porridge, to which sometimes is also added
several warm seeds, such as the common cress or black mustard, both of
which are indigenous in Abyssinia.--("Johnston's Abyssinia.")

A great quantity of Agi or Guinea pepper is grown in Peru, the natives
being very fond of this condiment. It is not uncommon for an American
Indian to make a meal of twenty or thirty pods of capsicum, a little
salt, and a piece of bread, washed down by two or three quarts of
chica, the popular beverage.

PIMENTO.

The pimento, _Eugenia Pimento_ (_Myrtus Pimenta_), is a native of
Mexico, and the West Indies. It flourishes spontaneously and in great
abundance on the north side of the island of Jamaica; its numerous
white blossoms mixing with the dark green foliage, and with the
slightest breeze diffusing around the most delicious fragrance, give a
beauty and a charm to nature rarely equalled, and of which he who has
not visited the shady arbors and perfumed groves of the tropics can
have little conception. This lovely tree, the very leaf of which when
bruised emits a fine aromatic odor, nearly as powerful as that of the
spice itself, has been known to grow to the height of from 30 to 40
feet, exceedingly straight, and having for its base the spinous ridge
of a rock, eight or ten feet above the surface of the hill or
mountain. A single tree has frequently produced 150 lbs. of the raw,
or 100 lbs. of the dried fruit.

The fruit has an aromatic odor, and its taste combines that of
cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; hence its common name of allspice. The
fruit of _Eugenia acris_ is used for pimento.

The trunk is of a grey color, smooth and shining, and altogether
destitute of bark. It is luxuriantly clothed with leaves of a deep
green, somewhat like those of the bay tree, and these leaves are, in
the months of July and August, beautifully contrasted and relieved by
an exuberance of white flowers. The leaves yield by distillation a
delicate odoriferous oil, which is said to be sometimes passed off for
oil of cloves.

The berries are gathered before they are ripe, and spread on a
terrace, exposed to the sun for about a week, during which time they
lose their green color, and acquire that reddish brown tint which
renders them marketable. Some planters kiln-dry them. Like many of the
minor productions of the tropics, pimento is exceedingly uncertain,
and perhaps a very plenteous crop occurs but once in five years.

In 1800 there were 12,759 bags and