The three main climbing stems, which have been tied to the post, are pruned regularly to encourage the development of lateral fruiting branches; these latter are not tied to the post as this would discourage the bushy side growth that is required.

Pepper can also be propagated by marcotts, approach-grafted or bud-grafted. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Sarawak have bud-grafted cultivars such as ‘Kuching’ on to resistant rootstocks of Indian clones, especially `Balamcotta’, which is relatively resistant to foot rot, but such grafts did not’ sitryive beyond the fruiting stage.

Rootstocks of P. colubrinum, which is highly resistant to foot rot, have been used, and two-node cuttings of this species strike roots easily to provide rootstocks. Other rootstocks tried include P. cubeba, which is not fully resistant to foot rot, and P. hispidutn and P. scabrurn, with which there was little success.

The usual form of compound fertilizer used is a mixture of urea, double superphosphate, muriate of potash and kieserite to supply the magnesium. The trace elements supplied are iron, copper, zinc, manganese, boron ;Ind molybdenum, which have been listed above: Sterameal has a main shoot and two lateral orthotropic shoots.

Piper is a large genus, with over 1,000 species, in the family Piperaceac. They are mostly herbaceous or woody climbers or shrubs in the tropics of both hemispheres. You can put the large allied genus Peperomia into a separate family Peperomiaceae, but most authorities include it in Piperaceae.

Among the economic species of Piper are Betel pepper, P.betle L., whose leaves are chewed as a masticatory, together with the betel nut from the palm, Areca catechu L., from Zanzibar, through India, Malaysia, Indonesia and into the Pacific.

The European demand for spices, especially pepper, and the desire to take part in this lucrative trade, was mainly responsible for Columbus sailing west in 1492 in the hope of finding the spices of the orient, and Vasco da Gama circumnavigating Africa and arriving at Calicut on the Malabar coast of western India on 20 May 1498. This enabled Portugal to secure a monopoly of the spice trade, which she was to keep for 100 years until ousted by the Dutch. Lisbon became the most important trading centre for oriental spices with entrepots in Goa and Malacca. The Portuguese under Albuquerque won several decisive naval battles over the Moslems and by 1511 had gained control over the Malabar coast of India, Ceylon, Malacca, Java and Sumatra, and by 1514 of the Moluccas.

The traditional methods used in the preparation of black and white pepper result in heavy contamination by micro-organisms, and the levels found are among the highest recorded for commonly used spices (Yesair and Williams, 1942; Strong et al., 1963; Volkova, 1971; Kirshnaswamy et al., 1971; Kormendy, 1973; Julseth and Deibel, 1974). However, no Salmonella or other types of very dangerous organisms have been detected.

A number of Aspergillus and Penicillium moulds have also been found in these spices but an American study found only low concentrations of aflatoxins. In black pepper, mould contamination has been shown to be essentially restricted to the surface of the spice whereas internal contamination was also found with white pepper.

White pepper is prepared from fully ripe, decorticated and dried peppercorns. Harvesting is not undertaken until the berries become bright red; but considerable experience is required in judging the optimum time since undue delay can result in losses from fruit drop and birds.

However, problems might be encountered with chemical treatments in regard to toxic residues and aroma/flavour deterioration and that ionizing radiation could possibly photolyse the piperine with a consequent reduction in pungency.

How To Have More Fun When You Are Watching Birds!

Watching birds is fun because birds are fun and it enables you to get outdoors, out of town and see wild birds that you would not see in your yard. Just seeing birds doing what they do everyday is an exiting hobby for anyone who likes to see birds at the bird feeders and bird houses in their yard.

More and more people are now becoming bird watchers and birding will continue to become more popular. More time means more birding time and longer bird watching trips can take place. Also bird watching generates and appreciation for nature, our environment and the fact that we need to protect habitat for the birds.

If you are new to bird watching or birding then it will help you if you have some idea of the best way to approach your new hobby to ensure that when you go out looking for birds you will be successful in seeing some. Putting up a bird feeder in your yard is a good way to start but once your interest increases you will want to go further afield to see more and different birds.

The Grisette is a relatively slender, tall, very fragile mushroom with striated, thinly fleshed cap. Its gills are very dense and the basal volva is large and has lobed margins. It grows in clamp places in coniferous forests.

Clitocybe wbularis is edible but of a poor quality, though some mushroom-pickers collect it and add it to a mixture of other mushrooms or pickle it in vinegar. It is advisable to scald the sliced mushrooms be[bre proceeding further, otherwise they can cause indigestion.

Like Blewits, fresh fruit-bodies of Wood Blewits contain a substance which damages red blood- cells. However, it is neutralized by boiling and so thoroughly cooked mushrooms are not dangerous. Wood Blewits can be confused with some purple species of the Cortiwarivs genus. However, all of these are distinguished by their rust-brown spore powder, by the presence of the cobweb-like veil (cortina) and by their unpleasant smell.

One of the biggest parts of a wedding is the flowers that are included. There are flowers for the bouquets, flowers for the church, and flowers for the mothers, grandmothers, groom, and ushers, as well as centerpieces for the reception.

Something that should be taken into consideration when selecting the flowers to use in a wedding is that sometimes there are people who have allergies and may be affected by the scent of the flowers.

When you are choosing the type of flowers for your wedding, think about yourself and your attendants especially. Are there any sensitive noses The last thing that you will need on your wedding day Is to have yourself or one of your attendants having a sneezing fit in the middle of the ceremony.

Once you have chosen what type of flower you want to have for your wedding, the next thing is to decide on the colors. Usually the colors for bridesmaids and groomsmen will correspond to the colors of the bridesmaids’ dresses for the bouquets. But when it comes to the grandmothers and mothers flowers it may be a good idea to find out what color their dresses will be so their flowers will match.

Out of the mycelium grow the fruit-bodies. These are constructed of densely interwoven hyphae and, according to the type of fungus, they adopt a variety of shapes. The study and differentiation of these systems of hyphal tissue are important criteria in the recognition of the mutual affinity of fungi as well as in their classification of microscopic micron measurements to several tens of centimetres.

Fruit-bodies also contain the reproductive organs. The range of their common features, covering shape, coloring and size, is a constant factor in every systematic group (order, family and genus), but individual characteristics often vary considerably. In this respect the microscopic features of fungi are the most reliable.’

Therefore they absorb their organic nourishment in an already digested form from other living or dead organisms. This type of nutritional feeding is called heterotrophic and it resembles the animal method of nourishment.

The life of mycelia varies considerably; some last one to two years, others for several years. The mycelia of mycorrhizal fungi; which live in symbiosis with the roots of green plants, usually last as long as the host plants.

Laclarius volemus is a pleasant and easily recognizable mushroom. It is particularly well distinguished by its plentiful supply of white milk, which has a mild taste, does not change colour and has a smell of pickled herrings (trimethylamin).

The effect is rather similar to alcoholic intoxication, namely a disruption of the nervous and digestive systems. However, a healthy person usually gets over such poisoning quite quickly and without further after-effects. This fungus grows in coniferous forests, especially those containing spruce and sometimes birch and with these it is often in symbiotic association.

Laclarius volemus is a good edible mushroom, which grows predominantly in well-established pine forests. It can be safely eaten even in its raw state, which is an unusual feature of mushrooms. Its caps are a delicacy when salted, spiced with carraway seeds and fried in hot fat. When preparing the mushroom in this way, the caps should be placed in the frying pan with the gills facing upwards. Lactarius volemus is also good for soups. It can, however, be mistaken for the very acrid Lactarius rufus, and it is wise to taste a small piece raw, in order to make sure that the flavour is mild.

The Fairy-ring ,champignon has been well known to country dwellers for a long time. Apart from the Boletus and the Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius) this used to be the only mushroom picked for eating. Its distinguishing characteristics are a pleasant smell of burnt almonds, an elastic yet firm stipe and its permanently white, sparse and deeply cut gills. It grows in circles in strips of dark green grass on the margins of forests, in pastures on downs and lawns, and alongside meadow paths. It is a tasty, popular mushroom, particularly good for preparing soups.

Hygrophorus conicus, like the majority of mushrooms belonging to this species, is distinguished by its vivid colouring. Its sharply conical cap, slimy in damp weather, is a vivid yellowish-red; its gills are a pale yellow and the stipe blackens from the base upwards when bruised. The whole fruit-body turns black if the mushroom is dried up. The flesh is without any characteristic smell and tastes bitter. Hygrophorus conicus frequently grows outside the forest area, especially in grass along the road side, on grassy slopes, meadows, pastures and On lawns.

In terms of utility, two species of this genus are equally important. These are Tricholoma portentosum and T. flavovirens (T equestre), which are both excellent edible and delicious mushrooms. Tricholoma portentosum is a fleshy species with a greyish to greyish-black cap with black, sometimes purple- black fibrils on a white base. It is a little slimy in damp weather, has no scales and its margins are often irregularly lobed. The stipe and gills are white, with a prominent lemon-yellow tinge. The flesh has a pleasant floury scent and flavour. Tricholoma flavouirens, on the other hand, has a brownish-green to brownish-yellow cap, whilst its flesh has the pleasant smell of freshly milled flour.

The old fruit-bodies are usually reddish-brown or at least have red patches. The identity of Tricholoma saponaceum (and some other differently coloured species) is revealed by the presence of a specific smell, which resembles that of ordinary household soap. However, this is less conspicuous in fresh or young fruit-bodies.

Tricholoma portentosum is sometimes confused with Tricholoma argyracewn, which is also edible but of an inferior quality. It can he distinguished by its fibrous cap and the yellowing tendency of its gills and stipe. It is, however, similar in smell and also grows prolifically in late autumn in coniferous forests, especially at the edges of spruce forests.