122 NUTRITIVE PLANTS. 



from the leaves is called oil of cloves, arid oleum malabathri : that 

 obtained from the fruit is extremely fragrant, of a thick consistence, 

 and at Ceylon is made into candles, for the sole use of the k.og ; 

 and the bark of the root not only affords an aromatic essential oil, 

 or what has been called oil of camphor, and of great estimation for 

 its medical use, but also a species of camphor, which is much purer 

 and whiter than that kept iu the shops. 



The spice, so well known to us by the name of cinnamon, is the 

 inner bark of the tree * ; and those plants produce it in the most 

 perfect state, which are about six or seven years old, but this must 

 vary according to circumstances. Seba says, " Those which grow 

 in the vallies, where the ground is a fine whitish sand, (and there 

 are many such vallies in the island of Ceylon,) will in five years 

 time be fit to have the bark taken off. Others, on the contrary, 

 which stand in a wet slimy soil, must have seven or eight years time 

 to grow before they are ripe enough. " And the bark of those 

 trees, which stand in a very dry soil, and much exposed to the sun, 

 has often a bitterish taste, which Seba attributes to " the camphor 

 being by the sun's rays rendered so thin and volatile, that it rises 

 up and mixes with the juice of the tree.'* The bark, while on the 

 trees, is first freed of its external greenish coat ; it is then cut lon- 

 gitudinally, stripped from the trees, and dried in sand, till it becomes 

 fit for the market, when it is of a reddish yellow, or pale rusty iron 

 colour, very light, thin, and curling up into quills or canes, which 

 are somewhat tough, and of a fibrous texture. It is frequently 

 mixed with cassia, which is distinguished from the cinnamon by its 

 taste being remarkably slimy. This bark is one of the most grateful 

 of the aromatics; of a very fragrant smell, and a moderately pun- 

 gent, glowing, but not fiery taste, accompanied with considerable 

 sweetness, and some degree of astringency. Its aromatic qualities 

 are extracted by water in infusion, but more powerfully by it in 

 distillation, and in both wa\s also by a proof spirit applied. Cin- 

 namon is a very elegant and useful aromatic, more grateful both to 

 the palate and stomach than most other substances of this class : by 



* If you taste the inner membrane of the bark when fresh taken off, you will 

 find it of most exquisite sweetness, whereas the outward part of the bark differs 

 but very little in taste from the common trees ; but in drying, the oily and 

 agreeable sweetness communicates and diffuses itself throughout the whole 

 outward part." Seba, 1. c. 



