154 



ORIENTAL COMMERCE. [Bombay. 



Hind, Culacriy San.) a middling sized tree, growing plentifully on the 

 Malabar coast ; the berry, or fruit, is about the size of an apple, covered 

 with a hard shell, somewhat resembling the pomegranate, of a rich beautiful 

 orange colour when ripe ; filled with a pulp containing the seeds, or Nux 

 Vomica; these are flat and round, about an inch broad, and of the thickness 

 of a dollar, on both sides prominent in the middle, of a grey colour, covered 

 with a woolly kind of matter, internally hard and tough like horn, having 

 a taste considerably bitter, with very little smell. Chuse such as are large, 

 clean, and new, free from dust and dirt, rejecting the decayed and worm- 

 eaten- Freight, 15 Cwt to the ton. 



Pepper is the produce of a vine, the Pip-er Nigrum (J/mA, Hind. 

 MarkJui„ San.) a hardy plant, growing readily from cuttings or layers, 

 rising in several knotted stems, twining round any neighbouring support, 

 and adhering by its fibres, which shoot from every joint at intervals of 6 to 

 10 inches ; if suffered to run along the ground, these fibres would become 

 roots, but then it would not bear, the prop being necessary for encouraging 

 it to throw out its prolific shoots ; it climbs to the height of 20 feet, but 

 thrives best when restrained to IS or 1.5; as in the former case, the lower 

 part of the vine bears neither leaves nor fruit, whilst in the latter it produces 

 both from within a foot of the ground ; the stalk soon becomes ligneous, and 

 in time acquires considerable thickness. The leaves are of a deep green and 

 glossy surface, heart-shaped, pointed, not pungent to the taste, and have but 

 little smell. The branches are short and brittle, not projecting above 

 two feet from the stem, and separating readily at the joints ; the blossom is 

 small and white, the fruit round, green when young and full grown, and 

 turning to a bright red when ripe, and in perfection. It grows abundantly 

 from all the branches, in long small clusters of 20 to 50 berries, somewhat 

 resembling bunches of currants. It is generally propagated by cuttings from 

 the horizontal shoots that run along the ground. The plant begins to bear 

 about the third year, is esteemed in its prime in the seventh, which state 

 it maintains three or four years ; it then gradually declines for about the 

 same period, until it is no longer worth keeping : generally speaking, the 

 pepper-plant produces two crops in a year, but the seasons are subject 

 to great irregularities. As soon as any of the berries redden, the bunch 

 is reckoned fit for gathering, the remainder being then generally full grown, 

 although green; when gathered, they are spread on mats in the sun; in this 

 situation they become black and shrivelled as we see them ; as the pepper 

 dries, it is hand-rubbed occasionally, to separate the grains from the stalks. 

 That which has been gathered at the properest state of maturity, will shrivel 



