126 
WONDERS OF THE TROPICAL FORESTS. 
uponone tree,aiid female or fertile upon another. Thefiowers 
of both aro small, wliite, and bell-shaped ; the eiiibiTO-fruit 
appearing at the bottom of the female llowers in the form of 
a little reddish knob. When ripe, it resembles in appear- 
ance and sixe a small peacli, and then the outer rind, which 
is aljout half an inch thick, bnrsts at the side, and discloses 
a shining black nut, which seema the darker from the con- 
trast of the leafy network of a fine red colour with which it 
is enveloped. The latter forms the Mace of commerce, and 
having been laid to dry in tlie shade for a short time, is 
packed in bags and pressed together very tightly. 
The shell of the nut is larger and harder than that of 
the filbert, and could not, in the state in whiL-h it is 
gathered, be broken withont injuring tlie nut. On that 
account the nnts are saccessivcly dried in the sun and then 
by fire-heat, till tlie kernel shrinks so mnch as to rattle 
in the shell, which is then easily broken* 
Although not so costly as cloves or cinnamon, pepper 
is of a much greater commercial value, as its consumption 
is at least a hundred times greater. It grows on a beauti- 
ful vine, which, incapable of supporting itself, twines round 
poles or mango and other trees 
{jf straight higfi stems. As these 
are strippedofthelower branches, 
the vine embraces the trunk, 
covering It with elegant festoons 
and rich bunches of Iruit in the 
style of the Italian vineyards. 
The leaf of the pepper plant 
is large, resembling that of the 
ivy, and of a bright green j the 
blossoms appear in June, soon 
after the commencement of the 
rains j they are small, of a greenish white, and are followed 
by the pungent berries, which bang in large bunches, 
resembling in shape those of grapes, but the fruit grows 
distinct on little stalks like currants. 
