VIII 
PEPPERS 
255 
too rapid draining away of the moisture. Level ground 
lying along a river bank, not too swampy, and free from 
flooding, is the best situation for a pepper garden. But 
even if occasionally flooded, little harm is done if the 
water does not remain over the ground for more than a 
day. Good drainage is necessary, especially in very 
low-lying ground, for excessive moisture, as well as 
excessive dryness, is to be avoided. Salt marshes or 
ground containing an excess of salt is to be avoided. 
Altitudes . — Far the greatest amount of pepper 
plantations lie at about sea-level, or only 200 or 300 ft. 
above it. Pepper can, however, be cultivated at a 
higher level with success. 
Soils . — The richer the soil the more suitable it is 
for pepper. The plant, like all species of the genus, 
naturally inhabits dense forests, where it grows on the 
rich decaying leaf-mould or humus, formed in the woods. 
The more vegetable soil, therefore, that there is in 
the ground, the better it is for the vines. The soil in 
the Straits Settlements and also in Sarawak, where the 
Chinese have long successfully cultivated the plant, is 
a stiff yellow, clay, very poor in potash and lime. 
Analyses of similar soils in the Botanic Gardens of 
Singapore, from spots which were formerly pepper 
gardens, show the composition of this class of soil to be 
as follows : — 
A. 
B. 
c. 
1 
Moisture ..... 
3-800 
3-800 
2-400 
Organic matter combined with water 
11-000 
12-000 
10-600 
Oxide of iron and manganese 
6-600 
2-000 
6-400 
Oxide of alumina .... 
4-664 
4-439 
4-024 
Lime ...... 
0-140 
0-180 
0-220 
Magnesia ..... 
0-057 
0-115 
0-086 
Potash ..... 
0-030 
0-030 
0-015 
Phosphoric acid .... 
0-038 
0-038 
0-012 
Soda ...... 
0-271 
0-398 
0-243 
Sand and Silicates 
74-000 
77-000 
76-000 
100-000 
100-000 
100-000 
