200 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 
plant, native of the south of France. The seeds of this plant were held 
in high repute among the ancient: Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans for 
medicinal, flavoring, and culinary purposes. At present they are not 
much used, and mostly in veterinary practice. They have a strong odor 
of coumarine—the fragrance of the tonquin bean—and consequently are 
used for cattle food, and flavoring damaged hay. 
Melilotus ceeruleus, (Leguminose.)—The flowers of this plant contain a 
volatile odor or principle which gives the peculiar flavor and fragrance 
to the celebrated Champziger or Schabzieger cheese of Switzerland. 
The dried flowers are reduced to powder, and worked up into a paste 
with the curd. 
Cardamoms.—These are the seeds of various species of Amomum and 
Hlettaria, of the family Zingiberacew. The cardamoms of commerce are 
oval triangular capsules, containing bright yellow seeds, which are used 
for flavoring dishes, such as soups, curries, catsup, &e. The plants are 
ik lo g, with creeping roots, natives of India and the Indian Archi- 
pelago. 
Amomum melegueita furnishes Malaguetta pepper, or Grains of Para- 
dise. This plant is a native of Guinea and the western part of Africa. 
The seeds are very hot and peppery, and have a slightly camphor-like 
taste. They are mostly used in liquor adulterations, giving a fictitious 
strength to spirits and beer, and cannot be considered particularly inju- 
rious, compared with some adulterations. In many parts of India and 
Africa they are considered the most wholesome of spices. Llettaria 
cardamomum furnishes the small or Malabar cardamons. ‘These, as 
imported, consist of fruit with ovate, oblong, obtusely-triangular cap- 
sules, of a grayish or brownish-yellow color, containing many angular, 
blackish, rngose seeds, which are white internally, have a pleasant aro- 
matic odor and an agreeable taste, much valued as a condiment. They 
are also often used medicinally in conjunction with other drugs. 
Guinea pepper.—This is obtained from the fruit of Habzelia Athiopica, 
(Anonacee,) a tall-growing shrub of Western Africa. The fruit consists 
of a number of smooth pod-like carpels about the thickness of a quill 
and two inches in length, and when dried and reduced to powder is the 
Ethiopian pepper of the Old World. It is highly aromatic and pungent. 
Pimento, allspice, or Jamaica pepper, is furnished by Lugenia pimenta, 
(Myrtacee,) a native of the West Indies. It forms a high, beautiful tree, 
and is extensively cultivated in Jamaica, where the trees are planted 
in orchard-like rows, which are called pimento walks. The fruit has an 
aromatic odor, and in taste resembles a combination of the flavors of 
cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. The berries are about the size of a 
small pea, of a dark color, and, as seen in commerce, are surmounted 
by the remains of the calyx. They are prepared by being gathered be- 
fore they are fully ripe, and then dried in the sun, when they acquire 
that reddish-brown tint which makes them marketable. Pimento is 
used as a spice in cookery, and as a carminative in medicine. 
Nuimeg—The nutmeg tree, Myristica moschata, (Myristicacee,) is ex- 
tensively cultivated in tropical regions for its valued products. It is 
comparatively a small tree, seldom reaching a height of more than 30 
feet. The leaves are aromatic, and the fruit is very much like a peach, 
having a longitudinal groove on one side, and bursting into two pieces, 
when the inclosed seed, covered by a false aril which constitutes the 
substance known as the mace, is expesed. The seed itself has a thick 
outer shell which may be removed when dry, and which incloses the 
nucleus of the seed, the nutmeg of commerce. The fruit is gathered at 
various seasons as it attains maturity. The mace, or covering, which is 
