SPICES. 355 



broken. After this, the nuts are three times soaked 

 in sea-water and lime ; they are then laid in a heap, 

 where they heat, and get rid of their superfluous 

 moisture by evaporation. This process is pursued 

 to preserve the substance and flavour of the nut, as 

 well as to destroy its vegetative power. Dry lime is 

 the best package for nutmegs. 



There are two varieties, the royal and the green. 

 The royal is the largest, and it produces mace longer 

 than the nut ; on the nut of the green the mace 

 reaches only half-way down. A good nutmeg should 

 be large, round, and heavy, of a light grey colour, 

 and finely marbled in the cross section. 



Oil of nutmegs is obtained by pressure from the 

 broken kernels ; a pound of them generally yields 

 three ounces of oil. According to Neumann's ex- 

 periments, the oil produced is one third of the 

 weight of nutmeg ; it is yellow, of the consistence of 

 tallow, and of a pleasant smell. This is a fixed oil, 

 but a transparent volatile oil may likewise be ob- 

 tained by distillation, in the proportion of -^ part of 

 the weight of nutmeg used. 



There are other spices, natives of the Moluccas, 

 the principal of these are Massoy bark, and a species 

 of cinnamon, or cassia ; but these, though much used 

 in Chinese and Japanese cookery, are of inferior con- 

 sequence, and nearly confined to the commerce of the 

 East. 



GrNGER Zingiber officinale is a native of the 

 south-east of Asia and the adjacent isles. It was 

 naturalized in America very soon after the discovery 

 of that country by the Spaniards ; indeed, at so 

 early a period that it is scarcely believed to be an ex- 

 otic, and is supposed to have been found indigenous 

 in the Western World. Acosta relates that a person 

 named Francisco de Mendoza first transplanted it 

 from the East Indies into New Spain, where ita cul- 



