

 little had been done on the subject of peppers since Dr. Thresh dealt 

 with it about 1^ years ago." 



According to a writer in S pons' Encyclopaedia, Div. V., p. 1803 : — 



" Several varieties of C, annuum have little or no pungency ; one 

 of these is abundantly grown in Hungary, forming the paprika of the 

 Magyars. Another variety, cultivated in Spain, is imported into this 

 country in powder for giving to canaries, to improve the colour of their 

 feathers. The Nepal capsicums, which have an odour and flavour re- 

 sembling orris-root, are the most esteemed as a condiment/' 



South American Peppers. 



The following interesting account of the use of peppers in South 

 America appeared in the Saturday Review of the 15th September. 

 1886 :- 



" Aji-aji. — Pepper of peppers is the meaning of this compound 

 Quichuan word, and both word and thing are largely distributed over 

 South America, extending from the Bi bo-Bio in the south to the 

 Atrato in the north ; it is also found in the dialects of the Gran Ohaco ; 

 in Aymara, in Andaqui, among the Agricultural Indians of Choco, the 

 mining Indians of Potosi, and the Cerro de Pasco " 



" There are two kinds of aji ; but there is only one way of 

 preparing it. The best is that which is made from the greatest 

 variety of peppers. The pods of these are taken when fresh, 

 stripped of their seeds, and ground into a paste of the consistence 

 of fresh spring butter. The paste is put into a small, well-dried gourd, 

 prepared on purpose, of the size and shape of a well grown orange.* 

 The gourd, when thus charged, is then coated with a layer of well-tem- 

 pered clay, and placed in the sun to dry, or to ripen, as the simple peo- 

 ple who prepare it say in their own tongue. By the time when the clay 

 is well baked, the pulp or paste within has been dried into a fine yellow 

 powder, and is then fit for use. Many people, ignorant of this fine art 

 of the Incas, have supposed, quite naturally, that these aji-laden gourds, 

 with their exqusite flavour and refined taste, were some uncommon and 

 little-known natural fruits. The other method of preparing aji is to 

 grind the seeds with the pods, which simply adds great pungency to the 

 pepper, and is always used in the preparation of maize or Indian corn, 

 which is boiled in its own husk with much aji, and surpasses in flavour 

 and pleasantness any vegetable curry of the East. The gourds of aji, 



* Specimens of these gourds are in the Kew Museum labelled Gourds used 

 in Chile for holding red pepper' aji' (Capricum spp.), from Mr. H. F. Stahl- 

 . chmidt, 1885." 



