329 
Vegetables of Ceylon* 
As I have already mentioned in a former part of this work, the 
natives always chew it along with the betel-nut, and also con- 
trive to render the mixture still hotter, by the addition of 
lime, tobacco, and the most pungent spices. 
Ceylon, which has been so long renowned for its spices, 
produces several sorts of pepper. The chilly or red pepper is 
produced on a shrub. The fruit grows in small oblong pods 
which are at first green, but upon being pulled and dried, be- 
come red ; and from them the cayen-pepper is made. The 
troops on a march have found it of great benefit to cut up 
some of these chillies in their green state, and qualify the wa- 
ter with them before drinking it. 
The hlaclt pepper, though not peculiar to Ceylon, nor found 
in so great plenty there as in the Molucca isles, still forms 
an useful part of its produce. The plant twines around sup- 
porters like the vine, and the pepper hangs from it in clusters 
like grapes. These clusters are at first green, but gradually 
change to a dark brown; and upon being pulled and dried 
become black. The husk is separated by a machine framed 
for the purpose, with a wire bottom twisted together. The 
ivhite pepper is originally the same with the black, and is ren- 
dered of that colour by a preparation of chinam applied to it 
before it is dried, which takes off the black coat with which 
it is covered. 
Cardamoms grow in the south-east part of the island, par- 
ticularly in the neighbourhood of Matura. The seeds in taste 
resemble our carraways, and are used for seasoning various 
dishes. 
The coffee produced in Ceylon is of a very good quality, 
and in flavour resembles the Moka coffee. The coffee-tree has 
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