98 



SPICES 



CHAP. 



TESTA 



NUTMEG. 



crimson network, the mace, which is an arillus or 

 outgrowth from the base of the seed. 



The mace is attached to the seed only at the base, 

 but closely enwraps it to the top. It is rather leathery 



in texture, and cut 

 into narrow flaps of 

 irregular form. The 

 testa of the seed is 

 deep brown, polished, 

 and marked with shal- 

 low grooves corre- 

 sponding to the flaps 

 of the mace, which 

 overlie it. In the shell 

 a good nutmeg should 

 measure about 1 in. 

 long. The shell is woody and brittle, and encloses the 

 seed, the nutmeg of trade, which is oval but rather 

 variable in shape, a little under 1 in. long. 



It is hard and woody in texture, and marked inside 

 with brown on a greyish ground, strongly aromatic and 

 oily. 



When fresh the nutmeg nearly fills up its shell, but 

 as it dries it shrinks somewhat, and when shaken rattles 

 in the testa. Seed used for sowing should not be dry 

 enough to rattle, while for trade purposes it is essential 

 for it to rattle in the testa when shaken. 



DISTRIBUTION OF THE PLANT 



The nutmeg is a native of the eastern islands of the 

 Moluccas, known as the Spice Islands from the presence 

 of this plant and the clove tree, and is stated by Blume 

 to be wild in Ceram and the southern and eastern 

 islands of this part of the Malay Archipelago. It is also 

 indigenous to Banda, an island which has long been 

 famous for its nutmegs, Amboyna, Gilolo, and Western 

 New Guinea. 



