Species of Pepper (and on its Cultivation)
at Prince of Wales Island, by Dr. William Hunter, in the Asiatic
Researches Volume 9 page 383.)

FORMATION OF THE GARDEN.

The ground is then marked out in form of a regular square or oblong, with
intersections throughout at the distance of six feet (being equal to five
cubits of the measure of the country), the intended interval between the
plants, of which there are commonly either one thousand or five hundred
in each garden; the former number being required from those who are heads
of families (their wives and children assisting them in their work), and
the latter from single men. Industrious or opulent persons sometimes have
gardens of two or three thousand vines. A border twelve feet in width,
within which limit no tree is suffered to grow, surrounds each garden,
and it is commonly separated from others by a row of shrubs or irregular
hedge. Where the nature of the country admits of it the whole or greater
part of the gardens of a dusun or village lie adjacent to each other,
both for the convenience of mutual assistance in labour and mutual
protection from wild beasts; single gardens being often abandoned from
apprehension of their ravages, and where the owner has been killed in
such a situation none will venture to replace him.

VEGETATING PROPS.

After lining out the ground and marking the intersections by slight
stakes the next business is to plant the trees that are to become props
to the pepper, as the Romans planted elms, and the modern Italians more
commonly plant poplars and mulberries, for their grape-vines. These are
cuttings of the chungkariang (Erythrina corallodendron), usually called
chinkareens, put into the ground about a span deep, sufficiently early to
allow time for a shoot to be strong enough to support the young
pepper-plant when it comes to twine about it. The cuttings are commonly
two feet in length, but sometimes a preference is given to the length of
six feet, and the vine is then planted as soon as the chinkareen has
taken root: but the principal objections to this method are that in such
state they are very liable to fail and require renewal, to the prejudice
of the garden; and that their shoots are not so vigorous as those of the
short cuttings, frequently growing crooked, or in a lateral instead of a
perpendicular direction. The circumstances which render the chinkareen
particularly proper for this use are its readiness and quickness of
gr