250 TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



will thrive well and produce an excellent crop in Hawaii, 

 Porto Rico, and the Philippines, but no commercial industry 

 in producing ginger has thus far been developed in these 

 countries. 



NUTMEG 



The nutmeg was sought no less eagerly than cloves by the 

 early explorers of the Asiatic Tropics. Nutmeg is obtained 

 from a bushy tree (Myristica fragrans), native to the Moluc- 

 cas and Dutch East Indies. The tree attains a height of 25 

 to 50 feet or sometimes even 70 feet. It bears shiny, coriace- 

 ous leaves and diecious flowers. The female flowers are small 

 and pale yellow in color. The handsome fruit is globular 

 or pear-shaped, orange-yellow when ripe, 2^2 inches long, 

 and pendulous. The fruit is inclosed in a firm, acid, 

 aromatic husk, % inch thick, containing the shiny brown seed 

 or nutmeg which is surrounded by a beautiful scarlet 

 lace-work or aril which is the source of the mace of 

 commerce. 



A good grade of nutmeg in the shell measures i inch in 

 diameter. On ripening the husk splits into two halves. The 

 fruit is then picked or allowed to fall, after which the nut is 

 separated from the mace and both products are thoroughly 

 dried. The shell is then removed from the nut. The com- 

 mercial nutmeg is therefore the kernel. The nutmeg tree 

 begins to bear at the age of 7 years and reaches its full bearing 

 power at about 30 years of age, at which time each tree bears 

 from 2,000 to 5,000 nuts per year. The tree lives to be 100 

 years old or more and bears two crops annually. It is propa- 

 gated by seed sown in nurseries. When the seedlings reach 

 a height of 10 inches they are planted at a distance of 25 feet 

 apart both ways. Most of the male trees are cut out so as to 

 leave one male to 10 female trees. Some shade is usually 

 provided for the young trees. The yield of mace is usually 

 about i pound per 10 pounds of nutmeg. 



