THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[June i, 1889. 
plant above, they keep alive 
tage of planting well-rooted 
its of this description as I 
m to remain in the nursery 
/ith cinchona under thatched 
In cuttings. Where plants 
ripe 5 or 6 inches apart) 
months, and then put; out. 
between plants raised from 
ieve as to there being any 
s. In fact, from thousands 
ot get anyone to point out 
ch from a seed. It is said 
lot yet found an example, 
. I have already mentioned 
raising plants as they do 
into a bush and soon die 
lr years old with a few bun- 
nning to throw out shoots, 
it would appear that after 
rom this would again appear 
7 roots is really very slow, 
e slightest drought deprives 
;ding roots. I do not there- 
riment of growing pepper 
•d from branch cuttings, as 
local newspapers recently, 
the ground with a fork and 
iportance to afford the plant 
n the shortest space of time, 
from stones and other roots, 
s should be at least 9x12 
iken not to allow the roots 
)le not to pull out the plant 
0 thoroughly loosen the bed 
ttle injury to the small root- 
ing or breaking the tender 
tical interest to those who 
ier circumstances similar to 
es gained during a period 
entioned that were I to enter 
ivation was extended during 
same story again. But it 
bservations I may have made 
1 fear I would only qualify 
plant may be said to have 
18 inches from the ground, 
1 arecanut or a jak tree, or 
ots round the trees, it was 
t to throw out more shoots 
ne over a small area. But 
xess ; for about 1 2 months 
they were no better than 
system is unsuitable to this 
.t it is a greater help to the 
irk of trees or soft strings 
ould be taken to leave them 
iken hold of the tree. But 
c trees bear fruit and the 
lereby trample or otherwise 
; growth materially. Those 
; it is however not the 
already stated that pepper 
step further and add that 
n the tropics. When my 
usually begins to crop) the 
ie ground, while the others 
was supposed that the latter 
some of them to be growing 
ir success still remained a 
Uice in the local papers 
a estate near Peradeniyn, 
being desirable to try a 
ry a change of seed I, 
|i a /owed to obtain sortie 
sun is more essential to the plant than the hot afternoons. The situation of 
Haloya favours this idea; and when I say that most of the best growing plants 
on Crystal Hill are also to be found in situations facing the east, it would appear 
1 lat there is some truth in the theory. On a recent visit to Cotta near Colombo 
I was greatly interested with a pepper vine shown to me in his garden by 
Mr. John Garth, which was then only 18 months old, but in height 10 feet 
from the ground with a fair promise of crop. The climate of Cotta with an 
elevation of perhaps 100 feet above the mean sea level, is, I think, more moist 
than it is in Matale, and its proximity to the sea in the west which is only 
five miles distant, always brings to it the frequent showers of rain which arise 
rom the sea, but which as they reach higher regions is dispersed and carried 
away by different currents of wind. The soil of Cotta is the same as what may 
be seen in all parts of Colombo — cabook and red clay, and as Mr. Garth's property 
must have been cleared and planted with coconuts more than 15 years ago, I should 
think the best of its good qualities must by this time have been exhausted; and 
I cannot therefore admit that any special richness of the soil, combined with 
its more favourable rainfall to be the cause of the wonderful growth of the 
vine I had seen with hardly any attention paid to it, than the full exposure of the 
field where it grew to the morning sun, and its protection from the heat of the rest 
of the day. Now compare these facts with what has been said of pepper grown 
successfully at one time in Batticaloa in the Eastern Province, and the con- 
clusion will be irresistible that it was chiefly due to its exposure to the east 
and shelter from the west. By advancing this theory of an " eastern situation " I do 
not mean to say that pepper would not grow in any other aspect of land, for 
I have seen vines growing without any trouble at all in diverse positions in 
native villages as well as in cultivated estates. But even then these are only 
few and far between and should be considered as exceptions. But then these 
exceptions will not fail to strike even a casual observer as to there being a 
certain tendency in the smallest plant as well as in the largest vine to incline 
all its growing powers to a point from whence it gets the most light, and a 
further glance will show that this light which exercises such a great influence 
over it, is not of the afternoon, but of the morning. The best specimen of a 
vine might be seen to be growing over a half decayed jak tree which is fully 
exposed to the sun blazing from the west ; but if one would only examine as 
to which was the side it had originally struck root, creeped along its support 
and covered itself with the richest foliage, it would invariably be seen that all 
this was done from the first of the four cardinal points. Now having said this 
much to the point under discussion, I arrive at the conclusion that where the 
plant is not afforded natural shelter, it would be always of some advantage to 
provide artificial shade from the side it gets the afternoon sun. This could 
aiways be obtained by putting out the plant always to the eastern side of 
the tree on which it is intended to grow, but where it could not be had other 
remedies will have to be adopted. 
Unlike some other products of agriculture, I think, we must pay more 
attention to change of seed in pepper cultivation than to anything else. This 
should not be understood as if I am recommending the adoption of any dis- 
tinct variety of pepper ; in fact 1 do not believe that even where one could 
be distinguished from the other, any one variety would grow and bear better 
than another. If, however, any of my brother planters prefer the " Malabar 
variety," bought at such exorbitant prices as those recently advertised in the 
local newspapers, over what could be obtained in the country, they would do 
well to first see what has been the result of similar experiments with other 
products and satisfied that the money thus given away would be returned 
by larger crops, than the native indigenous variety is capable of producing. 
In my humble opinion any variety would grow in this country only if it 
could be made to grow, and be it exotic or indigenous, under careful culti- 
vation it would bear crops as good as those of any other parts of the 
world. It should also be carefully noted that cuttings, plants or seeds for 
planting should always be procured from a district whose elevation is either 
higher or lower than that of the district in which it is intended to be 
planted. There is also another point which should not be lost sight of. 
History tells us that pepper was an item of fiscal revenue of the 
island more than four hundred years ago ; and if we only consider the 
length of time the indigenous variety had been growing, multiplying its species 
up to this day throughout' the island, the fact must be patent to every one, that 
by this time it must have greatly degenerated, and that it does not produce so 
much crop now as it did before. This is supposed to be also the case with 
paddy and other grains which in former times turned out from the same extent 
of land from sixty to seventy fold more crop than they do at the present day. 
With regard to the latter product we know that several attempts had been made 
to introduce seed paddy from foreign countries; but the results obtained when 
ccmpared with those of the native sort, there was hardly any encouraging 
difference to be found. I think it was the same with coffee. Now all these 
facts tend to show that it is very unlikely that any foreign variety of pepper 
would ever supersede the native product ; but at the same time I am inclined 
to believe in the theory that the introduction of a more robust stranger into 
