VIII 
PEPPEKS 
249 
spikes ; males resembling the ivy-leaved form, but the 
leaves not markedly wavy, the spikes brown, red, and 
hairy. Apparently a hill form which has crept down 
into the lower estates. 
Pouched pepper resembles the bigberry, but the 
bracts are developed into pouches or cushions, on which 
the male and female organs are situated. It is a dis- 
tinct species, and known as Piper trichostachyon. It is 
remarkable for the fragrance of the young spikes, which 
are thick and whitish yellow. 
In Borneo, Sarawak, Mr. Hewitt found two forms 
in the Chinese pepper gardens, a small-leaved and a 
large-leaved form. The latter has many of its leaves 
resembling those of the small-leaved variety, but some 
few are considerably larger. The small-leaved one is 
more prolific and is preferred. In most gardens there 
are one or two male plants. They are indistinguishable 
from the small-leaved form till they fruit, when they 
only produce a little fruit. Some of the Chinese 
gardeners look with favour on the male vine, and one 
man affirms that if there were no males in the garden, 
a plant of the Betel pepper [Piper hetle) was cultivated 
in the garden to act as a male. However this may be, 
it is usual to find one betel pepper or more in a Chinese 
pepper garden. ^ 
Trang Pepper. — -This is the name of a variety culti- 
vated in the most northern of the Siamese western states, 
known as Trang. An account of a visit to this region 
by Mr. E. Derry is published in the Bulletin of the 
Straits Settlements in 1909 (vol. viii. p. 240), the 
object of the expedition being to secure plants for culti- 
vation in the Malay Peninsula. The plant possesses a 
more decided fruiting season than the other peppers. 
In April not a spike of flowers or fruit was to be seen. 
The fruit is produced in the dry season only, and 
therefore does not run the risk of damage from rain. 
The peppercorns are the smallest of all varieties, the 
spikes being about 3 in. long, but the fruit possesses the 
^ J. Hewitt, Agricultural Bulletin of Straits Settlements, vol. vii. p. 189. 
