DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.2375#0229
S24
A JOURNEY FROM MADRAS THROUGH
CHAPTER three kinds. The Cari Mttymsu is the most productive, but requires
J^h, a Cagadali soil. In this, the pi'oduce of a good tree covered with
March 15. Cari Maj/nasu, is reckoned five Seers of cured pepper, or a small
fraction more than three pounds. The Sambara and Arsina gutti
thrive very well on Arsina Munnu, or a light-coloured soil; but
the first produces only one Seer, and the latter two. The quality
of all the kinds is the same. In the month following the vernal
equinox, four cuttings of the pepper vine, each a cubit and a half
in length, are taken for every Areca. One of their ends is buried
five or six inches in the ground, the other is tied to the stem of its
supporter. The vine requires no farther trouble, but tying its
branches up once a year in the month preceding the summer sol-
stice. It bears in six or seven years, and lives about twenty-five;
so that one Areca requires three or four sets of vines. The crop
season is during the two months which precede the vernal equinox.
The fruit is collected by means of ladders; and a man does not
collect, and cure, in a day more than five Seers, or three pounds.
The pepper, as usual, is gathered when the grains are full grown,
but not ripe. Here the amenta are gathered into a heap, which
stands in the house, and there they are kept three days. They are
then rubbed with the foot; and the grains, having been separated
from all other matter, are then fit for sale.
A little white pepper is made by allowing the berries to ripen.
The bunches, having been kept three days in the house, are washed
and bruised in a basket with the hand, till all the amenta and pulp
are removed. The seed is then dried five days, and is fit for sale.
It is twice as dear as black pepper, but the demand for it is very
small, for it is used only as a medicine.
Betel-kaf. The Betel-leaf is cultivated exactly like the pepper, and lives
the same length of time. In this country, the Nagwally, or female
plant, for it is dioecious, is that [chiefly used; but the Umbadi,
or male, may also be found. Here both frequently produce
White pep
per.
A JOURNEY FROM MADRAS THROUGH
CHAPTER three kinds. The Cari Mttymsu is the most productive, but requires
J^h, a Cagadali soil. In this, the pi'oduce of a good tree covered with
March 15. Cari Maj/nasu, is reckoned five Seers of cured pepper, or a small
fraction more than three pounds. The Sambara and Arsina gutti
thrive very well on Arsina Munnu, or a light-coloured soil; but
the first produces only one Seer, and the latter two. The quality
of all the kinds is the same. In the month following the vernal
equinox, four cuttings of the pepper vine, each a cubit and a half
in length, are taken for every Areca. One of their ends is buried
five or six inches in the ground, the other is tied to the stem of its
supporter. The vine requires no farther trouble, but tying its
branches up once a year in the month preceding the summer sol-
stice. It bears in six or seven years, and lives about twenty-five;
so that one Areca requires three or four sets of vines. The crop
season is during the two months which precede the vernal equinox.
The fruit is collected by means of ladders; and a man does not
collect, and cure, in a day more than five Seers, or three pounds.
The pepper, as usual, is gathered when the grains are full grown,
but not ripe. Here the amenta are gathered into a heap, which
stands in the house, and there they are kept three days. They are
then rubbed with the foot; and the grains, having been separated
from all other matter, are then fit for sale.
A little white pepper is made by allowing the berries to ripen.
The bunches, having been kept three days in the house, are washed
and bruised in a basket with the hand, till all the amenta and pulp
are removed. The seed is then dried five days, and is fit for sale.
It is twice as dear as black pepper, but the demand for it is very
small, for it is used only as a medicine.
Betel-kaf. The Betel-leaf is cultivated exactly like the pepper, and lives
the same length of time. In this country, the Nagwally, or female
plant, for it is dioecious, is that [chiefly used; but the Umbadi,
or male, may also be found. Here both frequently produce
White pep
per.