The principal cities of export are Singapore and Penang, the annual amount of export being from 2,000 to 3,000 piculs of 135½ pounds each from each city at a London market value of 37 to 45s. a cwt. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Illustration: CAPSICUM OR CAYENNE 1 Zanzibar 2 Bombay 3 Sierra Leone 4, 5, 6 and 7 Common Garden] CHAPTER VII CAPSICUM, OR CAYENNE CAYENNE pepper, Guiana pepper, Spanish pepper, Mexican chilli, as it is often called, more commonly spoken of as red pepper, is a genus of herbs or shrubs of the nightshade family (_Salanaceoe_) the fruit of any species of capsicum. The name capsicum is of uncertain origin, perhaps from kato, to bite—all of them having a strong, pungent flavor, or from _L. capso_, box or chest, from the shape of the fruit; the latter name being given to it by Broconna. ANNUUM HERBACEOUS OR SUFFRUTESCENT The true peppers are members of a totally distinct order, the _Piperaceoe_. French, _Piment or Corail des Jardins Poivra d’Inde_ or _Guinee_; German, _Spanisher Oderkerscher Pfeffer_. Cayenne takes its name from the city of Cayenne (Koyen or Kien) (see illustration), or from the island and river, both of same name, on which it is located, or from the province of Cayenne in French Guiana, South America. The city of Cayenne is a French penal station, and exports large quantities of Cayenne, which we call Guiana pepper. Probably the first known history of Cayenne pepper in Europe is that given by Martyr, who writes of Columbus bringing it home with him in 1493, and speaks of it as being more pungent than that from Caucasus, probably referring to the Oriental black pepper. About a century later, Gerarde writes of its being brought into Europe from Africa and Southern Asia and being grown in European gardens. Probably the first record of its use is that given by Doctor Chauca, who was physician with Columbus’s fleet in 1494, and who alludes to it as a condiment used in dressing meats, dyeing, and other purposes, as well as a medicine.