PEPPER

The Black or White powdered pepper used as a condiment is the ground fruit of the Piper nigrum L., a perennial climbing shrub, native to the forests of western and southern India but for centuries cultivated also on the Malay Peninsula and in Sumatra, Java, Ceylon and Siam, and to a limited extent in Borneo and various other tropical countries. The fruit is a small, round berry, the “peppercorn,” growing in loosely packed clusters of from twenty to thirty, closely attached to a common fruit stalk (see Color Page opposite 468), a good vine producing an annual average of from one to two pounds. Pieces of the stalk may often be found in whole black pepper and examination will show the depre ions formed where the berries were attached. The shrub or vine grows to a height of eight to twelve feet and is supported either by poles or trees. The peppercorns are exported in bags of 64 or 128 Ibs. [s. 473]