PEPPER. 
29 
2*.,  and  even  2s.  6d.  per  pound,  while  the  cost  price  in  Singa- 
pore ranged  no  higher  than  from  6d.  to  Sd.  In  proportion  as 
the  duty  was  lowered,  so  the  price  of  pepper  fell,  and  the  con- 
sumption became  likewise  proportionately  greater.  The  prime 
cost  of  Singapore  pepper,  at  the  present  time,  does  not  exceed 
Id.  or  l^d.  per  pound,  and  that  from  Malabar,  Sumatra,  and 
Penang,  about  4d.,  while  white  pepper  fetches  from  9d.  to  Is., 
and  perhaps  Is.  6d.  In  Singapore,  where  immense  pepper 
plantations  exist,  the  cultivation  is  chiefly  carried  on  by  Chinese 
settlers,  who,  owing  to  the  heavy  impost  in  this  country,  to 
which  the  bulk  of  their  produce  is  shipped,  find  it  a  very  poor 
and  scarcely  profitable  speculation,  requiring,  as  the  plants  do, 
so  much  care  and  attention.  From  the  foregoing  facts,  it  is 
easy  to  see  that,  were  the  present  duty  of  6d.  per  pound 
reduced,  we  might  expect  a  corresponding  increase  in  our 
importations,  which  would  probably  add  to,  rather  than  diminish, 
the  public  revenue,  for  we  might  safely  depend  upon  the  use  of 
pepper  becoming  more  extended,  so  generally  appreciated  as 
it  is. 
The  plant  which  furnishes  melaguetta  pepper,  or  grains  of 
Paradise,  now  pretty  well  known  to  botanists,  seems  remarkable 
for  its  variable  size,  especially  as  shown  in  its  fruit.  According 
to  Dr.  W.  F.  Daniell,  the  variety  grown  at  Accra  is  the  largest. 
The  smaller,  which  grows  on  higher  ground,  is  called  in  Fer- 
nando Po,  Toholo  M'Pomdh,  or  M'Pomah  pepper. 
Specimens  of  the  flowers  of  each  variety  are  desirable  to 
ascertain  if  they  belong  to  one  and  the  same  species. 
Of  bastard  or  false  melaguetta  peppers  there  are  several 
beautiful  species,  quite  distinct  and  different  from  each  other, 
and  very  imperfectly  known  to  botanists.  The  fruit  of  some  of 
them  is  used  by  the  blacks  for  the  sake  of  its  acrid  pulp,  which 
is  agreeable  to  the  taste.  They  are  tall,  flag-like  plants,  with 
handsome  flowers  and  fruits  produced  near  the  roots.  Melaguetta 
pepper,  true  or  false,  belongs  to  the  botanical  genus  Amomum. — 
Lond.  Pharm.  Journ.,  Nov.  1,  1865,  from  Technologist. 
