248 TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



CLOVES 



The search for cloves was one of the important attractive 

 forces which drew the sailing vessels of Portugal, Holland, 

 and other European countries to the Asiatic Tropics. Cloves 

 are obtained from a bushy tree 12 to 40 feet high, native to 

 the Moluccas. The tree is now chiefly cultivated in Ceylon, 

 Zanzibar, Sumatra, Spice Islands, and West Indies. The tree 

 bears the scientific name Eugenia caryophyllata. It thrives 

 only near the sea and up to an elevation of nearly 1,500 feet. 

 The erect branches of the tree give it a conical form. The 

 flowers are borne at the tip of the twigs in small clusters. 

 The cloves of commerce are the dried unopened flower buds. 

 This product was apparently first used in China about 200 

 B. C. The Portuguese controlled the trade in cloves up 

 to 1600 A. D. and the Dutch maintained control until the 

 year 1700. 



The clove tree is propagated by seed planted in nurseries 

 under shade. The seedlings are planted 30 feet apart both 

 ways. The tree begins to bear at 4 to 5 years of age. In the 

 Molucca Islands two pickings a year are practiced. In har- 

 vesting cloves the flower buds are gathered by hand or are 

 knocked off the trees by means of bamboo poles. The buds 

 are then dried 6 to 8 days in the sun. Care is always ob- 

 served in preventing dew or rain from falling on them during 

 the drying process since moisture causes them to turn black. 

 The buds lose about 50 per cent, in weight during the process 

 of drying. Cloves are used as spice, as a source of clove oil, 

 which is discussed under oils, in perfumery, soaps, toilet ar- 

 ticles, confectionery, liqueurs, medicine, microscopy, and 

 for various other purposes. A clove plantation at maturity 

 yields about 10 pounds of dried cloves per tree. The 

 world's supply comes chiefly from Zanzibar, Pemba, Penang, 

 and Amboyna. Zanzibar alone exports 9,000 tons of cloves 

 annually. 



