NUTMEG 



113 



NUTMEG. In Old English nutmeg was written notemuge. 

 Muge was a shortened form of the French muguette, musk, 

 so that nutmeg meant the musk-nut, or scented nut. 



The tree (Myristica fragrans) is a beautiful bushy evergreen 

 which grows to a height of thirty or forty feet. It has long, 

 glossy, dark-green leaves, and small, pale-yellow, bell-shaped 

 flowers. 



The fruit is amber in colour, and in shape and size rather 

 like a small round pear. The outside fleshy covering is about 

 half an inch thick, and is tough and juicy. When ripe it splits 

 open and shows the seed inside 

 covered with a very beautiful lace-like 

 substance, bright scarlet in colour. 

 This covering is called mace. When 

 it is removed, the dark-brown seed or 

 nut itself is disclosed. It has a very 

 hard shell marked with the lace-like 

 impressions of the mace. 



The nuts are placed on frames and 

 dried in the smoke of a wood fire, or 

 in the sun. The drying takes about 

 two months. At the end of that 

 time the kernels rattle inside their 



shells. These are cracked with wooden mallets, and the 

 kernels or nutmegs are at last ready for use. 



The mace is cut into strips and dried ; during the process 

 its colour changes from bright scarlet to pale yellow. 



The chief use of nutmeg is as a spice. Its pleasant flavour 

 not only makes food more agreeable to the taste, but also 

 makes it more digestible. It is, however, also used in medicine, 

 and in large quantities acts as a narcotic. From both nutmegs 

 and mace an essential oil is distilled, which is largely used in 

 perfumery, especially in making scented soaps. 



CULTIVATION. The nutmeg-tree requires heat, and moisture, 

 and a well-drained loamy soil, and the young trees require 

 shade. The seeds are sown in nursery beds, and take about 



GINGER 



2203 



