IRISH GARDENING. 



Economic Brevities. 



By "SPICY." 



First Series — Spices. 



THE CLO\'E (Eugenia caryopJiyllnta ; natural 

 order Myrtacece). — This very common spice is a 

 native of the Molucca Islands, in the East Indies, 

 where from the earliest records it was produced in 

 quantities, but not untilabout 1500 did a European nation 

 — the Portug-uese — discover the country where it was 

 grown. The Dutch possessors of the Moluccas for a 

 long time held a strict monopoly over the produce of 

 their islands, and it is said that they confined the cultiva- 

 tion of the clove tree to one island onh' — Ambo\na. 

 Later on they became less 



strict, and plantations were 



found in the neighbouring 

 islands. This spice is now 

 largely grown in Penang', Zanzi- 

 bar, and in the West Indies, 

 &c. , but the best varieties come 

 from Penang. Cloves, as we 

 know them and use them in our 

 apple pies and tarts, are the 

 dried, unopened flower buds of 

 the tree. These buds, which 

 would eventually become the 

 flowers, are borne on short, 

 jointed stalks at the very ex- 

 tremities of the branches, and 

 when gathering time comes the 

 natives go through the planta- 

 tions with long bamboos, beat- 

 ing the branches or shaking the 

 trees. The buds, which fall 

 very easily, are collected in 

 cloths placed under the trees, 

 and dried in the sun. When 

 gathered thus they are green, 

 but turn brown when dried. 

 Cloves are capable of absorbing- 

 a very large quantity of water, 

 and it is needless to say that 

 growers avail themselves of this 

 fact, as the gfood are always 

 sold by weig-ht. Cloves, and 

 clove stalks also, contain a larg-e 

 proportion of oil, used larg-ely 

 by soap-makers, perfumers, in 

 medicine, &c. ; and thougfh this 

 oil is usually procured by distilla- 

 tion, it can also be obtained by 

 pressure of the newly gathered 



buds. This naturally renders these pressed cloves of little 

 value, but they can easily be detected when mixed with 

 the good ones by their lack of flavour and pale colour. 

 The name "clove" comes from the Latin '■'clavus" 

 meaning- a nail. In the year 1905, 136,724 cwts. of 

 cloves, of the value of £287,073, were exported from 

 Zanzibar. The greater portion of these were exported 

 to India, and nearly £35,000 worth came to the United 

 Kingdom. 



Ni'TMEG (the seeds of Myristica fragrans). — This 

 spice is also a native of the Moluccas and other islands 

 in the East Indian Archipelago. It has been introduced 

 into Mauritius and South America, &c. The fruit is 

 rather like that of a small peach, the one coat of which 

 is about half an inch thick. This is edible, and when 

 ripe bursts and discloses two spices — one the mace, and 

 the other the nutmeg-. 



The mace is a very fine net-work of a red colour, 

 which surrounds the dark, shining shell of the nutmeg. 

 This thin net-work is partially dried and carefully 

 packed in bag-s. If dried too much it is liable to break in 



packing-. When bought it is more like a very thin, light- 

 brown leaf, and a "little leaven leaveneth the whole 

 lump." The nutmeg- is surrounded by an extremely 

 hard shell, and in order to obtain the kernel from the 

 shell the nut is dried until the kernel shrinks sufficiently 

 to allow it to rattle ; then the shell can be easily broken, 

 and the kernel, seed, or "nutmeg" extracted. The 

 " nuts" are then put through several processes of soak- 

 ing and drying to preserve their flavour before packing 

 for exportation. More than one variety of nutmeg- is 

 grown. One known as the " Royal " is a large fruit, and 

 produces mace longer than the nut ; in that known as 

 the "green," the mace is only about half the length of 

 the nut. Nutmegs are used as a spice, but also in 

 medicine. During the year 1904, 433,432 lbs. of nutmeg 

 and 155,560 lbs. of mace were exported from Java. 



Ginger (the dried roots 

 of Zitigiher officinale ). — This 

 plant is a native of the S. E. 

 of Asia, but was very soon 

 naturalised in America after the 

 discovery of that country. The 

 plant is now largely cultivated 

 in the West Indies, especially 

 in Jamaica. Two forms are 

 known in the markets — the 

 black ginger and the white ; 

 the difference only lies in the 

 method adopted for preparation. 

 These roots are dug up at the 

 end of the g-rowing season, 

 and for "black" g-inger they 

 are scalded in boiling- water 

 and dried in the sun, but for 

 "white" ging-er they are 

 scraped and dried without being 

 scalded. For the very excellent 

 preserve — perhaps the best all- 

 round preserve made — the roots 

 are dug early in the g-rowing 

 season, and carefully peeled, 

 scalded and washed. They are 

 then put into jars, and on them 

 is poured a syrup of sug-ar. 

 After two days this syrup is 

 removed, and a slightly stronger 

 one poured on, and this is re- 

 peated a third time, after 

 another two days, before the 

 ginger is considered fit for use. 

 Zingiber offiicinale is very 

 largely cultivated, and is always 

 produced by negative methods, 

 and the plant has now be- 

 come almost quite sterile, and 



Summer Cypress ( Kocliia ). 



flowers and seeds are very rarely seen 



j^^ ^^ ^* 

 Iceland Poppies {Papaver nitdicaule) are now much 

 liked for indoor decoration, their charming colours and 

 elegant form appealing to refined taste. They are also 

 useful for outdoor effect, and can be grown with little 

 trouble or outlay, and when used as bedding subjects 

 can be freely cut. I have found it a good plan to sow 

 the seeds where they are to bloom like hardy annuals. 

 The beds ought to be in a sunny aspect, well prepared 

 over winter, and mjide quite fine before sowing. This 

 can be done early in April. It is well to wait the chance 

 of a showery time for sowing to ensure germination. 

 Sow broadcast and thin the seedlings to regular 

 distances. As the plants will not develop fully the first 

 season they must not be thinned to a too great distance, 

 so that they can "furnish" over the ground properly. 

 Five or six inches apart is not too small a space, but the 

 exact distance will depend on the richness of the medium 

 in which they grow. James Bracken. 



