NUTMEG 425 



NUGGET, or Pepita. A lump of gold as found in nature. Usually those masses 

 are found in hollow spaces, beneath the deposits -which have been made by ancient 

 torrents. They are, of course, always derived from the quartz-lode in which the 

 gold has been originally deposited. These lodes have been worn down by the long- 

 continued action of water, and by the same agent the more friable quartz has been 

 removed, the gold being left eventually nearly pure. See GOLB. 



The following are the weights of a few of the largest nuggets which have been 

 found : 



Ibs. oz. 



' Welcome Nugget,' Ballarat, Victoria . . . . . . 168 3 



A mass found in the Ural Mountains . . . . , . 79 



The Dascombe nugget, found at Bendigo ..... 27 8 



Another from the same locality . . . . . . . 28 



Ditto Ditto . . . . . . 45 



From Forest Creek, Mount Alexander, Victoria . . . . 27 6 



NUT-GALLS. See 



NUT-OIL. An oil professedly obtained from walnuts, which is thought to bo 

 superior to the best linseed-oil for delicate pigments ; when deprived of its mucilage 

 it is pale, transparent, and limpid. See OILS. 



NUTMEG (Muscade, Fr. ; Muskatennuss, Ger.) is the fruit of the Myristica, 

 moschata, of Thunberg, M. officinalis of Linnaeus, a very beautiful tree of the family 

 of the LaurinecB of Jussieu. 



The nutmeg grows in the Molucca Islands ; it is cultivated in Java, Singapore, 

 Sumatra, and many islands of the Indian Ocean, and also in some parts of the West 

 Indies. The Dutch, it is said, endeavoured to confine the growth of the nutmeg to 

 three of the Banda Isles ; but their attempts were frustrated by a pigeon, called the 

 nutmeg-bird, which, extracting the nutmeg from its pulpy pericarp, digests the mace, 

 but voids the nutmeg in its shell, which, falling in a suitable situation, readily ger- 

 minates. Young plants thus obtained are used for transplanting into nutmeg-parks. 

 In the Banda Isles there are three harvests annually ; the ripe fruit is gathered by 

 means of a barb attached to a long stick, the mace separated from the nut, and both 

 separately cured. 



Mace is prepared for the market by drying it for some days in the sun : some flatten 

 it by the hands in single layers ; others cut off the heels, and dry the mace in double 

 blades. * 



Nutmegs require more care in curing, on account of their liability to the effects of 

 an insect (the nutmeg-insect). They are well and carefully dried in their shells by 

 being placed on hurdles, or gratings, and smoke-dried for about two months by a slow 

 wood fire, at a heat not exceeding 140 Fahr. 



Dr. Pereira informs us that, ' In the London market, the following are the sorts of 

 round nutmegs distinguished by the dealers : 



' ] . Penang nutmegs. These are unlimed or brown nutmegs. They are some- 

 times limed here for exportation, as on the Continent the limed sort is preferred. 

 According to Newbold the average amount annually raised at Penang is 400 piculs 

 (of 133 Ibs. each). 



'2. Dutch, or Batavian nutmegs. These are limed nutmegs. In London they 

 scarcely fetch so high a price as me Penang sort. 



' 3. Singapore nutmegs. These are a rougher, unlimed, narrow sort, of somewhat 

 less value than the Dutch kind. According to Mr. Oxley, 4,085,361 nutmegs were 

 produced in Singapore in 1848, or about 252 piculs (of 133 Ibs. each), but the 

 greater number of trees had not come into full bearing ; and it was estimated that 

 the amount would in 1849 be 500 piculs.' 



The long or wild-nutmeg is also met with in commerce. 



Mace of two kinds is found in the market the true and false. 



Of the true maces there are the following varieties : 



1. Penang mace. This fetches the highest price. It is flaky and spread. The 

 annual quantity produced in Penang is about 130 piculs (of 1385 Ibs. each). 



2. The Dutch or Batavian mace is a fleshy sort ; it is not considered equal to the 

 Penang mace, and rarely fetches so high a price. 



3. The Singapore mace is regarded as very inferior to the other sorts. It is, how- 

 ever, often of fine flavour and good colour, and, when selected, is sold with the better 

 sorts. 



The wild or false mace is devoid of aromatic flavour. 



The uses of nutmegs and mace in dietetics are well known. An essential oil of 

 nutmegs ( Oleum myristica) is obtained by submitting water and nutmegs to distil- 

 lation. By distillation they yield from. 9 to 10 Ibs. of essential oil for every cwt. 



