262 
PIMENTO. 
leaves,  aromatic  like  its  fruit,  and  resembling  those  of  the  myr- 
tle. It  is,  in  fact,  a  tree  of  the  myrtle  tribe.  The  trunk  is 
white,  because  every  year  the  bark  strips.  Nature  seems  to  have 
intended  that  some  useful  purpose  should  be  served  by  the  bark, 
but  hitherto  it  has  not  been  made  available  commercially.  The 
tree  blossoms  twice,  but  only  bears  once  a  year ;  the  blossom 
that  holds  and  sets  to  the  fruit  appears  in  April.  A  sprig  or 
two  of  the  white,  fragrant  flower  was  to  be  seen  now.  It  had  the 
unmistakable  4  allspice  '  smell,  and  when  the  whole  ■  walk  '  is  in 
blossom,  the  air  must  be  laden  with  rich,  aromatic  perfume.  The 
berry  grows  to  the  size  of  a  black  currant,  and  is  ready  for  pick- 
ing about  the  last  week  in  July.  It  must  be  green  when  picked, 
for  if  allowed  to  ripen  it  loses  its  aromatic  properties  and  becomes 
sweet  instead  of  spicy.  After  being  rubbed  from  the  stalks  and 
dried  in  the  sun,  it  becomes  a  rich  brown,  and  when  passed 
through  a  fanner,  is  bagged  and  ready  for  shipment.  The  term 
sometimes  used  to  denote  the  in-gathering  of  the  crop  is  not  pick- 
ing, but  'breaking,'  because  with  each  cluster  of  berries  a  portion 
of  the  branch  is  broken  off,  the  tree  thriving  all  the  better  for  the 
spoliation.  The  crop  is  a  very  variable  one,  and  sometimes  fails 
altogether.  But  the  tree  costs  nothing  in  cultivation,  and  the 
walk  is  always  laid  out  in  grass,  like  an  English  orchard.  On 
the  other  hand,  pimento,  like  sugar,  has  decreased  much  in  value 
of  late  years.  It  used  to  be  worth  6d.,  or  even  Is.  a  pound,  but 
at  this  moment  fetches  only  2Jd.  to  3d.  Misfortunes  never 
come  singly,  and  poor  Jamaica  has  certainly  had  a  run  of  ill-luck 
in  late  years. 
"  Before  the  war  with  Russia  there  was  a  large  demand  for 
pimento  from  that  country  for  use  in  spiced  bread  ;  but  during 
the  blockade  it  was  found  that  a  tree  growing  on  the  banks  of  the 
Amoor  yielded  a  bark  which,  when  grated,  was  pungent  enough 
to  supply  the  pepper,  and  aromatic  enough  to  yield  the  spicer 
and  the  Russian  market  was  thus  lost.  So  pimento  growers, 
like  sugar  growers,  despond ;  though,  enjoying  a  monopoly  of 
production,  they  cannot  complain  that  they  have  to  sustain  an 
unfair  competition  with  slave  labor." — Chemist  and  Druggist, 
March  15,  1866. 
