The spice cultivators of the Straits' Se_The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c.

sought a further protective duty on nutmegs, and the extension of a

similar protection to mace and cloves, the produce of these

settlements; for singularly enough the present tariff affords no

protection to mace, the growth of British possessions. From tabular

statements, furnished by the Chamber of Commerce of Pinang, drawn up

apparently with great care, it appears that in 1843 there were 3,046

acres cultivated with spice trees in Pinang and province Wellesley,

containing 233,995 nutmegs, and 80,418 clove trees, besides 77,671

trees in nurseries ready to be planted out; and by a similar statement

from Singapore, which is however not so complete, that 743 acres are

cultivated, containing 43,544 nutmeg trees. The island of Pinang is

estimated to contain 160 square miles, nearly the whole of which, with

the exception perhaps of summits of the hills, is well adapted to

spice growing. Province Wellesley is of much greater extent, and the

soil of it has already been proved to be equally well fitted for that

kind of cultivation; and the settlements of Malacca and Singapore are

said to be admirably suited, in many places, for that species of

produce, the latter of which has already several plantations fast

approaching to maturity.

The cultivation is capable of great extension; encouragement is only

required to be held out, and new plantations will be rapidly formed in

these settlements. The same tables show that the produce in 1842 was,

in Pinang and Province Wellesley, 18,560,281 nutmegs, 42,866 lbs. of

mace, and 11,813 lbs. of cloves[51]; and in Singapore, 842,328

nutmegs, and 1,962 lbs. of mace. Thus making the produce from the two

settlements 19,408,608 nutmegs in number (or in weight 147,034 lbs.),

44,822 lbs. of mace, and 11,813 lbs. of cloves. Now the consumption of

these spices in Great Britain was, on an average of four years ending

1841, as follows:--Nutmegs, 121,000 lbs.; mace, 18,000 lbs.; cloves,

92,000 lbs. Showing, therefore, that the Straits' Settlements already

produce more than sufficient of the two former to supply the home

market.

In the course of four or five years more, Pinang alone will more than

double the present quantity of nutmegs and mace produced in the

Straits, and the produce of cloves will be more than tripled.

I have been able, from several elaborate papers in my "Colonial

Magazine," to condense details, showing the progress of spice

plantations in Prince of Wales Island and Province Wellesley. In the

close of 1843 there were 64,902 nutmeg trees in bearing in the island;

39,209 male trees, 103,982 not bearing; making a total of 208,093

trees planted out, besides 52,510 plants in nursery. The quantity of

ground under cultivation was 2,282 orlongs. The produce in 1842 was

15,116,591 good nuts, 1,461,229 inferior nuts, and 38,260 lbs. of

mace. The gross value of the produce in 1843, reckoning the good nuts

at five dollars per thousand, and the inferior at one dollar, was

76,944 dollars. The estimated number of nuts in 1843 was 12,458,762;

in 1844, 25,429,000.

In Province Wellesley there were 247 orlongs under cultivation with

the nutmeg, on which were 10,500 bearing trees, 8,095 male trees, and

7,307 not yet bearing, making in all 25,902 trees planted out. The

produce was in 1842, 1,969,619 good nuts, 18,842 inferior ditto, and

4,500 lbs. of mace. The value of the produce of nutmegs was 9,867

dollars. The estimated number of nuts in 1843 was 1,980,000; in 1844,

2,958,000. There were in all 423 nutmeg plantations on the island and

main land.

There were annually exported in the four years ending 1850, 48,000

lbs. of nutmegs from Pinang, and 57,400 lbs. of mace.

The French at an early period cultivated the nutmeg at the Mauritius,

and from thence they carried it to Cayenne. In Sumatra it appears to

have been grown successfully, and according to Sir S. Raffles, there

was in 1819 a plantation at Bencoolen of 100,000 nutmeg trees,

one-fourth of which were bearing. Attempts have been made in Trinidad

and St. Vincent to carry out the culture, but for want of enterprise

very little progress seems to have been made in the matter.

Under the new duties which came into operation this year, nutmegs,

instead of standing at 1s. per pound all round, have been classified,

and the so-called "wild" nutmegs of the Dutch islands are to pay only

5d per pound. This deprives the Straits' produce of its last

protection against that of the Banda plantations, where the tree grows

spontaneously, while it gives the long Dutch nut a high protection. If

an alteration in this suicidal measure is not speedily obtained, the

Straits' planters will be ruined. The Dutch have the power of

inundating the market with the long aromatic nut. If the original plan

of putting all British and all foreign nutmegs on the same footing had

been adhered to, the Straits' planters would not have complained, as

they would have trusted to their superior skill and care to compensate

for the grand advantage the Dutch have in their rich soils.

On observing this alteration of duty, Mr. Crawfurd and Mr. Gilman

immediately prepared the following memorandum for the Chancellor of

the Exchequer, which however failed to influence that Minister:--

"MEMORANDUM ON THE DUTIES ON NUTMEGS.

"The duty proposed to be levied on nutmegs is 1s. per pound for

cultivated, and 5d. per pound for those commonly called wild. The

ground on which this distinction is founded, is said to be that the

market value of the one is but half that of the other, and that the

Customs can readily distinguish between them.

Now it is admitted, on all sides, that there is but one species of

culinary nutmeg, the _Myristica Moschata_ of botanists, although at

least a score of the same genus, all unfit for human food. The

parent country of the aromatic nutmegs extends from the Molucca

Islands to New Guinea, inclusive. In this they grow with facility

and even in the Banda Islands, where there are parks of them, they

hardly undergo any cultivation, and may truly be said, even there,

to be a wild product. It is only when grown as exotics, as in the

British settlements of Pinang and Singapore, that they require

cultivation, and that a more careful and expensive one than any

other produce of the soil.

Aromatic nutmegs are sometimes large and sometimes small--sometimes

round, sometimes oblong, and sometimes long, and this will be found

the case whether cultivated or uncultivated. How, then, the Customs

are able to distinguish them it is difficult to understand. In the

ordinary Prices Current no mention whatever is made of the wild and

cultivated, the lowest quality being quoted in the most recent at

2s. per pound, and the highest at 3s. 10d.,--the best of what are

called wild fetching a higher price than the lower qualities of what

are called cultivated.

But suppose the distinction could be made with the most perfect

certainty, to make it would be a palpable departure from the

principle adopted with every other commodity, of charging a

uniform rate of duty on quality. To give an example, the present

price of black pepper is 3-5/8d. to 4d. per pound, while that of

white pepper is 8½d. to 1s. 2d. per pound, both paying the same

duty of 6d.; yet nothing can be more easily distinguished than

these two commodities, which, except as to curing, are the same

article.

Tea is a still more striking example. The duty is the same on all

qualities, though prices range from 1l½d. to 3s. 6d. per pound. It

was the very circumstance of the difficulty of distinguishing

between the different kinds of tea, especially between Bohea and

Congou, which, after an eighteen months trial, overthrew the system

of rated duties of 1s. 6d., 2s., and 3s., adopted on the abolition

of the East India Company's monopoly in 1833.

Unless the duty on nutmegs is equalised there will be no end of

trouble and disputes, and however expert the Customs may be, they

will certainly be outwitted, and long-shaped and small nutmegs,

although really cultivated, will be introduced at the lower duty, by

unscrupulous traders, as wild ones.

It may be added that duties of 12d. and 5d. do not, even if a

departure from the principle of charging on quality were

justifiable, represent the just proportional rates which ought to be

levied upon what are supposed to be, respectively, cultivated and

wild, as they are represented in the ordinary Price Current by the

highest and lowest prices, which are 3s. 10d. and 2s. The just

proportional duty ought to be on the lowest, not 5d., but 7d. The

duty, as first proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, of 1s.

per pound on nutmegs, without distinction, was perfectly

satisfactory to the planters, merchants, and the trade in general.

It is a mistake to suppose that a duty of 1s. would exclude the

so-called wild nutmegs. They would be imported in large quantities,

as the cost is low. In quantity it was 17 Spanish dollars per picul,

and there is no reason to suppose it would be more now. The finest

picked cost say 34 Spanish dollars.

In Pinang and Singapore for cultivated the price is 65 to 70

dollars.

The planters for the most part do not sell on the spot, but consign

here for sale on their own account.

London, May 23rd, 1853.

NUTMEGS IMPORTED AND EXPORTED TO AND FROM SINGAPORE.

Value of the

Imported. Exported. Growth of native growth.

piculs. piculs. Singapore. £

1841 227½ 412 184½ 3,323

1842 258 809 551 9,897

1843 150½ 249 98½ 1,760

1844 52 282 230 4,131

1845 41 383 342 6,143

1846 79 331 252 4,526

1847 139 416 277 4,275

NUTMEGS EXPORTED FROM JAVA.

Nutmegs. Mace.

piculs. piculs.

1830 1,304 177

1835 5,022 1,606

1839 5,027 1,581

1843 2,133 486

IMPORTS INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM.

NUTMEGS, WILD AND CULTIVATED. | MACE.

Imports. Home consump. | Imports. Consumption.

lbs. lbs. | lbs. lbs.

1847 367,936 150,657 | 1847 60,265 18,821

1848 336,420 167,143 | 1848 47,572 19,712

1849 224,021 178,417 | 1849 45,978 20,605

1850 315,126 167,683 | 1850 77,337 21,997

1851 358,320 194,132 | 1851 77,863 21,695

1852 357,940 239,113 | 1852 61,697 21,480

MACE EXPORTED--ACTUAL GROWTH OF SINGAPORE.

Quantity--piculs. Value--£

1841 25½ 583

1842 72 1,616

1843 40¾ 943

1844 16½ 359

1845 71 1,616

1846 8 179

1847 75 1,661

109 piculs of imported mace were also re-shipped in 1847.

40,000 lbs. of mace were imported into the United Kingdom from India

in 1848.

GINGER, GALANGALE, AND CARDAMOMS.

The rhizome of _Zingiber officinale_ (_Amomum Zingiber_), constitutes

the ginger of commerce, which is imported chiefly from the East and

West Indies. It is also grown in China. In the young state the

rhizomes are fleshy and slightly aromatic, and they are then used as

preserves, or prepared in syrup; in a more advanced stage the aroma is

fully developed, their texture is more woody, and they become fit for

ordinary ginger. The inferior sorts, when dried after immersion in hot

water, form black ginger. The best roots are scraped, washed, and

simply dried in the sun with care, and then they receive the name of

white ginger. The rhizome contains an acid resin and volatile oil,

starch and gum. It is used medicinally as a tonic and carminative, in

the form of powder, syrup, and tincture.

The root stocks of _Alpinia racemosa_, _A. Galanga_, and many other

plants of the order, have the same aromatic and pungent properties as

ginger.

The consumption of ginger is about 13,000 or 14,000 cwt. a year. Of

16,004 cwt. imported in 1840, 5,381 came from the British West Indies,

9,727 from the East India Company's possessions and Ceylon, and 896

cwt. from Western Africa.

The difference between the black and white ginger of the shops is

ascribed by Dr. P. Browne and others to different methods of curing

the rhizomes; but this is scarcely sufficient to account for them, and

I cannot help suspecting the existence of some difference in the

plants themselves. That this really exists is proved by the

statements of Rumphius ("Herb. Amb.," lib. 8, cap. xix., p. 156), that

there are two varieties of the plant, the white and the red. Moreover

Dr. Wright ("Lond. Med. Journal," vol. viii.) says that two sorts are

cultivated in Jamaica, viz., the white and the black; and, he adds,

"black ginger has the most numerous and largest roots."

The rhizome, called in commerce ginger root, occurs in

flattish-branched or lobed palmate pieces, called _races_, which do

not exceed four inches in length. Several varieties, distinguished by

their color and place of growth, are met with. The finest is that

brought from Jamaica. A great part of that found in the shops has been

washed in whiting and water, under the pretence of preserving it from

insects.

The dark colored kinds are frequently bleached with chloride of lime.

Barbados ginger is in shorter flatter races, of a darker color, and

covered with a corrugated epidermis. African ginger is in smallish

races, which have been partially scraped, and are pale colored. East

India ginger is unscraped; its races are dark ash colored externally,

and are larger than those of the African ginger. Tellichery ginger is

in large plump races, with a remarkable reddish tint externally.

Jamaica black ginger is not frequently found in the shops. The Malabar

dark ginger is in unscraped short pieces, which have a horny

appearance internally, and are of a dirty brown color both internally

and externally.

Ginger is imported in bags weighing about a hundred-weight.

The Malabar ginger exported from Calicut is the produce of the

district of Shernaad, situated in the south of Calicut; a place

chiefly inhabited by Moplas, who look upon the ginger cultivation as a

most valuable and profitable trade, which in fact it is. The soil of

Shernaad is so very luxuriant, and so well suited for the cultivation

of ginger, that it is reckoned the best, and in fact the only place in

Malabar where ginger grows and thrives to perfection. Gravelly grounds

are considered unfit; the same may be said of swampy ones, and whilst

the former check the growth of the ginger, the latter tend in a great

measure to rot the root; thus the only suitable kind of soil is that

which, being red earth, is yet free from gravel, and the sod good and

heavy. The cultivation generally commences about the middle of May,

after the ground has undergone a thorough process of ploughing,

harrowing, &c.

At the commencement of the monsoons, beds of ten or twelve feet long

by three or four feet wide are formed, and in these beds small holes

are dug at three-fourths to one foot apart, which are filled with

manure. The roots, hitherto carefully buried under sheds, are dug out,

the good ones picked from those which are affected by the moisture, or

any other concomitant of a half-year's exclusion from the atmosphere,

and the process of clipping them into suitable sizes for planting

performed by cutting the ginger into pieces of an inch and a half to

two inches long. These are then buried in the holes, which have been

previously manured, and the whole of the beds are then covered with a

good thick layer of green leaves, which, whilst they serve as manure,

also contribute to keep the beds from unnecessary dampness, which

might otherwise be occasioned by the heavy falls of rain during the

months of June and July. Rain is essentially requisite for the growth

of the ginger; it is also however necessary, that the beds be

constantly kept from inundation, which, if not carefully attended to,

the crop is entirely ruined; great precaution is therefore taken in

forming drains between the beds, and letting water out, thus

preventing a superfluity. On account of the great tendency some kinds

of leaves have to breed worms and insects, strict care is observed in

the choosing of them, and none but the particular kinds used in

manuring ginger are taken in, lest the wrong ones might fetch in

worms, which, if once in the beds, no remedy can be resorted to

successfully to destroy them; thus they in a very short time ruin the

crop. Worms bred from the leaves laid on the soil, though highly

destructive, are not so pernicious to ginger cultivation as those

which proceed from the effect of the soil. The former kind, whilst

they destroy the beds in which they once appear, do not spread

themselves to the other beds, be they ever so close, but the latter

kind must of _course_ be found in almost all the beds, as they do not

proceed from accidental causes, but from the nature of the soil. In

cases like these, the whole crop is oftentimes ruined, and the

cultivators are thereby subjected to heavy losses.

Ginger is extensively diffused throughout the Indian isles, it being

especially indigenous to the East, and of pretty general use among the

natives, who neglect the finer spices. The great and smaller varieties

are cultivated, and the sub-varieties distinguished by their brown or

white colors. There is no production which has a greater diversity of

names. This diversity proves, as usual, the wide diffusion of the

plant in its wild state. The ginger of the Indian Archipelago is

however inferior in quality to that of Malabar or Bengal. In the

cultivation of ginger great improvement may be adopted and expense

saved. The garden plough and small harrow should be used.

The present mode of preparing the land for this crop in the West

Indies, is by first carefully hoeing off all bush and weeds from the

piece you intend to plant; the workmen are then placed in a line, and

dig forward the land to the full depth of the hoe, cutting the furrow

not more than from five to six inches thick. The land is then allowed

to pulverise for a short time; you then prepare it for receiving the

plants by opening drills with the hoe, from ten to twelve inches

apart, and the same in depth, chopping or breaking up any clods that

may be in the land. Two or three women follow and drop the plants in

the drills, say from nine to ten inches apart. The plants or sets are

the small knots or fingers broken off the original root, as not worth

the scraping. The plants are then covered in with a portion of the

earth-bank formed in drilling. It requires great care and attention in

keeping them clean from weeds until they attain sufficient age. It

throws out a pedicle or foot stalk in the course of the second or

third week, the leaves of which are of similar shape to that of the

Guinea grass.

Ginger is a delicate plant, and very liable to rot, particularly if

planted in too rich a soil, or where it may be subject to heavy rains.

The general average of yield is from 1,500 to 2,000 lbs. per acre in

plants, although I have known as much as 3,000 lbs. of ginger cured

from an acre of land. The planting season generally commences in

Jamaica in February and March, and the crop is got in in December and

January, when the stalks begin to wither. The ginger is taken from the

ground by means of the hoe, each laborer filling a good-sized basket,

at the same time breaking off the small knots or knobs for future

planting.

A good scraper of ginger will give you from 30 to 40 lbs. of ginger

per day. It is then laid on barbacues (generally made of boards) to

dry. It takes from six to ten days to be properly cured. The average

yield in weight is about one-third of what is scraped. When intended

for preserving, the roots must be taken up at the end of three or four

months, while the fibres are tender and full of sap.

The ginger grown in the West Indies is considered superior in quality

to that of the East, doubtless because more care is paid to the

culture and drying of the root, but it is of less importance to

commerce. The quantities imported from these two quarters is however

becoming more equal, and Africa is coming into the field as a

producer, 1,545 casks and packages having arrived from the western

coast in 1846. The annual average export of ginger from Barbados

between the years 1740 and 1788, was 4,667 bags; between 1784 and

1786, 6,320 bags; in 1788, 5,562 cwt. were shipped; in 1792, 3,046

bags and barrels. In 1738, so widely was the culture of this root

diffused in Jamaica, that 20,933 bags, of one cwt. each, and 8,864

lbs. in casks were shipped. The exports may now be taken on an average

at 4,000 cwt.; but, like all the other staple products of the island,

this has fallen off one-half since the emancipation of the negro

population.

In the three years which preceded the abolition of slavery, 5,719,000

lbs. of ginger were shipped from Jamaica. In the three years ending

with 1848, the quantity shipped had decreased 2,612,186 lbs., as will

be seen by the following returns:--

GINGER SHIPPED.

lbs. lbs.

1830 1,748,800 | 1846 1,462,000

1831 1,614,640 | 1847 1,324,480

1832 2,355,560 | 1848 320,340

--------- | ---------

5,719,000 | 3,106,820

In 1843 there were shipped from Jamaica 3,719 casks and bags; in 1844,

3,692 casks and 1730 bags; in 1845, 3,506 casks, valued at £4 10s.

each, and 1,129 bags, valued at £2 each, equal in all to £18,037.

From the island of Hayti 8,769 lbs. of ginger were exported in 1835,

and 15,509 lbs. in 1836. 39 packages of ginger were shipped from

Barbados in 1851.

In Maranham and one or two other provinces of Brazil, ginger of an

excellent quality is grown, and a good deal is exported. It was very

early an article of culture in South America. According to Acosta, it

was brought to America by one Francisco de Mendoza, from Malabar, and

so rapidly did its cultivation spread, that as far back as 1547,

22,053 cwt. were shipped to Europe. Southey, in his "History of

Brazil" (vol. i., p. 320), says, "Ginger had been brought from the

island of St. Thomas, and throve so well that in the year 1573, 4,000

arrobas of 25 lbs. each were cured; it was better than what came from

India, though the art of drying it was not so well understood. Great

use was made of this root in preserves, but it was prohibited, as

interfering with the Indian trade in that wretched species of policy

which regards immediate revenue as its main object."

Ginger was worth in the London market 25s. to 60s. the cwt. in bond;

middling and fine qualities, 80s. to 160s. The duty is 5s. per cwt.

Amount of imports of ginger into the United Kingdom, with the

quantities entered for home consumption:--

West India Entered for East India Entered for

ginger. home consumption. ginger. home consumption.

cwts. cwts. cwts. cwts.

1831 3,551 4,709 849 79

1832 5,947 6,795 2,508 213

1833 6,064 6,570 10,049 1,099

1834 9,913 9,918 10,004 1,638

1835 8,321 8,982 4,489 1,647

1836 10,226 6,304 13,589 3,524

1837 10,933 9,905 23,876 3,386

1838 13,366 9,944 25,649 1,431

1839 8,996 7,213 29,624 914

1840 5,381 7,935 9,719 1,568

1841 4,446 5,523 5,292 1,177

1842 4,671 5,068 3,680 1,956

1843 4,013 5,953 4,106 3,254

casks, &c. casks. bags. bags.

1844 4,619 3,128 5,101 6,964

1845 6,033 4,000 8,165 7,938

Total Retained for

ginger imported. home consumption.

cwts. cwts.

1846 24,370 15,937

1846 20,010 15,163

1847 12,995 9,744

1848 13,748 10,454

1849 28,015 12,880

1850 33,953 16,543

1851 35,678 19,855

1852 20,297 18,691

GALANGALE ROOT is a good deal used in China, and forms an article of

commerce, fetching in the London market 12s. to 16s. per cwt. in

bond. It is the rhizoma of _Alpinia Galanga_. Its taste is peppery and

aromatic. Externally the color of the root-stocks is reddish brown,

internally pale reddish white.

1,280 cwt. of galangale root, valued at 2,880 dollars, was exported

from Canton in 1850.

CARDAMOMS.

Cardamoms are the production of various species of plants of the same

tribe as the ginger, and might be profitably cultivated with that

aromatic root, as well as the Turmeric (_Curcuma longa_), which see.

Various species of _Alpiniæ_, _Amomum_, _Elettaria_, _and Renealmia_,

appear to furnish the cardamoms of the shops, which consist of the

oval, trivalvular capsules containing the seeds. The bright yellow

seeds are used in medicine as aromatic tonics and carminatives; and

for curries, ketchups, soups, &c. Their active ingredient is a pungent

volatile oil. The least dampness injures the finer sorts. About 688

cwts. of cardamoms, and 5,000 cwts. of bastard cardamoms are annually

exported from Siam, "We imported about 300 tons in 1849. The price

ranges from 1s. 6d. to 3s. the pound. The estimated value of the

cardamoms and pepper shipped from Ceylon in the past few years was as

follows:--1846, £208; 1847, £246; 1848, £205; 1849, £454; 1850, £960;

1851, £771; 1852, £590. The" following are some of the plants from

which cardamoms are procured.

1. _Amomum Cardamomum_, a Java plant, supplies the round cardamoms. It

has pale brown flowers. The fruit varies in size from that of a black

currant to a cherry.

_2. A. angustifolium_ (Pereira), a plant having red blossoms;

furnishes the large Madagascar cardamoms, and also supplies some of

the seeds called "Grains of Paradise," which are, however, larger than

those imported under that name.

This species is found in Abyssinia, according to my friend Mr. Chas.

Johnston, author of "Travels in Abyssinia," who favored me with some

specimens. The seeds are pale olive brown, devoid of the fiery peppery

taste of the grains of paradise.

3. _A. maximum_, the great winged amomum, produces the Java cardamoma

of the London market, and is also grown extensively in Ceylon, the

Malay islands, Nepaul, Sumatra, and other islands of the Eastern

Archipelago. There were exported from Ceylon in 1842, 5,364 lbs.; in

1843, 9,632 lbs.; 1844, 7,280 lbs.; and in 1845, 11,812 lbs. The pods

are large and long, and dark colored, approaching to black, the taste

nauseous and disagreeable, not the least resembling that of the

Malabar cardamoms. It is propagated by cuttings of the rhizoma. The

plants yield in three years, and afterwards give an annual crop. They

are not used here, but sent to the continent.

4. _Alpinia Cardamomum_.--This is the source of the clustered

cardamoms, and furnishes the best known sort. Its produce is in great

request throughout India, fetching as much as £30 the candy of 600

Lbs. About 192 candies are grown annually in Travancore, and the usual

crop in Malabar is reckoned at 100 candies annually. It flourishes on

the mountainous parts of the Malabar coast, and among the western

mountains of Wynaad. The bulbous plants, which grow three or four feet

high, are produced in the recesses of the mountains by felling trees,

and afterwards burning them, for wherever the ashes fall in the

openings or fissures of the rocks, the plant naturally springs up. In

the third year the plants come to perfection, bearing abundantly for a

year or two, and then die. In Soonda Balagat, and other places where

cardamoms are planted, they are much inferior to those grown in the

wild state. It may be propagated by cuttings or divisions of the

roots. Not more than one-hundredth part of the cardamoms raised in

Malabar are used in the country. They are sent in large quantities to

the ports on the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf, up the Indus to

Scinde, to Bengal and Bombay. The price of Malabar cardamons at

Madras, in June, 1853, was about £3 the maund of 25 lbs. They fetch in

the Bombay market £4 10s. the maund of 40 lbs. Cardamoms form a

universal ingredient in curries, pillaus, &c. The seed capsules are

gathered as they ripen, and when dried in the sun are fit for sale.

They should be chosen full, plump, and difficult to be broken; of a

bright yellow color, and piercing smell; with an acrid bitterish,

though not very unpleasant taste, and particular care should be taken

that they are properly dried.

_5. Amomum Grana-Paradisi_, which is indigenous to the islands of

Madagascar and Ceylon, yields an inferior sort of cardamoms, known by

the names of grains of paradise, or Meleguetta pepper. These are worth

in the English market only from 1s. 2d. to 1s. 4d. per pound, while

the long and Malabar cardamoms fetch 2s. 8d. to 3s. 3d. the pound.

This plant is a native of Guinea, and the western parts of Africa

about Sierra Leone. We imported from thence in 1841, 7,911 pounds.

The taste of these Guinea grains is aromatic and vehemently hot or

peppery. They are imported in casks from Africa, and are principally

used in veterinary medicine, and to give an artificial strength to

spirits, wine, beer, &c. The average quantity on which duty was paid

in the six years ending with 1840, was 16,000 lbs. per annum. They are

esteemed in Africa the most wholesome of spices, and generally used by

the natives to season their food.

Dr. Pereira, from a careful examination and close inquiry, is of

opinion that the _Amomum Grana-Paradisi_ of Smith, and the _Amamum

Melegueta_ of Roscoe, are identical species.

In the second volume of the "Pharmaceutical Journal," Dr. Pereira

states that the term "grains of paradise," or Melegueta, has been

applied to the produce of no less than six scitamineous plants. At the

present time, and in this country, the term is exclusively given to

the hot acrid seeds imported into England from the coast of Guinea,

and frequently called Guinea grains; and by the Africans Guinea

pepper.

_Elettaria Cardomomum_, Don.--The fruit of this species constitutes

the true, small, officinal Malabar cardamoms. It is an ovate oblong,

obtusely triangular capsule, from three to ten lines long, rarely

exceeding three lines in breadth, coriaceous, ribbed, greyish or

brownish yellow. It contains many angular, blackish or reddish brown

rugose seeds, which are white internally, have a pleasant aromatic

odor, and a warm agreeable taste. 100 parts of the fruit yield 74

parts of seeds, and 26 parts of pericarpal coats.

This seems to be identical with _Amomum Cardamomum_.

_Elettaria major_, is a perennial, native of Ceylon, which grows in

shady situations in a rich mixed soil. The dried capsules are known in

commerce as wild or Ceylon cardamoms, and are of less value in the

market than those of Malabar (_Elettaria Cardamomum_, Maton). It is

chiefly grown about the Kandyan district; and in the eight years

ending with 1813, the average export was nine and a-half candies per

annum. The seeds in taste resemble our carraways, and are used for

seasoning various dishes.

Ceylon cardamoms are now worth in the London market (Sept., 1853) 1s.

to 1s. 3d. per lb.; Malabar ditto, 2s. 3d. to 3s.

PEPPER.

The black pepper of commerce is obtained from the dried unripe fruit

(drupes) of _Piper nigrum_, a climbing plant common in the East

Indies, and of the simplest culture, being multiplied with facility by

cuttings or suckers. The ripe fruit, when deprived of its outer fleshy

covering by washing, forms the white pepper of the shops. The dried

fruiting spikes of _P. longum_, a perennial shrub, native of Malabar

and Bengal, constitute long pepper. The fruit of _Xylopia aromatica_

is commonly called Ethiopian pepper, from being used as pepper in

Africa. The seeds of some species of fennel-flower (_Nigella sativa_

and _arvensis_), natives of the south of Europe, were formerly used

instead of pepper, and are said to be still extensively employed in

adulterating it. In Japan, the capsules of _Xanthoxylum piperitum_, or

_Fagara Piperita_, are used as a substitute for pepper, and so is the

fruit of _Tasmannia aromatica_ in Van Diemen's Land. According to Dr.

Roxburgh, _P. trioicum_ is cultivated in the East, and yields an

excellent pepper.

The pepper vine rises about two feet in the first year of its growth,

and attains to nearly six feet in the second, at which time, if

vigorous and healthy, the petals begin to form the corolla or blossom.

All suckers and side shoots are to be carefully removed, and the vines

should be thinned or pruned, if they become bushy at the top. Rank

coarse weeds and parasitical plants should be uprooted. The vine would

climb, if permitted, to the elevation of twenty feet, but is said to

bear best when kept down to the height of ten or twelve feet. It

produces two crops in the year. The fruit grows abundantly from all

the branches, in long small clusters of from 20 to 50 grains; when

ripe it is of a bright red color. After being gathered, it is spread

on mats in the sun to dry, when it becomes black and shrivelled. The

grains are separated from the stalks by hand rubbing. The roots and

thickest parts of the stems, when cut into small pieces and dried,

form a considerable article of commerce all over India, under the name

of _Pippula moola_.

Almost all the plants of the family _Piperaceæ_ have a strong aromatic

smell and a sharp burning taste. This small group of plants is

confined to the hottest regions of the globe; being most abundant in

tropical America and in the East Indian Archipelago, but more rare in

the equinoctial regions of Africa. The common black pepper, _P.

nigrum_, represents the usual property of the order, which is not

confined to the fruit, but pervades, more or less, the whole plant. It

is peculiar to the torrid zone of Asia, and appears to be indigenous

to the coast of Malabar, where it has been found in a wild state. From

this it extends between the meridians of longitude 96 deg. and 116

deg. S. and the parallels of latitude 5 deg. S. and 12 deg. N., beyond

which no pepper is found. Within these limits are the islands of

Sumatra and Borneo, with the Malay peninsula and part of Siam. Sumatra

produces by far the greatest quantity of pepper. In 1842, the annual

produce of this island was reckoned at 30,000,000 lbs., being more

than the amount furnished by all the other pepper districts in the

world.

A little pepper is grown in the Mauritius and the West India Islands,

and its cultivation is making some progress on the Western Coast of

Africa, as we imported from thence 2,909 bags and casks in 1846, and

about 110,000 lbs. in 1847.

Mr. J. Crawfurd, F.R.S., one of the best authorities on all that

relates to the commerce and agriculture of the Eastern Archipelago,

recently estimated the produce of pepper as follows:--

lbs.

Sumatra (West Coast) 20,000,000

" (East Coast) 8,000,000

Islands in the Straits of Malacca 3,600,000

Malay Peninsula 3,733,333

Borneo 2,666,667

Siam 8,000,000

Malabar 4,060,000

----------

Total 50,000,000

If we add to this

Western Coast of Africa and B.W. Indies 53,000

Java 4,000,000

Mauritius and Ceylon 80,000

----------

It gives 54,133,000

as the total produce of the world

Black pepper constitutes a great and valuable article of export from

the Indian Islands; which, as we have seen, afford by far the largest

portion of What is consumed throughout the world. In the first

intercourse of the Dutch and English with India, it constituted the

most considerable and important staple of their commerce. The

production of pepper is confined in a great measure to the western

countries of the Eastern Archipelago, and among these to the islands

in the centre and to the northern quarter, including the Peninsula. It

is obtained in the ports on both sides of the coast of the latter, but

particularly the north-eastern coast. The principal quarters

(according to Mr. Crawfurd, my authority on this subject), are Patani,

Tringanu, and Kalantin. In the Straits a large quantity is produced in

the island of Singapore, and above all in Pinang, where the capital of

Europeans and the skill and industry of the Chinese have been

successfully applied to its culture. The western extremity of Sumatra,

and the north-west coast of that island, are the most remarkable

situations in it for the production of pepper, and here we have

Acheen, Tikao, Bencoolen, Padang, and the country of the Lampungs. The

production of the eastern extremity of Sumatra or Palembang is

considerable, but held of inferior quality. In the fertile island of

Java, the quantity of pepper grown is inconsiderable, nor is it

remarkable for the goodness of its quality.

The province of Bantam has always furnished, and still continues to

produce, the most pepper; but the culture of this creeper is fast

giving place in Java to staples affording higher profits and requiring

less care. The exports were, in the following years:--

piculs. | lbs.

1830 6,061 | 1843 3,737,732

1835 11,868 | 1848 461,680

1839 11,044 | 1851 95,037

1841 13,477 | 1852 135,690

The number of pepper vines in the district of Bencoolen, in the close

of last year, 1852, was as follows:--1,571,894 young vines; 2,437,052

bearing ditto; total, 4,008,946.

Up to the end of September there had been delivered to the Government

1,145 piculs white pepper, and 1,128 piculs black pepper, while of the

harvest of 1852 there were still probably to be received 330 piculs

white, and 4,967 piculs black pepper.

The south, the west, and the north coasts of the great island of

Borneo produce a large quantity of pepper; as early as 1721 it was a

staple commodity of this island. Banjarmassin is the most productive

place on the south coast, and the State of Borneo Proper on the north

coast. The best pepper certainly does not grow in the richest soils,

for the peppers of Java and Palembang are the worst of the

Archipelago, and that of Pinang and the west coast of Sumatra are the

best. Care in culture and curing improves the quality, as with other

articles, and for this reason chiefly it is that the pepper of Pinang

is more in esteem than that of any other portion of the Archipelago.

From the ports and districts of Siam 3,500 to 4,000 tons are exported

annually.

The duty at present levied on pepper in England is 6d. per lb., while

the wholesale price for that of Pinang, Malabar, and Sumatra is about

4d. per lb. White pepper ranges from 9d. to 1s. 6d. per lb. The prime

cost in Singapore is not more than 1½d. per lb.

About 70,000 or 80,000 piculs of pepper are annually exported from

Singapore, of which between 30,000 and 40,000 piculs have, until

within the last two years, gone on to Great Britain. More than

one-half of the pepper exported from Singapore is grown in the island

by Chinese settlers.

The low selling price of the article in the English market, the high

duty levied upon it, and the large freight paid for its carriage to

Great Britain, now leave so small a price to the cultivator in

Singapore, that the cultivation ceases to be remunerative, and is

carried on at a loss; and has consequently within the last year or two

begun to decrease rapidly, involving the Chinese growers, who are

generally of the poorest class, and without capital, in great

distress. A reduction in the duty on pepper has always been followed

by a very large increase in the consumption of the article, as will

appear from the following table, showing the importation and

consumption in Great Britain during some of the first and last years

of the different rates of duty:--

Duty Singapore price

Year Quantity consumed s. d. s. d. s. d.

1811 1,457,383 1 10½ 0 7½ to 0 7¾

1814 941,569 1 10½ 0 11 " 1 1

1820 1,404,021 2 6 0 6½ " 0 6¾

1824 1,447,030 2 6 0 4¾ " 0 5½

1826 2,529,027 2 0 0 4 " 0 4½

1836 2,749,491 1 0 0 0 " 0 0

1837 2,625,075 0 6 0 0 " 0 0

1845 3,210,415 0 6 0 2¼ " 0 4¾

In a memorial from the mercantile community of Singapore, sent home in

1848, it is asserted that a reduction in the duty of pepper being

always attended by a large increase in the consumption, would not lead

to any serious loss in the revenue, while it would confer a great boon

on the poorer classes, to whom it has now become a necessary article

of life. The reduction would also be of great advantage to British

manufacturers, as well as to our Indian possessions, by giving rise to

an increased demand or British goods and productions, and of the

highest benefit to the agricultural settlers in the island of

Singapore, by enabling them to procure for their labor an honest means

of livelihood.

The pepper vines, which are allowed to climb poles or small trees, are

tolerably productive at Singapore; and pepper planting is esteemed by

the Chinese to be a profitable speculation, particularly if they are

enabled to evade the payment of quit-rent. An acre of pepper vines

will yield 1,161 lbs. of clean pepper. In Sumatra a full grown plant

has been known to produce seven pounds; in Pinang the yield is much

more. The average produce of one thousand vines is said, however, to

be only about 450 lbs.

Colonel Low, in his "Dissertation on Pinang," published at Singapore

some years ago, gives an interesting account of the culture:--

"Pepper was, during many years, the staple product of Pinang soil,

the average annual quantity having been nearly four millions of

pounds; but previous to the year 1810, the above amount had

decreased to about two-and-a-half millions of pounds, which was the

result of the continental system.

The price having fallen at length to three and three-and-a-half

dollars the picul--with only a few occasional exceptions of

rises--the cultivation of this spice was gradually abandoned, and

the total product at this day does not exceed 2,000 piculs. The

original cost, when pepper was at a high price, together with

charges of transporting it to Europe, amounted to £36,357 for every

five hundred tons, and the loss by wastage was estimated at £5,405.

In 1818 there remained on the island 1,480,265 pepper vines in

bearing, and the average value of exports of pepper from Pinang,

including that received from other places, was averaged at 106,870

Spanish dollars.

As might have been foreseen, the fall of prices has so greatly

diminished the cultivation of pepper to the eastward, that a

reaction is likely to take place; and has in fact partly shown

itself already. Some Chinese in Pinang and Province Wellesley seem

to be preparing to renew the cultivation. There is abundant scope

for the purpose on both sides of the harbour, and every facility is

at hand for carrying it on.

The pepper plant or vine requires a good soil, the richer the

better, but the _red_ soil of the higher hills is not congenial, the

Chinese think, to it. The undulations skirting the bases of the

hills, and the deep alluvial lands, where not saturated with water,

or liable to be overflowed, are preferred.

The Chinese have always been the chief cultivators, and when the

speculation flourished they received advances from the merchants,

which they paid back in produce at fixed rates.

When pepper was extensively cultivated on Prince of Wales Island,

the European owner of the land had the forest cleared by contract,

and the vines planted by contract, and when the vines came into

bearing the plantation was farmed to the Chinese from year to year,

on payment of a specific quantity of pepper. Any other plan would

have ruined the capitalist, as the culture is almost entirely in

their hands in the Straits' Settlements, and they will not work so

well for others as when they are specially interested.

The plants are set out at intervals, _every way_, of from seven to

twelve feet, according to the degree of fertility of the soil, so

that there are from 800 to 1,000 vines in one orlong of land; to

each vine is allotted a prop of from ten to thirteen feet high, cut

from the thorny tree called _dadap_, or where that is scarce, from

the less durable _boonglai_; these props take root, thus affording

both shade and support to the plant. The plant may be raised from

seed pepper, but the plan is not approved of, cuttings being

preferable, as they soonest come into bearing. The pits in which

these cuttings are set should be a foot-and-a-half square, and two

feet in depth; manure is not often applied, and then it is only some

turf ashes. However unpicturesque a pepper plantation may be, still

its neat and uniform appearance renders the landscape lively, and

there can be little doubt that the island has suffered in its

salubrity since the jungle usurped the extensive tracts formerly

under pepper cultivation.

When the vine has reached the height of three or four feet, it is

bent down and laid in the earth, and about five of the strongest

shoots which now spring up are retained and carefully trained up the

prop, to which they are tied by means of ligatures of some creeping

plants.

One Chinese, after the plantation has been formed, can take care of

two orlongs of land. The usual mode is this:--an advance is made by

the capitalist to the laborer for building a house, and for

agricultural implements; he then receives two dollars monthly to

subsist on, until the end of the third year, when the estate or

plantation is equally divided betwixt the contracting parties.

The Chinese and even European cultivators used formerly to engage

the Chinese who had just arrived from China; they paid off their

passage-money, and then allowed them two dollars monthly, for

provisions, for one year; with a suit of clothes, by which means the

cost of the labor of one man averaged about three dollars monthly;

but this plan is attended with risks.

The cost attendant on the cultivation of two orlongs of land, with

pepper, for three years--the Chinese laborer receiving the usual

hire of _five_ Spanish dollars monthly--will be nearly as follows:--

Spanish dollars.

Price of land, clearing, and planting 40

Quit rent, at 75 cents per annum per orlong 9

Two thousand plants 4

" dadap props 6

Implements 6

House 10

Labor 200

Interest, loosely calculated at 30

---

Total Spanish dollars 305

In a very good soil a pepper vine will yield about one-eighth of a

pound of dry produce at the end of the first year; at the end of the

second, about a quarter of a pound; and at the expiration of the

third, probably one pound; at the end of the fourth, from three to

three-and-a-half pounds; ditto fifth, from eight to ten pounds.

After the fifth year up to the fifteenth, or even the twentieth

year, about ten pounds of dry merchantable produce may be obtained

from each vine, under favorable circumstances. The Chinese

speculator used to rent out his half-share of a new plantation for

five years, to his cultivating partner, after the expiration of the

first three years, at the rate of thirty piculs per annum; the total

produce of these five years giving about fifty-six piculs annually

as an average.

A pepper plantation never survives the thirtieth year, unless in

extremely rich soil, and then it is unproductive; nor will the young

vine thrive on an old worn out pepper land, a peculiarity which is

applicable to the coffee tree. The chief crop lasts from August to

February. Four pounds of dry produce, for ten of green, is

considered a fair estimate. Great care is requisite in the

management of the vine, and especially in training and tying it on

the props. It is subject to be injured by the attacks of a small

insect. The green pepper dries in two or three days, and if it is

intended that it shall be black, it is pulled before it is quite

ripe. To make white pepper, the berry is allowed to remain somewhat

longer on the vine; it is, when plucked, immersed in boiling water,

by means of which process and subsequent friction, before drying,

the husk is separated.

The exports of pepper from Pinang in the last four years have

been--In 1849, 2,591,233 lbs.; in 1850, 6,397,733 lbs.; in 1851,

2,366,933 lbs.; in 1852, 2,112,133 lbs."

A small quantity of pepper seems to be annually exported from Ceylon,

which I presume is the growth of that island; thus there were:--

54 cwts. shipped in 1842

83 " " 1843

102 " " 1844

In the Customs' returns of Ceylon, it is classed with cardamoms, and

160 to 170 cwt. of the two were shipped in each of the years 1850 and

1851. Last year the quantity was smaller.

Pepper cultivation has been introduced into the Mauritius, and in 1839

more than 500,000 lbs. were imported from thence, but as the shipments

have since decreased, I presume it has given place to the more

profitable staple sugar. I have been able to glean no information as

to the progress it has made in the West Indies. In Cayenne it has

been successfully carried on for many years; and large shipments of

pepper have been made thence to France.

BLACK PEPPER EXPORTED FROM SINGAPORE.

Piculs. Value in rupees.

1841 Total Exports 66,810

" Growth of Singapore 21,231 47,674

1842 Exports 74,228

" Growth of Singapore 32,277 72,473

1843 Exports 57,883

" Growth of Singapore 35,585 79,900

1844 Exports 67,148

" Growth of Singapore 42,995 386,152

1845 Exports 65,892

" Growth of Singapore 39,019 350,443

1846 Exports 56,709

" Growth of Singapore 35,712 -----

1847 Exports 60,994

" Growth of Singapore 36,565 328,397

Pliny, the naturalist, states that the price of pepper in the market

of Rome in his time was, in English money, 9s. 4d. a pound, and thus

we have the price of pepper at least 1,774 years ago. The pepper

alluded to 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. It would most

probably have come to Europe by crossing the Indian and Arabian ocean,

with the easterly monsoon, sailing up the Red Sea, crossing the

desert, dropping down the Nile, and making its way along the

Mediterranean by two-thirds of its whole length. This voyage, which in

our times can be performed in a month, most probably then took

eighteen. Transit and customs duties must have been paid over and over

again, and there must have been plenty of extortion. All this will

explain how pepper could not be sold in the Roman market under

fifty-six times its prime cost. Immediately previous to the discovery

of the route to India by the Cape of Good Hope, we find that the price

of pepper in the markets of Europe had fallen to 6s a pound, or 3s.

4d. less than in the time of Pliny. What probably contributed to this

fall, was the superior skill in navigation of the now converted Arabs,

and the extension of their commerce to the islands of the Eastern

Archipelago, which abounded in pepper. After the great discovery of

Vasco de Gama, the price of pepper fell to about 1s. 3d. a pound, a

fall of 8s. 1d. from that of the time of Pliny, and of 4s. 9d. from

that of the Mahommedan Arabs, Turks, and Venetians.

In 1826, 14,000,000 lbs. of pepper were imported into the United

Kingdom, of which about 5,500,000 were re-exported. In 1841,

15,000,000 lbs. were imported, of which 6,500,000 were re-shipped to

other countries.

The home consumption, it will be seen, now averages about 3,250,000

lbs.:--

Imports Home consumption

lbs. lbs.

1845 9,852,984 3,209,718

1846 5,906,586 3,299,955

1847 4,669,930 2,966,022

1848 8,125,545 3,185,337

1849 4,796,042 3,257,911

1850 8,028,319 3,170,883

1851 3,996,496 3,303,403

1852 6,641,699 3,524,501

The following return shows the number of bags of pepper imported into

the United Kingdom, with the quantity retained for home consumption:--

Imports. Retained for home consumption.

Black. White. Black. White.

bags bags bags. bags.

1843 37,840 3,861 21,163 2,257

1844 60,705 2,123 23,525 2,122

1845 80,600 3,208 30,294 2,861

1847 37,194 1,236 28,768 2,654

1848 65,518 3,042 31,665 3,950

1849 43,651 2,616 32,246 3,859

CHILLIES AND CAYENNE PEPPER.

Chillies or capsicum are long roundish taper pods, divided into two or

three cells, full of small whitish seeds. When this fruit is fresh, it

has a penetrating acrid smell; to the taste it is extremely pungent,

and produces a most painful burning in the mouth. They are

occasionally imported dry, and form the basis of Cayenne pepper; put

in vinegar when green or ripe, they are an acceptable present in

Europe. In Bengal the natives make an extract from the chillies, which

is about the consistence and color of treacle.

The consumption of chillies in India is immense, as both rich and poor

daily use them, and it is the principal ingredient in all chutnies and

curries; ground into a paste, between two stones, with a little

mustard, oil, ginger, and salt, it forms the only seasoning which the

millions of poor in that country can obtain to eat with their insipid

rice. They are worth in the Bombay market about 40s. the candy of 600

lbs.

Immense quantities of the capsicum are used by the native population

of the West Indies, Africa, and Mexico; the consumption as a condiment

being almost universal, and perhaps equal in quantity to salt. Ten

barrels of these peppers were shipped from Montego Bay, Jamaica, in

the first six months of 1851.

The wholesale price of chillies in the London market is from 15s. to

25s. the cwt., and there is a duty of 6d. per pound on them. Cayenne

fetches 9d. to 2s. the pound.

Chilli is the Mexican name for all varieties of _Capsicum_. They are

natives of the East and West Indies, and other hot climates. _C.

annuum_ is the species commonly noticed, but there seems to be

numerous varieties, which by many are reckoned species. Thus, _C.

frutescens_ is a shrubby plant, which, along with _C. minimum_,

supplies the variety called bird-pepper, it grows to a larger and more

bushy size; _C. baccatum_ has a globular fruit, and furnishes cherry

or berry capsicum. They are all of the simplest culture, and may even

be grown with very little care in England. Culture appears to increase

the size, but to diminish the pungency of the fruit. In capsicums

irritant properties prevail so as to obscure the narcotic action.

Their acridity is owing to an oleaginous substance called capsicin.

Cayenne pepper is used in medicine chiefly in the form of tincture, as

a rubefacient and stimulant, especially in cases of ulcerated sore

throat. It acts on the stomach as an aromatic condiment, and when

preserved in acetic acid it forms chilli vinegar.

Red pepper may be considered one of the most useful vegetables in

hygiene. As a stimulant and auxiliary in digestion it has been

considered invaluable, especially in warm countries. A kind called the

tobacco red pepper, is said to possess the most pungent properties of

any of the species. It yields a small red pod, less than an inch in

length, and longitudinal in shape, which is so exceedingly hot that a

small quantity of it is sufficient to season a large dish of any food.

Owing to its oleaginous character, it has been found impossible to

preserve it by drying, but by pouring strong boiling vinegar on it a

sauce or decoction can be made, which possesses in a concentrated form

all the essential qualities of the vegetable. A single drop of this

sauce will flavor a whole plate of soup or other food.

The "wort" or Cayenne pottage may be termed the national dish of the

Abyssinians, as that, or its basis "dillock," is invariably eaten with

their ordinary diet, the thin crumpet-like bread of teff or wheat

flour. Equal parts of salt and the red cayenne pods are well powdered

and mixed together with a little pea or bean meal to make a paste.

This is called "dillock," and is made in quantities at a time, being

preserved in a large gourd-shell, generally suspended from the roof.

The "wort" is merely a little water added to this paste, which is then

boiled over the fire, with the addition of a little fat meat and more

meal to make a kind of porridge, to which sometimes is also added

several warm seeds, such as the common cress or black mustard, both of

which are indigenous in Abyssinia.--("Johnston's Abyssinia.")

A great quantity of Agi or Guinea pepper is grown in Peru, the natives

being very fond of this condiment. It is not uncommon for an American

Indian to make a meal of twenty or thirty pods of capsicum, a little

salt, and a piece of bread, washed down by two or three quarts of

chica, the popular beverage.

PIMENTO.

The pimento, _Eugenia Pimento_ (_Myrtus Pimenta_), is a native of

Mexico, and the West Indies. It flourishes spontaneously and in great

abundance on the north side of the island of Jamaica; its numerous

white blossoms mixing with the dark green foliage, and with the

slightest breeze diffusing around the most delicious fragrance, give a

beauty and a charm to nature rarely equalled, and of which he who has

not visited the shady arbors and perfumed groves of the tropics can

have little conception. This lovely tree, the very leaf of which when

bruised emits a fine aromatic odor, nearly as powerful as that of the

spice itself, has been known to grow to the height of from 30 to 40

feet, exceedingly straight, and having for its base the spinous ridge

of a rock, eight or ten feet above the surface of the hill or

mountain. A single tree has frequently produced 150 lbs. of the raw,

or 100 lbs. of the dried fruit.

The fruit has an aromatic odor, and its taste combines that of

cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; hence its common name of allspice. The

fruit of _Eugenia acris_ is used for pimento.

The trunk is of a grey color, smooth and shining, and altogether

destitute of bark. It is luxuriantly clothed with leaves of a deep

green, somewhat like those of the bay tree, and these leaves are, in

the months of July and August, beautifully contrasted and relieved by

an exuberance of white flowers. The leaves yield by distillation a

delicate odoriferous oil, which is said to be sometimes passed off for

oil of cloves.

The berries are gathered before they are ripe, and spread on a

terrace, exposed to the sun for about a week, during which time they

lose their green color, and acquire that reddish brown tint which

renders them marketable. Some planters kiln-dry them. Like many of the

minor productions of the tropics, pimento is exceedingly uncertain,

and perhaps a very plenteous crop occurs but once in five years.

In 1800 there were 12,759 bags and 610 casks of pimento imported from

Jamaica; in 1824 there were 33,308 bags and 599 casks shipped from the

island; in 1829 the quantity exported was 6,069,127 lbs.

In the year ending October 1843, the export of pimento from Jamaica

was 29,322 bags and 156 casks; in the year ending October 1844, 12,055

bags and 88 casks; in the year ending October 1845, 233 casks, valued

at 30s. each, and 59,494 bags, valued at 20s.

From 1st January to 1st August, 1851, 128,277 lbs. pimento were

shipped from the port of Montego Bay, Jamaica.

There was a very considerable pimento plantation made in Tobago, some

years ago, by a Mr. Franklin, but it was abandoned by his sons, that

they might attend the more exclusively to sugar culture.

Jamaica exported nearly two millions of pounds of pimento less, in

the three years ending 1848, than she did in the three previous to the

emancipation of the slaves. The number of pounds shipped annually, in

these periods, is shown by the following figures:--

Year. lbs.

1830 5,560,620

1831 3,172,320

1832 4,024,800

1846 2,997,060

1847 2,800,140

1848 5,231,908

Pimento is imported into this country in bags of about 100 lbs. each.

The imports have been:--

Year. Imports. Home consumption.

cwts. cwts.

1848 20,773 4,230

1849 24,994 3,419

1850 20,448 3,467

1851 14,840 3,935

1852 22,708 3,872

The following is a statement of the imports from the West Indies, and

the consumption of the United Kingdom, in pounds:--

Entries for

Year. Imports. home consumption.

lbs. lbs.

1831 1,801,355 305,739

1832 1,366,183 296,197

1833 4,770,255 330,890

1834 1,389,402 320,719

1835 2,536,353 343,942

1836 3,230,978 400,941

1837 2,026,128 383,401

1838 892,974 383,997

1839 1,071,511 309,078

1840 999,068 338,969

1841 797,757 297,201

1842 1,643,318 450,683

1843 2,028,658 378,096

The imports have been, in--

bags.

1843 18,649

1844 2,408

1845 21,092

1847 9,649

1848 18,196

1849 14,108

Pimento is worth in the London market 6d. to 7d. per lb. The duty is

5s. per cwt.

VANILLA.

The fleshy, pod-like, odoriferous fruit of different species of

_Epidendrum_ constitute the substance called vanilla, which is used in

confectionery for giving a delicious perfume to chocolate, liqueurs,

&c. As an aromatic it is much sought after by confectioners, for

flavoring ices and creams; and also by perfumers, liqueurists, and

distillers. The best comes from the forests round the village of

Zurtila, in the intendancy of Oaxaca, on the eastern slopes of the

Cordillera of Anahuac, between the parallels of 19 deg. and 20 deg. N.

All the vanilla which is used in Europe is imported from Mexico,

Venezuela, and Vera Cruz.

It is a native of tropical America, and grows wild in Brazil, Peru,

the banks of the Orinoco, and all places where heat, shade, and

moisture prevail. There are many species indigenous to the Bahamas,

Trinidad, Jamaica, Cuba, Dominica, Martinique and St. Vincent, which

would produce considerable gain to the inhabitants if they would give

themselves the trouble of cultivating or collecting its fruit.

This parasitical plant has a trailing stem, not unlike the common ivy,

but not so woody, by which it attaches itself to the trunks of trees,

and sucks the moisture which their bark derives from the lichens and

other cryptogamia, but without drawing nourishment from the tree

itself, like the misletoe and loranthus. The Indians in Mexico

propagate it by planting cuttings at the foot of trees selected for

that purpose. It rises to the height of 18 or 20 feet; the flowers are

of a greenish yellow, mixed with white. The plant is subcylindrical

about eight or ten inches long, of a yellow color when gathered, but

dark brown or black when imported into Europe. It is one-celled

siliquose, and pulpy within, wrinkled on the outside, and full of a

vast number of seeds like grains of sand, having when properly

prepared, a peculiar and delicious fragrance. It should be gathered

before it is fully ripe.

Different species of vanilla are natives of Guiana, and it is found in

large quantities along the banks of its rivers, and in the wooded

districts which intersperse the savannahs. The oily and balsamic

substance which the minute seeds possess, may be found to have

medicinal qualities. Its cultivation can be connected with no

difficulties; it needs only to plant the slips among trees, and to

keep them clear of weeds. It would prove therefore a great addition to

a cocoa plantation. In 1825 the price was, in Germany, sixty-six

dollars (equal to £9) per pound, and twenty-five to thirty dollars are

paid for it in Martinique.

Humboldt states that the annual value of vanilla exported from the

state of Vera Cruz was 40,000 dollars, £8,000 sterling. Some vanilla

is exported from Maranham. The cultivation of vanilla, which was

introduced into Java in the year 1847, is said to have made

considerable progress, there being now no fewer than thirty

plantations.

The fruit of this orchideous plant is entirely neglected in the

province of Caracas, though abundant crops of it might be gathered on

the humid coast between Porto Cabello and Ocumare, especially at

Turiamo, where the pods attain the length of nearly a foot. The

English and American merchants often seek to make purchases at the

port of La Guayra, but with difficulty procure it in small quantities.

In the valleys that descend from the chain of coast towards the

Caribbean sea, in the province of Truxillo, as well as in the mission

of Guiana, near the cataracts of the Orinoco, a great quantity of the

vanilla pods might be collected, the produce of which would be still

more abundant, if, according to the practice of the Mexicans, the

plant were disentangled from time to time from the other creepers,

with which it is intertwined and stifled.

When collected to prepare it for the market, about 12,000 of the pods

are strung like a garland by their lower end, as near as possible to

their foot-stalk; the whole are plunged for an instant into boiling

water to blanch them; they are then hung up in the open air and

exposed to the sun for a few hours. By some they are wrapped in

woollen cloths to sweat. Next day they are lightly smeared with oil,

by means of a feather or the fingers, and are surrounded with oiled

cotton to prevent the valves from opening. As they become dry, on

inverting their upper end they discharge a viscid liquor from it, and

they are pressed several times with oiled fingers to promote its flow.

The dried pods, like the berries of pepper, change color under the

drying operation, grow brown, wrinkled, soft, and shrink to one-fourth

of their original size. In this state they are touched a second time

with oil, but very sparingly, because with too much oil they would

lose some of their delicious perfume.

They are then packed for the market in small bundles of 50 or 100 in

each, enclosed in lead foil, or tight metallic cases.

There are four local varieties, all differing in price and excellence;

viz., the vanilla _fina_, the _zacate_, the _rezacate_, and the

_vasura_.

One pod of vanilla is sufficient to perfume a pound and a half of

cacao. It is with difficulty reduced to fine particles, but it may be

sufficiently attenuated by cutting it into small bits, and grinding

these along with sugar.

As it comes to us, vanilla is a capsular fruit, of the thickness of a

swan's quill; straight, cylindrical, but somewhat flattened, truncated

at the top, thinned off at the ends, glistening, wrinkled, furrowed

lengthwise, flexible, from five to ten inches long, and of a reddish

brown color. It contains a pulpy parenchyma, soft, unctuous, very

brown, in which are embedded black, brilliant, very small seeds.

The kind most esteemed in France is called _leq_ vanilla; it is about

six inches long, from one-fourth to one-third of an inch broad,

narrowed at the two ends and curved at the base; somewhat soft and

viscid, of a dark reddish color, and of a most delicious flavor, like

that of balsam of Peru. It is called vanilla _giorees_, when it is

covered with efflorescences of benzcoin acid, after having been kept

in a dry place, and in vessels not hermetically closed.

The second sort, called _vanilla simarona_, or bastard, is a little

smaller than the preceding, of a less deep brown hue, drier, less

aromatic, destitute of efflorescence. It is said to be the produce of

the wild plant, and is brought from St. Domingo.

A third sort, which comes from Brazil, is the _vanillon_, or large

vanilla of the French market; the _vanilla pamprona_ or _bova_ of the

Spaniards. Its length is from five to six inches, its breadth from

one-half to three-fourths of an inch. It is brown, soft, viscid,

almost always open, of a strong smell, but less agreeable than the

_leq_. It is sometimes a little spoiled by an incipient fermentation.

It is cured with sugar, and enclosed in tin plate boxes, which contain

from 20 to 60 pods[52]. The average annual import of vanilla into

Havre, in the five years ending 1841, was about 16 boxes; in 1842 it

was 30 packages.

TONQUIN BEANS.--The seeds of the Tongo tree (_Dipterix odorata_), a

native of Guiana, are the well-known tonquin beans used to give a

pleasant flavor to snuff.

TURMERIC.

This article of commerce is furnished by the branches of the rhizome

or root-stock of the _Curcuma longa_, and _C. rotunda_, plants which

are natives of Eastern Asia, but have been grown in England and the

West Indies. They thrive well in a rich light soil, and are readily

increased by offsets from the roots.

In the East Indies, where it is known as Huldee, turmeric is much

employed in dyeing yellow, principally silks, but the color is very

fugitive. It is also used medicinally as an aromatic carminative, and

as a condiment; it enters into the composition of curry sauce or

powder, and many other articles of Indian cookery. It is cordial and

stomachic, and considered by the native doctors of India an excellent

application in powder for cleansing foul ulcers.

It is grown in, and exported chiefly from, Bengal and Malabar, Madras,

Java, and China. The turmeric of Java is in high estimation in the

European markets, ranking next to that of China, and being much

superior to that of Bengal. The seeds of _Anethum Sowa_, from their

carminative properties, form an ingredient in curry powder.

The price of turmeric in London is from 12s. to 20s. per cwt.,

according to quality. The entries for home consumption are about 4,000

to 5,000 cwts. annually. It is better shipped in casks or cases than

in bags.

A kind of arrowroot is prepared from _C. angustifolia_, another

species of this tribe of plants.

_Amaranthus gangiticus_, and another species, are much cultivated by

the Hindoos for their stews and curries.

The quantity and value of the curry stuff imported into Ceylon,

chiefly from India, has been in the last few years as follows:--

Quantity.

Years. cwts. packages. Value.

1847 6,866

1848 9,981

1849 26,347 109 9,664

1850 24,396 300 7,267

1851 32,550 9,446

1852 9,039

What is comprised under the term "curry stuff," I am not aware, but

it appears to be a bulky article, for it was imported to the extent of

32,000 cwt. in 1852.

There are two varieties of turmeric usually sent into Europe from the

East (whence all the turmeric imported into Europe is obtained), the

"long" turmeric (_Curcuma longa_), and the "round," or as it is better

known the "Chinese turmeric." The latter description is very rare, the

former is the common article of commerce. According to one of my

correspondents, Mr. Hepburn, chemist, of Falmouth, Jamaica, the common

or long turmeric is indigenous to that island, growing luxuriantly in

the mountainous districts, in rather damp soils, its locality being in

the vicinity of rivers, water-courses and springs. In this respect it

differs from ginger, which requires a rather dry soil for its culture.

I am not aware that this plant possesses the property of impoverishing

the soil like the ginger. From the general habits of the plant in its

natural state, we may gather the following rules for our guidance in

its culture. The plants should be laid down in rows of five or six

inches distant from each other, in a soil moderately damp, of an

aluminous or clayey nature, and free to a great extent of the more

soluble alkalies, potash and soda, as these, by absorption, may

destroy the coloring matter of the plant, and so diminish its value as

a dye-stuff. Finally, in preparing the roots for exportation, they

should be cleansed from all earthy particles, exposed for drying in

the shade, and without any further preparation bagged for shipment.

The coloring matter of turmeric is of an orange yellow color

exceedingly delicate and capable of change, either from the action of

light or of alkalies, which turn it to a dark brown color. It is

slightly soluble in water, and readily soluble in an alkaline

solution, becoming dark brown. Alcohol extracts the coloring matter.

The uses to which turmeric is applied are two: as an ingredient in the

curry powder and paste, and as a dye for silk. It was some time ago

used as a medicine; but though retained in the "Pharmacopoeias" of the

present day, it is entirely discarded by the practitioner as a

curative agent. The best Bengal and Malabar turmeric fetches a price

nearly as high as that of ginger, and I see no reason why the West

India planter could not send it into the British market quite as cheap

as the East India trader. According to Dallas, 397 bags of turmeric

were exported from Jamaica in 1797.

Turmeric is grown about the city of Patna and Behar. It is much

cultivated about Calcutta and all parts of Bengal. One acre yields

about 2,000 lbs. of the fresh root. It is also grown on the central

table land of Afghanistan. The exports from Calcutta in 1841 were

11,000 Indian maunds, and 28,137 in 1842. The value of that exported

from Madras in 1839 was 40,000 rupees, or £4,000; in 1840, £4,200. The

quantity shipped from that Presidency in 1850 was 6,877 bags.

In the neighbourhood of Dacca about 200 lbs. of seed is sown to the

beegah, measuring 80 cubits by 80, and the yield is from 640 to 800

lbs.

140 tons were imported into Liverpool in 1849, for dyeing and for

curries; 414 tons in 1850; 11,554 bags and packages in 1851; and only

3,595 ditto in 1852. The price in January 1853 was, for Bengal, 10s.

to 12s.; China, 12s. to 14s., and Malabar 9s. to 12s. the cwt. The

imports into London were 18 tons in 1848, 191 in 1849, and 980 in

1850. The deliveries for consumption, 192 tons in 1848, 270 in 1849,

and 870 tons in 1850.

In China turmeric is used with Prussian blue in coloring and facing

tea.

GINSENG

The produce of this plant, as an article of commerce, is confined to

our transatlantic neighbours, who have the monopoly of the supply to

China.

The root of _Panax quinquefolium_, the American ginseng, is much

esteemed by the Chinese, for certain supposed beneficial effects upon

the nerves, and for other presumed virtues; but our physicians have

not discovered any proofs of its efficacy in Europe. The plant is an

herbaceous perennial, growing upon the confines of Tartary and China,

near the great wall. It is found wild, flourishing in moist

situations, and attains the height of from two to three feet; it is

also now produced largely in the northern, middle, and western States

of the Union, particularly Virginia, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania, and

a considerable trade is carried on with it to China. A variety of the

plant was discovered, a few years ago, in the Himalaya mountains, and

small quantities have been thence sent to Canton. It is also found

growing in Canada. The root is about three or four inches in length,

and one inch in thickness. It resembles a small carrot, but not so

taper at the end, and is sometimes single, sometimes divided into two

branches. The stem is striated, without branches, and of a red color

near the root. The leaves, from four to six of which surround the stem

where they form sheaths (bracteal), are simply pinnate. The flower

stalk is long and green, the inflorescence a simple umbel. The fruit

is a berry of a red color, and contains two seeds of the size of

mustard seed. The officinal root differs in appearance, according to

the country from which it is brought. In Korea and China it is white,

corrugated when dry, and covered with a powder resembling starch. In

Mandscharia and Dauria it is yellow, smooth and transparent, and when

cut resembles amber. The taste of the root is bitter. Crude ginseng

now sells in the Canton market at 70 to 80 dollars per picul of 133

lbs., and cured or clarified root at 130 to 140 dollars.

The stem of the plant, which is renewed every year, leaves, as it

falls off, an impression upon the neck of the root, so that the number

of these rings or marks indicates the age of the plant, and the value

of the root increases accordingly. The Chinese government were

formerly in the habit of sending out annually 30,000 Tartar soldiers

to search for the plant, and each was obliged to bring home two ounces

of the root gratis, and for all above that quantity he was paid its

weight in silver. The Asiatic ginseng is said to be obtained from the

root of _P. Schinseng_ of Nees von Esenbeck, _P. Pseudo ginseng_ of

Wallich. This root might be procured in Prince Edward's Island and

some of the other British North American colonies.

I have been able to trace, after some labor and research, the

progressive exports of this curious article of trade from the United

States.

In 1790, 813 casks, of the value of 47,025 dollars, were exported; and

in 1791, 29,208 lbs. From 1803 to 1807, the annual value of ginseng

shipped was about 123,000 dollars, and from 1820 to 1830, it averaged

157,000 dollars.

The following figures show the value of the article in subsequent

years:--1831, 115,921 dollars; year ending 30th September, 1835,

94,960 dollars; 1837, 212,899 lbs., valued at 108,548 dollars; 1840,

22,728 dollars; 1841, 437,245 dollars.

The quantity shipped in 1839, from Philadelphia alone, was 317,443

lbs. In 1841, 637,885 lbs. were exported from the United States.

The value of that exported in the years ending 30th June, was 1844,

95,008 in dollars, and in 1845, 117,146 dollars; 110,000 lbs. were

collected at Toledo, Ohio, in 1845. The value of the exports in the

following years, ending June 30th, were--1847, 64,466 dollars; 1849,

162,640; 1849, 182,966; 1850, 122,916 dollars.

CORIANDER, CARRAWAY, AND OTHER SEEDS.

The fruits of anise, carraway, coriander, &c., (erroneously called

seeds,) are in demand for various purposes.

CARRAWAY SEED is imported to the extent of 500 tons annually from

Germany and Holland, the price being about 33s. per cwt. It is also

now much grown in Essex and Kent. In the years 1848 and 1849, 7,000

cwt. of this seed was imported, of which nearly the whole quantity was

retained for home consumption.

CORIANDER SEED is chiefly used by distillers, to produce an aromatic

oil. The quantity imported annually does not exceed 50 tons, and it is

brought principally to the port of Hull. It is also cultivated in

Suffolk, Essex and Kent.

Of MUSTARD SEED the aggregate quantity imported annually is about

2,000 tons for home consumption, and the flour is used as a well-known

condiment to food, &c., and in medicine; the average price being about

9d. per pound.

ANISE.--The fruit of _Pimpinilla anisum_, under the name of aniseed,

is principally imported from Alicant and Germany (the first is

preferred), but some is also brought from the East Indies. It is an

annual plant, largely cultivated in Spain, Malta, and various parts of

Germany, and also in the island of Scio, Egypt, and parts of Asia. The

imports are not large; 192 cwts. paid duty in 1833, and 315 cwts. in

1840. About 60 cwts. are annually received at Hull from Germany. It is

used to flavor liqueurs, sweetmeats, and confectionery of various

kinds. Oil of aniseed is obtained by distillation from the fruit, and

1,544 lbs. were imported in 1839. About two pounds of oil are obtained

from one hundred-weight of seed.

STAR ANISE, _Illicum anisatum_, is a native of the countries extending

from 23½ deg. to 35 deg. of north latitude, or from Canton to Japan.

The capsules constitute in India a rather important article of

commerce, and are sold in all the bazaars. Large quantities are also

used in Europe in the preparation of liqueurs. 695 piculs of star

aniseed were exported from Canton in 1850, valued at 8,200 Spanish

dollars. 81 piculs of oil of aniseed were exported from Canton in

1845, and 105 piculs in 1850, valued at 11,900 dollars. 3,000 piculs

of aniseed are exported annually from Cambodia.

PUTCHUK, OR COSTUS.

The substance called costus was highly prized by the ancients, and

specimens may be met with at a few of the London drug-houses. It has

been shown by Dr. Falconer to be the produce of a genus of the thistle

tribe, to which he has given the name of _Aucklandia_. The root of _A.

Costus_ is supposed to be the _Costus Arabicus_, on the following

grounds:--It corresponds with the descriptions given by the ancient

authors, and is used at the present day for the same purposes in

China, as costus was formerly applied to by the Greeks. The

coincidence of the names--in Cashmere the root is called koot, and the

Arabic synonym is said to be _koost_. It grows in immense abundance on

the mountains which surround Cashmere. It is a gregarious herb, about

six or seven feet high, with a perennial thick branched root, with an

annual round smooth stem, large leaves and dark purple flowers. The

roots are dug up in the months of September and October, when the

plant begins to be torpid; they are chopped up into pieces, from two

to six inches long, and are exported without further preparation. The

quantity collected, according to Dr. Falconer, is very large,

amounting to about two million pounds per annum. The cost of its

collection and transport to a mercantile depot in Cashmere, is about

2s. 4d. the cwt. The commodity is laden on bullocks and exported to

the Punjaub, whence the larger portion goes down to Bombay, where it

is shipped for the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and China; a portion of

it finds its way across the Sutlej and Jumna into Hindostan Proper,

whence it is taken to Calcutta, and bought up there with avidity under

the name of putchuk. The value is enhanced at Jugadree, on the Jumna,

to about 16s. 9d. or 23s. 4d. per cwt. In the Chinese ports it

fetches nearly double that price the cwt. The Chinese burn the roots

as an incense in the temples of their gods, and they also attach great

efficacy to it as an aphrodisiac. The imports into Canton in 1848 were

414 piculs; in 1850, 854 piculs; valued at 5,150 dollars. In Cashmere

it is chiefly used for the protection of bales of shawls from insects.

The exports from the port of Calcutta were, in 1840-41, 19,660 maunds;

in 1841-42, 12,847; in 1847-48, 2,050¼; in 1848-49, 2,110¾;--worth

about £1,500 annually.

Specimens of amboyna wood, the odoriferous sandal wood from Timor,

clove wood, and other choice woods from the Moluccas and Prince of

Wales Island, were sent home to the Great Exhibition in 1851.

LIGNUM ALOES, the eagle wood and Calambak of commerce, yielding an

aromatic perfume, is furnished by the _Aquilaria malaccensis_, and

_agallocha_, in Silhet, an ornamental evergreen shrub. A very high

artificial value is placed on the better qualities of this product by

the natives of the East; the best quality being worth about £14 the

picul of 133 lbs.

This fragrant wood is probably the lign aloes of the Bible.

Incense to the value of nearly one million and a quarter francs was

exported from Alexandria in 1837.

Calambak or eagle wood, the true lignum aloes so highly esteemed in

the East as a perfume or incense, is said to be produced by the

_Aloexylum agallochum_, Lour. This remarkable wood contains a large

quantity of an odoriferous oleo-resin; when heated it undergoes a sort

of imperfect fusion, and exhales a fragrant and very agreeable odor.

Its price in Sumatra is about £30 per cwt. Inferior specimens are

obtained at Malacca. Eagle wood is also obtained from several other

trees. The true eagle wood is however very scarce.

The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. · 第 13 / 20 章

The spice cultivators of the Straits' Settlements have for some time