in building, &c. a canal, or conduit, for the conveyance of water and other liquids. Pipes for water, water-engines, &c. are usually of lead, iron, earth, or wood; the latter are usually made of oak or elder. Those of iron are cast in forges; their usual length is about two feet and a half; several of these are commonly fastened together by means of four screws at each end, with leather or old hat between them, to stop the water. Those of earth are made by the potters; these are fitted into one another, one end being always made wider than the other. To join them the closer, and prevent their breaking, they are covered with tow and pitch: their length is usually about that of the iron pipes. The wooden pipes are trees bored with large iron augres, of different sizes, beginning with a less, and then proceeding with a larger successively; the first being pointed, the rest being formed like spoons, increasing in diameter, from one to six inches and more: they are fitted into the extremities of each other (as represented fig. 2.), and are sold by the foot.

Wooden pipes are bored as follows. The machine represented fig. 1. is put in motion by the wheel A, Fig. 1., which is moved by a current of water; upon the axle of this wheel is a cog-wheel B, which causes the lanterns C, D, to turn horizontally, whose common axis is consequently in a perpendicular direction. The lantern D turns at the same time two cog-wheels, E and F: the first, E, which is vertical, turns the augre which bores the wood; and the second F, which is horizontal, causes the carriage bearing the piece to advance by means of the arms H, I, which take hold of the notch. Piper, Pepper; a genus of plants belonging to the Piper diandra class. See Botany Index. There are 20 species, of which the most remarkable is the siribon, with oval, heart-shaped, nervèd leaves, and reflexed spikes. This is the plant which produces the pepper so much used in food. It is a shrub whose root is small, fibrous, and flexible; it rises into a stem, which requires a tree or prop to support it. Its wood has the same sort of knots as the vine; and when it is dry, it exactly resembles the vine-branch. The leaves, which have a strong smell and a pungent taste, are of an oval shape; but they diminish towards the extremity, and terminate in a point. From the flower-buds, which are white, and are sometimes placed in the middle and sometimes at the extremity of the branches, are produced small berries resembling those of the currant tree. Each of these contains between 20 and 30 corns of pepper; they are commonly gathered in October, and exposed to the sun seven or eight days. The fruit which was green at first, and afterwards red, when stripped of its covering assumes the appearance it has when we see it. The largest, heaviest, and least shrivelled, is the best.

The pepper plant flourishes in the islands of Java, Sumatra (A), and Ceylon, and more particularly on the Malabar coast. It is not sown, but planted; and great nicety is required in the choice of the shoots. It produces no fruit till the end of three years; but bears so plentifully the three succeeding years, that some plants yield between six and seven pounds of pepper. The bark then begins to shrink; and the shrub declines so fast, that in 12 years time it ceases bearing.

The culture of pepper is not difficult: it is sufficient to plant it in a rich soil, and carefully to pull up the weeds that grow in great abundance round its roots, especially the three first years. As the sun is highly necessary to the growth of the pepper plant, when it is ready to bear, the trees that support it must be lopped to prevent their shade from injuring the fruit. When the season is over, it is proper to crop the head of the plant. Without this precaution, there would be too much wood, and little fruit.

The pepper exported from Malabar, which was formerly entirely in the hands of the Portuguese, and was afterwards divided between the Dutch, British, and French, amounted to about 10,000,000 weight. Betel, or betle, is a species of this genus. See Betel. It is a creeping and climbing plant like the ivy; and its leaves a good deal resemble those of the citron, though they are longer and narrower at the extremity. It grows in all parts of India, but thrives best in moist places. The natives cultivate it as we do the vine, placing props for it to run and climb upon; and it is a common practice to plant it against the tree which bears the areca-nut.

At all times of the day, and even in the night, the Indians chew the leaves of the betel, the bitterness of which is corrected by the areca that is wrapped up in them. There is constantly mixed with it the chinam,

(A) See a copious account of the mode of cultivating pepper in Sumatra, in Mr Marsden's History of Sumatra, or in the New Annual Register for 1783, p. 147. a kind of burnt lime made of shells. The rich frequently add perfumes, either to gratify their vanity or their sensuality.

It would be thought a breach of politeness among the Indians to take leave for any long time, without presenting each other with a purse of betel. It is a pledge of friendship that relieves the pain of absence. No one dares to speak to a superior unless his mouth is perfumed with betel; it would even be rude to neglect this precaution with an equal. The women of gallantry are the most lavish in the use of betel, as being a powerful incentive to love. Betel is taken after meals; it is chewed during a visit; it is offered when you meet, and when you separate; in short, nothing is to be done without betel. If it is prejudicial to the teeth, it assists and strengthens the stomach. At least, it is a general fashion that prevails throughout India.

The *piper amalago*, or black pepper, and the *piper inequale*, or long pepper of Jamaica, with some other species, are indigenous, and known by the names of joint wood, or peppery elders. The first bears a small spike, on which are attached a number of small seeds of the size of mustard. The whole of the plant has the exact taste of the East India black pepper. The long pepper bush grows taller than the amalago. The leaves are broad, smooth, and shining. The fruit is similar to the long pepper of the shops, but smaller. The common people in Jamaica season their messes with the black pepper. To preserve both, the fruit may be slightly scalded when green, then dried, and wrapped in paper. Perhaps hereafter they may be deemed worthy of attention.