Nutmeg

the seed kernel of the nutmeg tree. The tree is a native of the Malay Archipelago. It grows to a height of not to exceed twenty-five feet. The nutmeg has the general appearance of a pear tree. The flowers are like those of the lily of the valley in form and size, but they are of a pale yellow and are exceedingly fragrant. Hanging on the tree, the nutmeg is a hard-meated, yellow, candied, pear-like fruit which finally splits, exposing what corresponds to the pit of a plum. Growing on one end of this pit or nut, and partly covering it, is a peculiar, bright red, netted appendage which constitutes the mace of commerce. In countries where the nutmeg is raised the pulp is used for preserves. The nutmeg pits, as we may call them, are gathered, stripped of their outer covering, placed on gratings, and are dried at a slow heat until the kernel rattles in the shell. The shells are then broken open. The kernels are dipped in milk of lime to render them safe from the attacks of insects, as well as to prevent their sprouting. They are packed for export in tight casks, designed to prevent them from absorbing moisture. The nutmeg which the cook grates for seasoning purposes is, therefore, the meaty kernel found within the stone of a plum or peach-like fruit.

The original home of the nutmeg tree is a group of small islands known as the Spice Islands in the East Indies. These islands were at one time owned by the Dutch, who guarded their monopoly of nutmeg jealously. They forbade the exportation of seed, root, or slip. In 1796 the British seized the islands, and the cultivation of nutmegs was extended to India, Brazil, and the West India Islands.

Nutmegs are propagated by planting the entire fruit-pulp, pit, and kernel-in bamboo pots, that is to say, ends of bamboo joints having the size and shape of fruit cans. When large enough to set out, the joint is split, and the young plant, with its cylinder of dirt, is planted in a hole prepared for it. The nutmeg tree begins to bear at about eight years of age. In full bearing it produces about five pounds of nutmegs and one and one-half pounds of mace yearly. As in the case of most tropical fruits, ripe fruit may be found on the tree the year around. There are, however, three principal harvests,-one in July, when the fruit is abundant, but the mace thin; in November, when the mace is thick, but the nutmeg small; and in March when both nutmeg and mace reach the greatest perfection. Nutmegs, like pecans, are both wild and cultivated. The orchard nutmeg is plump and runs about seven to the ounce; the wild nutmeg is smaller and is less rich in oil and fragrance.

Singapore is the world's great market. About 1,500,000 pounds of nutmegs and 500,000 pounds of mace are marketed by the Singapore merchants annually.

The word nutmeg comes from the Latin, meaning musk nut. When the nutmeg was a rarity it was a fashionable perfume. For the sake of the scent English ladies had nutmegs set in silver, ornamented with pearls and precious stones, to hang from the belt.

See Spice