The chief use of pepper is that of a spice, added principally to meats, but also to other food substances. Its use is, however, less now than it was during the latter part of the Middle Ages. So extensive was the dealing in pepper that the English grocers of the time were known as pepperers. It was very liberally used with all meats, especially chopped or sausage meats. It was used as snuff or added to snuff tobacco to increase its effectiveness. It is still highly prized as an aid to digestion. Applied externally it is used as a counterirritant in skin diseases. Italian physicians recommend it highly in malarial diseases. Albert Schneider. MARCH. March, thou bully grim and gruff, Ever grumbling, hoarse, and rough! Always howling at the door Of the rich man or the poor; Screaming words that do not reach— Words unlike our human speech. Down the hollow chimney-bore, Hark the raging tyrant’s roar! Beat not with thy sleety flail, Or the keen lash of thy hail, Infant Spring, that tender child, Frightened when thou even smiled. Cruel March, Sir! —Walter Thornbury. Transcriber’s Notes --Created an eBook cover from elements within the issue. --Reconstructed the Table of Contents (originally on each issue’s cover). --Retained copyright notice on the original book (this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.) --Silently corrected a few palpable typos. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Birds and Nature Vol. 9 No. 3 [March 1901], by Various