June 1908.] 



545 



Edible Products. 



PIMENTO GROWING IN JAMAICA. 



An interesting account of the methods 

 followed in the growing and prepar- 

 ation of pimento (Pimento, officinalis), is 

 contributed by the American Consul 

 at Kingstor, to the United States Con- 

 sidar and Trade Reports for the month 

 of November. 



The particulars given below have 

 been abstracted from the article in ques- 

 tion, with a view of supplementing the 

 information on pimento growing which 

 has already appeared in the Agricultural 

 News (Vol. IV, p. 295). 



Jamaica appears to be the only coun- 

 try in the world from which pimento is 

 exported ; although an inferior quality 

 of the spice is grown in Mexico, and 

 other parts of Central and South 

 America. 



The pimento berries are dark in colour, 

 aud about as large as a pea. They possess 

 an odour and flavour resembling a mix- 

 ture of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmegs, 

 from which the name 'allspice' hat- 

 been given to them. The pimento tree, 

 which belongs to the myrtle family, 

 attains a height of 30 feet. 



The tree flourishes in the wild state, and 

 plantations are readily established by 

 allowing laud near pimento trees to be- 

 come overgrown with bush from which 

 young seedling spring up, as a result of 

 a large number of seeds deposited by the 

 birds that have been eating the pimento 

 berries. The bush is then cleared, and 

 the pimento trees are allowed to grow 

 up. Most of the plantations in Jamaica 

 were formed in this way. It is stated 

 that the best results are obtained, when 

 a distance of 20 feet is allowed from 

 tree to tree. The tree grow well on a 

 poor soil, when it is fairly light and well 

 drained. 



The first crop is yielded when the 

 trees are about seven years old, and 

 after that the crops increase each year 

 until the trees reach maturity, which 

 takes place at about eighteen or twenty 

 years old. The berries, which form the 

 ' allspice ' of commerce, grow in clusters 

 on the tree. They are gathered while 

 green, before arriving at the stage of 

 ripeness. The full, but unripe berry is 

 spicy and indeed somewhat peppery. In 

 gathering the berries the process follow- 

 ed is for one person to climb the tree and 

 break off the young branches, which are 

 thrown to the ground, the berries being 

 picked from the stalks by women and 



children. Ripe berries are kept separate 

 from the green ones. Contrary to what 

 might be expected, this breaking of the 

 branches does not seem to damage the 

 trees, but it is stated to afford the necess- 

 ary annual pruning without which the 

 trees would not bear regularly. 



The berries are afterwards put through 

 a drying process, in the same manner as 

 coffee, the process lasting from three to 

 twelve days. This takes place either 

 in the sun or sometimes in Avet weather 

 by means of an American fruit evapor- 

 ator. The fruits are known to be 

 sufficiently dry when the seeds rattle on 

 shaking, and are of a dark, spicy colour. 

 In favourable seasons, as much as one 

 hundredweight of dry spice is obtained 

 from a single tree. 



When ripe, the pimento berries are of 

 a glossy black colour, sweet and spicy 

 in flavour. If not picked before reach- 

 ing this stage, such berries are often 

 used to make pimento dram, a native 

 drink. From the leaves of the pimento 

 an essential oil is distilled, which, add- 

 ed to rum, makes bay-rum. The annual 

 average export of pimento from 

 Jamaica is about 75,000 bags, weighing, 

 on an average, 115 lb. each. 



In 1905-6, the Jamaica pimento crop 

 fell short of the average, on account of 

 the heavy and destructive rains which 

 occurred at the time when the berries 

 were forming on the trees, and the 1900-7 

 crop was again short as a result of the 

 prolonged drought. On account of the 

 continuance of the drought, this year's 

 crop is again expected to be small, and 

 will probably not exceed 40,000 cwt. 



As a result, the price of this product is 

 higher than usual, the figure quoted in 

 Jamaica, at the time the Consular Report 

 was written, being 21s. per 100 lb., as 

 compared with an average price for 

 many years past of 15b. per 100 lb. It is 

 stated that if more care were taken in the 

 preparation and curing of the spice on 

 the part of the small settlers, their pro- 

 duct would command a higher price in 

 the market. 



Pimento growing is chiefly carried on 

 in the parish of St. Ann, but consider- 

 able quantities are also produced in the 

 parishes of St. Elizabeth, St. Mary, 

 Trelawney, and Manchester. — Agricul- 

 tural News., Vol. VII, No. 149. 



[The tree does very well at Peradeniya, 

 but no one, so far as we know, has 

 attempted to grow it in Ceylon on a 

 commercial scale. — Ed.] 



