V 
PIMENTO OR ALLSPICE 
201 
We have no record of any disease or pests of the 
allspice tree. In fact, very little has been written 
about the tree at all. It appears to be of easy cultivation 
in Jamaica, though it seems to have failed elsewhere. 
It is reported to be doing well in Fiji. 
The area under cultivation in Jamaica varies a 
good deal, but exclusive of wild plants, the acreage for 
different years has been returned as the following : — 
1871 
1874 
1875-1876 . 
1879-1880 . 
717 acres 
. 1,392 „ 
. 2,363 „ 
. 969 „ 
The pimento, after gathering, is carried in baskets to 
the barbecue, which is a large paved court, divided into 
compartments by a low bank, so that pimento gathered 
on one day and partly dry may not mix with fresher 
gathered berries. The berries are spread out in the sun 
and turned over with a wooden rake, so that they may 
be heated and dried on all sides by the sun. They take 
from three to twelve days to dry. A good dry breeze 
naturally helps. Tarpaulins are required for every 
range of barbecues, so that in case of rain the spice may 
not get wet. Sometimes an American fruit evaporator 
is used to dry it, especially in wet weather. 
Damp spoils the spice by affecting the bright brown 
colour, which is the chief point looked to by the buyers. 
The fruit is known to be dry when it rattles with a 
sharp, dry, crisp sound when a handful is shaken close 
to the ear. The spice is then stored till the crop is 
finished, when it is all passed through a machine which 
fans out dust and bits of leaves, and then it is placed 
in bags for shipment. 
CROPS 
The average annual export from Jamaica is 75,000 
bags, weighing 145 lbs. each, or 11,275,000 lbs. 
