Edible Products. 



382 



the smaller quantity of pepper exported during the year, as will be seen from the 

 following comparative table of exports of pepper for the years 1903-04 and 1904-05 : — 



1903- 04 ... ... 11,798,5421b. ... ... Rs. 4145220 



1904- 05 ... ... 8,377,142 „ ... ... „ 2940749 



The foreign demand for pepper and the prices ruling in those markets were 

 satisfactory, but the yield of pepper was small, partly, according to the Govern- 

 ment Reviews, for want of seasonable rain and partly on account of disease among 

 pepper vines, particularly in South Malabar. In the great pepper growing anshoms 

 of the Chirakal and Kottayam Taluqs of the Malabar District, the yield this year 

 promises to be extremely good. 



The pepper vine is cultivated largely on the West Coast of India, in Coorg, 

 Kodaikanal, Siam, Malaya, Cochin China, and other tropical places with moist, 

 hot climates. A rainfall of 100 ins. or more appears to be necessary for its growth, 

 and this is the secret of the success obtained on the West Coast. The pepper 

 planter makes a clearing in the jungle in January. After the break of the monsoon 

 the land is ploughed on this ground, and paddy, castor seed, cotton, dhall, and 

 the seeds of Erythrina] indica are promiscuously sown. As these crops ripen they 

 are harvested one by one, till at last we come to the Erythrina plants. These are 

 allowed to stand for two years, when the poles are cut and laid on the earth. After 

 a week they are kept erect. When they begin to sprout they are taken to the 

 proposed site and planted out. It is estimated that between 300 and 350 standards 

 can be planted to the acre. In the monsoon runners freely come out of the old 

 pepper vines. These are rolled and kept tied to a pole fixed erect near the 

 standards. When required these rolled vines are cut at sufficient lengths to give 

 five nodes for each cutting. These cuttings are planted close to the standards, 

 with three nodes under the earth and two above. The young pepper plants grow 

 rapidly and are secured to the standards. In Malabar the first crop is harvested 

 in the third year, no manure of any kind being applied to the plants. Elaborate 

 arrangements are made by the ryots to protect the roots of the vine from the 

 scorching sun. In South Malabar the people have great faith in the palmyra as 

 a good standard. 



The one secret the successful pepper cultivator has to learn is the regulation 

 of shade. Too much shade or too much exposure are both likely to do damage to 

 the vines. With this intention the leaves of the standards are bared in March 

 and April and allowed to dry in the garden. In the Government Pepper Farm at 

 Talipararnba several experiments are being carried on to preserve the moisture 

 in the soil. One is to give a green dressing of* sun-hemp, ground nut and Cassia 

 tora. The experiments are likely to arouse popular interest in the revival of the 

 cultivation of hemp which has waned of late years in Malabar. The Government's 

 attention was first drawn to the pepper disease by a representation from the 

 Wynaad Planters. Mr. C. A. Barber, the Government Botanist, who was deputed 

 to the Wynaad to make a special study of it, recommended a pepper farm being 

 started, and the farm at Talipararnba is the result. 



The garden is not a new one. The soil also is not an ideal one for pepper 

 cultivation. But this we may consider an advantage, for if, by improved methods, 

 the ryots can be shown how to obtain a better outturn, they are sure to follow 

 the methods adopted on the Government property. The farm is 77 acres in extent, 

 of which 2| acres are wet land. Mr. Barber and his assistants are not introducing 

 any revolutionary methods ; they are simply systematising the native methods. 

 Operations were commenced in April last, and even within the short period that 

 has intervened a large amount of work has been done. A special study is being 

 made of several individual vines on the farm. They bear a zinc label and careful 

 observations are recorded of how they behave under varying conditions. 



