NUTMEGS AND MACE 111 



was accentuated by the male trees not being manured, 

 the Chinese thinking it was not worth while to manure 

 them. But in trees in the Singapore Gardens, where 

 both sexes were treated similarly, this drawn-up appear- 

 ance was still conspicuous in most of the males. In 

 Trinidad, according to Prestoe, males occur more 

 frequently than females by from 10 to 15 per cent. 

 In most cases where I have had the opportunity to 

 observe in the Straits Settlements, I find the males 

 in a considerable minority. 



In the plantation one male to from eight to ten 

 female trees is sufficient for adequate fertilisation. 



The plants being unisexual, and it not being, so far 

 as one can see, possible for the female flower to be 

 fertilised by the aid of the wind, as happens in grasses 

 and such plants, are no doubt fertilised by insects, but 

 I have only seen a small flat beetle, and occasionally 

 some small bees, visiting the flowers ; indeed, it is rare 

 to find any insect at the flowers. Nevertheless, female 

 trees widely distant from any males seem to produce 

 ripe fruit, often in abundance, a thing which occurs also 

 in many of the wild species of nutmeg and other uni- 

 sexual trees. 



Planting. The young nutmeg trees are planted at 

 a distance of 26 to 30 ft. apart, either in lines or in the 

 quincunx arrangement. In rocky or broken ground it 

 is frequently impossible to plant them with the regularity 

 of line which the planter loves, but so long as they are 

 not too close to each other this is immaterial. The 

 holes for planting should be about 4 ft. wide and 

 3 ft. deep at least. Dr. Oxley recommends that they 

 should be not less than 6 ft. across and 4 ft. deep. The 

 depth and diameter of the hole depends on the richness 

 or poverty of the soil. The poorer the soil the larger 

 the hole. The hole is filled up with a mixture of leaf- 

 mould, burnt earth, and old cow-dung, if procurable, 

 well mixed together. Care must be taken not only to 

 fill the hole, but to raise the mound above it for at least 

 1 ft. , to allow for sinking and settling of the loose earth. 



