. . . TAM., TEL. TURK.
There are several peppers, black, white, and long pepper, melegneta pepper, cayenne or Chili pepper, Guinea and Jamaica pepper, and cubeb pepper, the last used as a medicine, the others in food as condiments. The black pepper of com merce is obtained from the dried unripe fruit (drupes) of Piper ingrum, a climbing plant com mon in the East Indies. Three kinds of black pepper are distinguished by wholesale dealers. Malabar pepper, the most valuable, is brownish black, free from stalks, and nearly free from dust. Penang pepper is brownish-black, larger, smoother, free from stalks, but very dusty. It is sometimes used in England to manufacture white pepper. Sumatra pepper, the cheapest sort, is black mixed with stalks, and contains much dust. Under the name of Sumatra pepper, some dealers include the Penang or brownish - black sort, and the black Sumatra sort. Three kinds of varieties of white pepper have also been distinguished. Tellieherry pepper, which is of two kinds ; large fine Telli cherry pepper is larger and whiter than any other description of white pepper, and fetches a higher price ; small or coriander-like pepper is shrivelled. Common white pepper comes from Penang by Singapore ; it is round, and not shrivelled ; its value depends on its size and whiteness. English bleached, or white pepper. When the two preced ing sorts are scarce, brown Penang pepper is bleached. The ycllowest and largest are chosen for this purpose, for neither an expensive nor small sort would pay.
Imported into India. Exported from India.
Year. Lbs. Rs. Lbs. Rs.
1875-76, 5,906,764 12,37,090 6,195,089 10,96,320 1876-77, 6,461,897 13,34,536 5,611,507 10,50,962 1677-78, 8,360,069 15,73,398 4,832,998 8,82,124 1878-79, 6,842,010 11,62,477 7,149,323 12,17,365 1879-80, 9,040,141 16,00,224 3,164,701 6,42,853 1882-83, 5,168,286 12,36,707 9,265,411 23,06,721 Almost all from the Straits. A small quantity from Ceylon.
Pliny states that the price of pepper in the I market of Rome in his time was, in English money, 9s. 4d. a pound. The pepper alluded to I must have been the produce of Malabar, the nearest part of India to Europe that produced the article, and its prime cost could not have exceeded the present one, or about 2d. a pound. After the great discovery of Vasco da Gama, the price of pepper fell to about Is. 3d. a pound, a fall of tis. Id. from that of the time of Pliny, and of 4s. 9d. from that of the Muhammadan Arabs, Turks, and Venetians.
Black Pepper.
liu•tsiau, . . . . CHIN.Lads, MALAY. Kala mirth, . . . Hum I Maricha, . . . • s., White Pepper. Seed inirch, . . . IILND. I Lads puteb, . • MALAY.
Black pepper and white pepper are the fruit of the Piper nigrttm, the former being the whole berry dried, while the white pepper is the ripe berry deprived of its skin by soaking it in water, rubbing it off, and drying it in the sun. This has less of the peculiar virtues of the spice than black pepper, and is not so generally used. Pepper is a warm car
minative stimulant ; it is used largely in Europe, but in the south and east of Asia, the capsicum, chilli, or cayenne spice, is preferred. It strengthens the stomach, gives tone to the system, and twists digestion. In the Northern Circars of the Madras Presidency, the Piper trioecum, an excessively pungent pepper, is largely used as a substitute for black pepper ; in America, the plants Peltobryon longifolium, Serronia jaborandi, are similarly used, also at the Cape, Cocobryon Capense.
The black pepper vine is indigenous to the forests of Malabar and Travancore, and for cen turies has been an article of exportation to European countries from that coast. Although growing in other countries of the east, Malabar pepper is con sidered to be the best. Its cultivation is very simple, and is effected by cuttings or suckers put down before the commencement of the rains in June. 'The soil should be rich ; but if too much moisture be allowed to accumulate near the roots, the young plants are apt to rot. In three years the vine begins to bear. They are planted chiefly hi hilly districts, but thrive well enough in the low country in the moist climate of Malabar. They are usually planted at the base of trees which have rough or prickly bark, such as the jack, the erythrina, cashew-nut, mango tree, and others of similar description. They will climb about 20 or 30 feet, but are purposely kept lower than that. During their growth it is requisite to remove all suckers, and the vine should be pruned, thinned, and kept clear of weeds. After the berries have been gathered, they are dried on mats in the sun, turning from red to black. They must be plucked before quite ripe, and if too early they will spoil. White pepper is the same fruit freed from its outer skin. In this latter state they are smaller, of a greyish-white colour, and have a less aromatic or pungent taste. The pepper vine is very common in the hilly districts of Travancore, especially in Cottayam, Meenachel, and Chengana cherry districts, where, at an average calculation, about 5000 candies are produced annually.
To prepare white pepper, the berries are allowed to ripen and become of a beautiful bright red colour ; the outer or fruity skin becomes tender and soft, and is of a sweetish taste. When plucked, the berries are collected in loosely woven bags, and steeped for a day or two in water, either hot or cold. This serves to loosen and detach the red pulpy seed covering, and when taken out and dried in the sun, a little hand-friction is all that is required to clear the seeds. They are then win nowed, and thus made ready for the market.
Long pepper, the Chavica Roxburghii, or Piper longum, is another cultivated species. It is readily propagated by cuttings. The stems are annual, and the roots live for several years, and, ..1, . four ernnea_