PEPPER.
Capsicum Annum.—Piment, Fr. —Spanischer Pfeffer, Ger.
There are several varieties of the Pepper cultivated for pickling and kitchen purposes—its natural locality is very generally diffused over all tropical countries, requiring in artificial culture a very warm locality, rich light soil, and careful cultivation. The green pods or small berries of all the varieties are used for pickling; the ripe fruit is dried and used in small portions as a seasoning of the hottest quality.
Bell, or Sweet.—Large bell-shaped and most esteemed for pickles, the skin being thick and more pulpy than any of the others.
Tomato, or Flat.—About the size and shape of the Tomato, is also very generally used for the same purpose; it is of a hotter nature than the former.
Cayenne.—Fruit small, round, tapering, long, or curved, and of the very hottest quality. We have seen about twenty varieties of the Pepper; their fruit, when ripe, from about the size of Peas to the size of Melons, and all of a bright red or bright yellow color.
Culture.—Sow a small portion of seed, thinly, half an inch deep, on a hot-bed or in a pot in a warm window, any time in March or April and transplant in May or June, on good ground, one foot apart, and eighteen inches from row to row. In a mild climate, sow at the same period in the open ground, in a small bed of light soil, and transplant when three to four inches high during moist weather, or water freely in time of planting. As they grow, hoe frequently, and earth up the stems similar to Cabbage.
