BERTHA’S
VISIT TO HER UNCLE
IN
ENGLAND.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET
MDCCCXXX.
LONDON:
Printed by W. Clowes,
Stamford-street.
| INDEX to Volume II. |
BERTHA’S VISIT.
Dec. 1st.—Colonel Travers, who every day tells us something curiousthat he has seen in his travels, has been describing the cultivation ofthe pepper vine in the East Indies. In July, at the beginning of therainy season, from eight to twelve shoots are planted round some treechosen for their support; as they grow up they must be tied to its stem,and in dry or hot weather they are watered. They begin to bear in sixyears; in ten, they are in full perfection, and continue so for twentyyears more, when they die. When the fruit is intended for blackpepper, it is not allowed to ripen, but collected while green. As soonas the berries become hard and firm, which happens between the middle ofDecember and the middle of January, they are pinched off by the fingers,placed on a mat, and rubbed by the hands or feet till the seeds, severalof which are contained in each berry, are separated. These seeds are{2}then spread on mats; and at night they are collected in earthen jars,to preserve them from the dew. Two or three days’ exposure to the sunsufficiently dries them, when they are put up in bags, containing from60 to 120 pounds, and are then considered fit for sale. When the berriesare intended to produce white pepper, they are allowed to becomeperfectly ripe, in which state they are red. They are then well rubbedin a basket, and when the pulp is washed off, the seeds are white, andare immediately dried for sale. The vines, however, in this case are aptto die, and in the province of Malabar but little white pepper is nowmade.
A good plant produces about 32 pounds: this is the highest produce; 21pounds is the average. The mango tree is preferred for supporting thepepper vine, as the fruit is not affected by it; but the fruit of thejack tree, which is also used for the purpose, is thought to beinjured in flavour by the pepper being so near it.
The Colonel says, that the pepper plant is not a vine in reality, thoughthe knotted stem when dry has much the appearance of a common grapevine. The leaf, too, is different, being pointed, and with deep veins init, all meeting at the point.
2d.—Caroline amused us after dinner with a singular anecdote of amusician of the name of Davy; though she was at first unwilling to{3}relate it, as she could not remember her authority.
He was the son of a Devonshire farmer, and when a little boy used to gocontinually to a neighbouring forge, where he seemed to be strangelyinterested in examining and sounding the horse-shoes.
After some time, the smith having frequently missed his shoes, began tosuspect young Davy of stealing them; the boy was, therefore, watched,and one day he was observed to have separated two shoes from a parcelwhich he had been sounding for a long time. He took them up and wentquietly off, but was followed, and traced to a loft, where he had formeda hiding-plac