482 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



and when the chillies grew up. the weeders 

 got so confused with the lines that much time 

 was lost. If the plants are placed 



IN THE SAME ROWS AS THE TEA 



it gives much more freedom for efficient working. 



The chillie plant being of so sappy and frail a 

 nature, I have found it best to plant two plants 

 together in the same hole. They form a larger 

 and denser bush and are not easily blown over 

 by strong winds, of which chillie trees cannot 

 stand much. 



Before planting, the plants should have their 

 roots well trimmed and their tops cut off, and 

 always select a dull, wet day for this work 

 They strike root very easily, and in two weeks' 

 time; or in less, with favourable weather ; they 

 get fully established and sprout out vigorously. 

 No further attention is necessary except, of 

 course, an occasional weeding, until the fruit 

 ripens which it should do in 5 to 6 months after 

 planting. 



In India the usual way 



TO CUKE THE PODS 



is by spreading and drying them in the sun. This 

 process however has been found to bleach the 

 fruit. This impairs to a large extent the 

 pungency, and the value is thereby consider- 

 ably reduced. The way I cure is by 



EVAPOEATING IN A HOUSE 



by heat. My curing house is 30 feet long x 12 

 feet broad and built with brick walls and fitted 

 with air-tight doors and windows and close 

 fitting iron roof. Except for a vent to allow 

 moisture to escape along the ridging there should 

 be no other aperture. I have 



AN UNDERGROUND FLUE, 



starting at one end of the building whore 

 there is a furnace built in, large enough to take 

 a log about 4 feet long and 12 to 18 inches 

 diameter. The flue commencing underground 

 rises gradually in its course round the inside of 

 the room — mine is 2 ft. from, and parallel to the 

 wail and then terminates in a chimney stack, the 

 same end as the furnace. The stack should be 

 about 18 feet to 20 feet high and be fitted with a 

 damper to regulate heat. Over the flue I have 

 racks erected, capable of carrying a series of 

 removable trays which are placed 6 inches 

 above one another and there are 6 trays to 

 each section. My house contains 250 trays 

 which are 4 feet long by 18 inches wide and 

 having sides 2 inches deep. The bottom of the 

 tray is composed of fine wire gauze. There is a 

 passage 4 feet wide in the centre of the 

 room between the racks for the attendant to pass. 

 When the fruit is 



RIPE IT SHOULD BE A DEEP RUBY 



colour. Orange-colour pods should not be 

 picked as they are unripe, and turn pale in 

 colour during desiccation. The chillies should 

 be picked without stalks, and then spread evenly 

 over the trays. A brisk heat is now kept up 

 night and day at about 125 degrees and the 

 chillies occasionally turned over by the attend- 

 ant. In three days' time the chillies will be found 

 to be quite dry, when all broken small or dis- 

 coloured fruit must be carefully removed by hand 

 to be packed and disposed of as a inferior 

 quality. There is only 3 to 4 per cent of these 

 off-coloured fruit, so the trouble is not much. 



When a sufficient quantity of the dried chillies 

 is accumulated, they 



SHOULD BE PACKED IN BALES. 



The way I adopt is very simple and effective. 1 

 first have all the chillies that are to be packed, 

 heaped overnight and a little water sprayed on 

 to the heap which is immediately covered over 

 by sacks. This will tend to make the skin of 

 the fruit pliable and is not likely to break up 

 when subjected to pressure. It will be thought 

 that damping the chillies will cause mildew ; 

 but it has absolutely no injurious effect and 

 soon dries off in the bale. For the baling pro- 

 cess, I have a strong wooden box, well put 

 together, with one side hinged. Any size or 

 shape can be used; but it is best to make your 

 box to the size of gunny bag most easily 

 procured. The bottom of the bag is squared 

 and sewn ;' this is easily done by drawing the 

 bag on to a square piece of board the breadth 

 of your bale, which is nailed on to a pole fixed 

 in the ground and of a convenient height. The 

 loose points can then be drawn together and 

 sewn down. The bag should now be placed 

 into the bale box and the open end be fixed by 

 catches that have been previously fitted on the 

 four sides on the top of the box. 



The chillies are dropped in a little by little, 

 while a cooly treads them firmly down over a 

 small square board. When the bag is full enough 

 the ends of the bag are drawn together square, 

 and sewn down exactly as the other end. The 

 bale can then be taken out after unbolting the 

 side of the box, and it will assume a very neat 

 appearance. The most useful weight is 100 lb. 

 nett to a bale, but this can be regulated to 

 local conditions. The stencilling denoting name 

 of estate, grower, quality and quantity should 

 be neatly done, for nothing is so unsightly as 

 a smudge. 



If the chillies are intended for export, it is 

 advisable to send your bales down to any coast 

 firm who has a large hydraulic baling machine, 

 and get the bales re-pressed, two together and 

 bound with iron strapoing. This will save ocean 

 freight as space wilf be economised by the 

 tighter package. — Chillies have been 



KNOWN TO BEAR FOR 5 TO 6 YEARS 



in succession ; but after the 2nd year they 

 deteriorate in size and pungency, and it is ad- 

 visable to put in fresh plants. After the first crop 

 the trees should be pruned down to 9 in, from 

 the ground. A vigorous growth will result 

 and if the season is good, a very heavy crop 

 to follow. As a catch crop in tea, two years 

 is usually as long as it is wanted, for the 

 young tea will have growo sufficiently by then 

 to be left alone. 



Like everything else, chillies are apt to be 

 overdone ; but for those who go in for the 

 crop on the right lines, a good market is always 

 available. As a by-product the chillies (with 

 all the seed removed) can be ground into 

 Cayenne pepper and bottled into glass castore. 

 These find a ready sale at tbe grocers. 



The dried product is largely in demand in 

 this Colony among the Indians, and although 

 a vast quantity is imported from India, the 

 coolies prefer the desiccated Colonial article, 

 because it is richer in colour and more pun- 

 gent and less in price than the oversea article 

 which is mostly sun-dried and very inferior in 

 quality. There is also a 



