The soil of the beds is worked up fine and banked up, and two 
holes are made on either side of the bed about I Vz to 2 feet apart, 
giving from 50 to 60 plants to a bed. Cow-dung is put in each hole 
and the plants are planted therein and soil raked over the cow-dung 
to the bases of the plants. Liquid manure is given once a week, or 
oftener. Urine is often used in the proportions of three parts of 
urine to two of water when the plants are young and two parts of 
urine to three of water later. Pig-dung is also used when procurable ; 
over manuring is to be avoided, but the plants can take a good deal 
of liquid manure. The weeds have to be removed from the beds from 
time to time. Plants commence fruiting in three months and go on 
bearing for seven more. The fruit are picked when fully red, unless 
green capsicums are wanted for pickling. 
Excessive rain in injurious, and often spoils the crop to a con- 
siderable extent. The actual cause of this is a fungus which attacks 
theipod and which is most prevalent in continued rainy weather. The 
fungus is a species of Gloeosporium ( G . piperatum), a plant allied to, 
if not the same, as the ripe sort of apples. It causes brown spots of 
decay, firm to the feel, eventually developing pinkish pustules, be- 
coming black. 
The common Capsicum fungus in Singapore is either this species 
described by Tubeuf or an allied one. It! appears as an oval or circular 
blotch gradually spreading, at first black, but as the tissue destroyed 
dries, brown with a black edge. The epidermis is cracked dry and 
elevated, finally the whole fruit dries up and is worthless. 
The diseased pods should be removed, and the plants and ground 
disinfected with Bordeaux mixture. 
It is not easy to discover what amount of pods can be obtained 
per acre in the Straits Settlements, as the Chinese are very vague 
upon this point. In Montserrat, in the West Indies, a return of 
4850 lbs. of fresh capsicums, 2921 lbs. when dry, is given as a good 
return, but this seems much too high for an average return. As a 
catch-crop they ought to pay well in the neighbourhood of a town or 
a largely populated native district, where they could be sold fresh. 
In Singapore dried Chilis are seldom prepared, unless when the 
crop is large or there is an overstock. They are dried in the sun, 
exposed on mats or in trays. Locally-dried Chilis, however, are not 
popular with the natives here, probably from carelessness in drying 
and the absence often of enough sunheat. It is possible also to dry 
them with fire heat or in a desiccator and I have seen good samples 
prepared by careful heating over a fire. 
The native, however, does not seem to care about kiln dried 
Chilis preferring sun-dried, still, there should be a fair sale for well 
prepared samples ; near market there would probably be a better sale 
for the fresh fruit, and in such a locality it might pay very well to 
grow Chilis as a catch-crop. — E d. 
