4 SPICES 



CHAP. 



others of the spices in various arts. All these uses add 

 to the commercial demand, and are of considerable 

 importance to the planter. 



Of late years there can be no doubt that the use of 

 spice as flavouring by European nations has consider- 

 ably diminished. In the twelfth and later centuries the 

 use of spice in every household was very large, and was 

 only regulated by their cost. But the last few years 

 have shown a certain amount of falling off in the 

 demand for spiced foods, and the spice-box is not so 

 important a household utensil as it was. Artificial 

 flavourings, too, have made some amount of alteration 

 in the demand. But if profits on spices are not as large 

 as they were in the days when, next to gold, spices were 

 considered most worth risking life and money for, there 

 is still a good profit to be obtained by their cultivation. 

 The trade is still large among European nations, and 

 the demand by orientals, the greatest spice-lovers, is as 

 large as ever it was. 



TROPICAL REGIONS 



^h 



The area included in this work as the area of the 

 tropics lies between latitude 25 N. and 25 S., and 

 this includes a considerable variation in regions and 

 climates. A great portion is occupied by the tropical 

 rain forest region, where the air is constantly moist and 

 there is practically no dry season. This is the great 

 spice-region, where almost every spice mentioned in this 

 work can be cultivated with success. The rainfall is 

 heavy and constant, that is to say, a little falls every 

 day or two, and at the breaks of the monsoon there are 

 generally some very heavy falls, continuing for a whole 

 day or two with little or no break. The temperature 

 is high, but not so great as a little farther north. In 

 this area, beside the rain forest region, we have regions 

 in which there is a distinct dry period, lasting for some 

 months, and followed by heavy rains. During the dry 

 weather the temperature is very high. Such trees as 



