Pepper

m IMG:p442_5.png:Chinese characters hu chiao, is the ground-up fruit of Zarithoxylum bungei. It is the ruddy capsules, not the seed, which po e the aromatic principle. It is said to grow nowhere in China except in the island of Hainan. Attempts have been made to cultivate it in other parts but unsiucce fuUy. The Chinese put this down to the warine of the foreigner, who destroys IMG:p442_6.png:Chinese characters productive power of the pepper before it is imported, thus keeping the trade in his own hands. There are two kinds, the Malabar and the Sumatran, but in China no distinction is made, both being sold at one price. The Chinese, however, regard white pepper as a superior species, and are not aware that it is simply black pepper steeped in lime-water. BowBA: Customs Trade Returns, Ningpo, 1869. HosiE: Ssuch'uan, p. 16.