Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 18.djvu/543

Rh  White pepper is obtained from the same as the black, and differs only in being prepared from the ripe s. These, after collection, are kept in the three s and then bruised and ed in a  with the  until the stalks and pulpy matter are removed, after which the s are. It is, however, sometimes prepared from the black pepper by removing the dark outer layer. It is less pungent than the black but possesses a finer. It is chiefly prepared at the of, but the finest comes from. The are the largest consumers. In  exported 48,461 s (a =133) to. The  value is about 4 to 7 per. White pepper affords on an average not more than 1·9 per cent. of ; but, according to Cazeneuve, as much as 9 per cent. of piperin, and of not more than 1·1 per cent.

Long pepper is the -spike of Piper officinarum, C.DC., and P. longum, L., gathered shortly before it reaches maturity and. The former is a native of the, occurring in, , , and. It has oblong, ovate, acuminate, attenuated to the base, which are pinnate and veined. The latter is indigenous to, , eastern , , and the ; it is distinguished from P. officinarum by the being cordate at the base and five-veined. Long pepper appears to have been known to the and  under the name of πέπερι μακρόν; and in the  mention is made of long pepper, or macropiper, in conjunction with black and white peppers. The consists of a dense spike of minute baccate s closely packed around the central axis, the spike being about 1  long and   thick; as met with in  they have the appearance of having been. In the s are  by, which are planted about 5  apart on dry rich  on high ground. An will yield about 3 s (80) the first, 12 the second, and 18 the third ; after this time the yield decreases, and the s are therefore grubbed up and sold as pipli mul, under which  they are much used as a  in. After the is, which is usually in , the stem and  die down to the ground. Long pepper contains piperin,, and , and yields about 8 per cent. of. and are the principal centres in the East for its sale. In   3366, of which 447 were sent to. s about 2000 to 3000. The value in the  is from 37 to 45 a

or pepper is the  of Piper Clusii, C.DC., a  widely distributed in, occurring most abundantly in the  of the. It differs from black pepper in being rather smaller, less wrinkled, and in being attenuated into a stalk, like, to which it bears considerable resemblance externally. The, however, is pungent, exactly like that of pepper, and the contains piperin. It was ed from the by the  of  and  as early as, and was ed from  by the  in ; but, according to Clusius, its  was forbidden by the  of  for fear it should  the value of the pepper from. In  it is extensively used as a, and it could easily be collected in large quantities if a  for it should arise.

pepper is the of Pimento officinalis, Lindl., an  of the. It is more correctly ed “pimento,” or “allspice,” as it is not a true pepper.

', known also as “s,” “,” or “,” is the of ', Roscoe, a of the  ; the s are exceedingly pungent, and are used as a  throughout central and northern. See.

For, see. (undefined)  PEPPERMINT, an indigenous perennial herb of the natural order Labiatæ, and genus Mentha, the specific name being Mentha Piperita, Huds., is distinguished from other species of the genus by its stalked leaves and oblong-obtuse spike-like heads of flowers. It is met with, near streams and in wet places, in several parts of England and on the Continent, and is also extensively cultivated for the sake of its essential oil in England, in several parts of continental Europe, and in the. Yet it was only recognized as a distinct species late in the, when DrEales discovered it in Hertfordshire and pointed it out to Ray, who published it in the second edition of his Synopsis Stirpium Britannicarum (1696). The medicinal properties of the plant were speedily recognized, and it was admitted into the London Pharmacopœia in 1721, under the name of Mentha piperitis sapore.

Two varieties are recognized by growers, the one being known as white and the other as black mint. The former has purplish and the latter green stems; the leaves are more coarsely serrated in the white. The black is the variety more generally cultivated, probably because it is found to yield more oil, but that of the green variety is considered to have a more delicate odour, and obtains a higher price. The green is the kind chiefly dried for herbalists; it is said to be of less vigorous growth than the black. The annual yield of peppermint oil from all parts of the world has been estimated at 90,000, but this is probably much below the mark, without taking into consideration the Chinese and Japanese oils of peppermint, which, however, are obtained from a different species of mint. Peppermint oil varies considerably in commercial value, that of Mitcham commanding nearly three times the price of the finest. The flavour varies to a slight extent even with particular plots of land, badly drained ground being known to give unfavourable results both as to the quantity and quality of the oil. That of the Japanese and Chinese oil also differs slightly from the English, and is thus distinguishable by experts. In the oil is liable to be injured in flavour by aromatic weeds which grow freely among the crop, the most troublesome of these being Erigeron canadense, L., and Erechthites hieracifolia, Raf. When pure the oil is nearly colourless and has an agreeable odour and powerful aromatic taste, followed by a sensation of cold when air is drawn into the mouth. It has a specific gravity of 0·84 to 0·92, and boils at 365° Mitcham oil, when examined by polarized light in a column 50mm. long, deviates from 14°·2 to 10°·7 