CHAPTER V

Summary

Pepper grows in abundance at Cochin, Calecut, Cananor, Barcelor, and all along the Malabar coast. It is thence only the Portuguese take it, and none others dare buy it in those parts. There is also great store of it in the islands of Sumatra and Java, whence the Arabs and all other Indians, and latterly the Hollanders, English, and others that voyage thither, in despite of the King of Spain, supply themselves withal; it is bigger and heavier than that of Malabar, and the Indians prize it more; the Portuguese, however, boast theirs to be the best, saying it has more strength. There are three kinds, black, white, and long. The long grows in Bengala, Brazil, and Guinea.

The black and white pepper (these being the same) comes from a plant or tree like ivy, which is planted at the foot of another tree; as it grows it entwines itself and climbs up to the top of the tree, just like the vine, the hop, the ivy, or any other climber. The leaf resembles that of the orange. The fruit grows in little bunches, rather long, in fact, resembling red currants. At first it is green, when nearly ripe it becomes red, and when dried, black. It is gathered in the months of December and January.

Ginger is commoner than pepper, and is found all over India, also in Brazil and at the island of St. Lawrence.