NUTMEGS AND MACE ;;; J*Qr 



pany therefore deputed Christopher Smith in 1796 to 

 go to the Moluccas to collect spice plants to introduce 

 into Penang and elsewhere in the countries under their 

 control, and in 1798 there were 600 nutmegs and some 

 clove trees in the Penang plantations. In 1800, 5000 

 nutmeg plants and 15,000 cloves arrived, and in the 

 following years more, until by 1802 Smith had sent 

 71,266 nutmeg and 55,265 clove plants to Penang. Of 

 these a few were sent to Kew, Calcutta, and Madras, the 

 others were planted in the East India Company's spice 

 gardens in Penang, or distributed to planters in various 

 parts of the island. 



Owing to the shyness of cultivators and their care- 

 lessness in handling the plants, and the ignorance as to 

 methods of cultivation, a large proportion of these died, 

 and by 1802 only about one-third of the number were 

 living. By 1805 the spice gardens contained 5100 

 nutmegs, 1625 clove trees, and 1050 seedlings, and the 

 gardens were sold for 9656 dollars. 



The first nutmeg fruited in 1802, according to 

 Hunter, in his account of Penang. 



The abandonment of these spice gardens by the 

 Government was due, it would appear, to the disappoint- 

 ment in the results of the introduction, and the distrust 

 of the reports of the botanical superintendent. This 

 want of perseverance was certainly much to be regretted. 

 In 1810 there were 13,000 nutmeg trees on the island, 

 but only a few hundreds in bearing. The ignorance 

 of methods of cultivation and the subsequent slow 

 progress produced such apathy that the cultivation 

 showed signs of a speedy extinction. 



In these early days of colonisation, and for many 

 years after, the importance of a properly equipped 

 botanic garden with a staff of experienced men under 

 Government control, to experiment and assist the 

 planter in cultivating a crop which is slow in returns, 

 and which requires a considerable amount of study, was 

 not understood. 



All pioneer work was left to the planter, who had 



