The History of Pepper

The pepper plant grows naturally to 20 feet in height, but is cultivated on trellises or poles about 10 or 12 feet high. The vine begins to bear when three or four years old and continues bearing for the next 10 or 15 years. There are two crops a year, July and December, which yield 5 to 6 pounds of dried pepper each for a single vine. When the berries are ripe, the stalk is pinched off by hand and placed in an oblong cane basket slung horizontally behind the plucker by a rope around his waist. Good black pepper is firm and not too deeply wrinkled, does not easily crumble or break in the hand. It is also heavy and readily