664 
‘go plentifully the three succeeding years, 
that some plants yield six or seven pounds 
of pepper in that period. The bark then 
begins to shrink, and in twelve years time 
it ceases bearing. 
The culture of pepper is not diffi- 
cult; it is sufficient to plant it in a rich 
soil, and carefully pull up the weeds that 
grow in- great abundance round its roots, 
especially the three first years, As the 
‘sun is highly necessary to the growth of 
the pepper-plant, when it is ready to bear, 
the trees that support it must be lopped 
to prevent their shade from injuring the 
fruit. 
_ The betel is a species of this genus. 
It isa climbing and creeping plant like the 
ivy; and its leavesa good deal resemble 
those of the citron, though they are lon- 
ger and. narrower at the extremity. It 
grows in all parts of India, but thrives 
best in moist places; the natives cultivate 
it as we do the vine, placing props for it 
to run and climb upon; and it is a com- 
mon practice to plant it against the tree 
that bears the areca-nut. 
Fruits are plentiful on this beautiful 
island; the. pine-apple grows wild, while 
shaddocks, plantains, jack-fiuit, oranges, 
lemons, &c. are reared with the greatest 
ease. 
In the botanical garden may be seen 
the cinnamon, bread-fruit, and a great 
variety of curious and useful trees. 
Hitherto there was considerable diffi- 
culty in watering ships at this island, as 
the boats were obliged to go to some dis- 
tance froin the town to fill the casks, and 
that too on a beach so shelving, that they 
were forced to roll down the casks into 
the water, and parbuckle them into the 
boats, with incredible fatigue. 
There 1s now, however, a conduit form- 
ed, which leads the water from the foot, 
of the mountain down to the town, and 
even to the extremity of a wharf, which 
projects upwards of one hundred and fifty 
yards into the sea, and where boats may 
lie and have their casks filled by a hose, 
that leads from a cock on the wharf into 
the bung-holes of the casks. 
This water too is. of an excellent qua- 
lity; as it comes directly from the water- 
fal, without passing through any fens or 
marshes, whereby it might be injured: 
this is a work of very great public utility, 
as the principal object of this settlement 
is the supplying our China fleets with 
wood and water. 
Though Prince of Wales’s island ex- 
-ports very little of its own productions, 
except pepper and wood, yet there is a 
Journal of a Voyage in the Indian Seas. 
very considerable trade carried on here, 
from its being in a central situation be- 
tween India, China, and the Eastern 
islands. 
The merchants take advantage of the 
fleets passing and repassing, to export to 
China, &c. opium, betel, pepper, tin, ra- 
tans, and various other articles which 
they have ready collected; and for which 
they receive either dollars, or the produc- 
tions of China and the Eastern isles, which 
they afterwards ship off to India, or send 
home to Europe, whichever they may 
find most advantageous. . 
PASSAGE TO MADRAS. 
On the first of April I bade adieu to 
the pleasantest settlement in India, 
Prince of Wales’s Island. 
As this was the period at which the . 
north-east monsoon shifts to that of the 
south-west, we consequently had very dis- 
agreeable and unsettled weather, espe- 
cially among the Nicobar islands; where 
we experienced nothing but a succession 
of heavy squalls, calms, deluges of rain, 
and not untrequently tremendous thunder- 
storms. Bile 
After a tedious passage we arrived in 
Madras roads on the twenty-first of 
Aptil. / 
Among the various novel objects that 
occupy the attention of a stranger for 
some time after arriving in this country, 
T must not pass over the celebrated jug- 
glers of India, of whom those at Madras 
are said to be the most expert. 
It would be impossible to enumerate 
the various tricks which they perform 
with snakes, balls, cups, &c. 
The great flexibility of their joints and 
muscles, their sober manner of living, and 
their unweared application in the attain- 
ment of perfection. in their art, render 
them much superior, in my opinion, to the 
Europeans in many of their legerdemain 
deceptions and tricks. 
I shall pass over these,however,to men= ~~ 
tion one where there is no deception;. 
but which is nevertheless one of their 
chef d’auvres—1 mean swallowing the 
sword. 
This sword has some resemblance to a 
common spit in shape, exceptrat the han- 
dle, whichis merely a part of the blade 
itself, rounded and elongated into a little 
rod. Itis from twenty-two to twenty-six 
inches in length, about an inch in breadth, 
and about one-fifth of an inch in thick- 
ness; the edges and point are blunt, be- 
ing rounded, and of the same thickness 
as the rest of the blade. It is of iron or 
steel, smooth, and a little bright. 
Having 
