NUTMEGS AND MACE 123 



Malay Peninsula. Not infrequently a planter will 

 announce with jubilation that his trees have commenced 

 to fruit in the third or fourth year, but this is not a 

 matter for congratulation, as trees which commence to 

 fruit so early are short-lived, and soon crop themselves 

 out. It is much better when they delay fruiting till the 

 ninth year. 



The fruits ripen in about six months from the 

 flower. When they split and show the seed covered 

 with its brilliant red mace, they are ripe. The fruit is 

 sometimes allowed to fall, and is then picked up, the 

 collector going round the plantation every day and 

 collecting the seed and mace in baskets. But it is more 

 usually gathered by hand, which is preferable. For 

 this a hooked stick is used to pull the fruits off where 

 the tree is low, as it is in the Straits Settlements. In 

 Banda, where the trees are lofty, the gatherer uses a long 

 rod with two deflexed prongs, below which is a small 

 bamboo basket. When the nutmeg is grasped between 

 the prongs and falls off it is caught in the basket, and so 

 does not become bruised by falling to the ground, which 

 injures the mace. Modifications of this rod and basket 

 are used for all kinds of fruits easily injured by bruising 

 all over the Eastern islands. 



The number of nuts a collector can gather in a day 

 varies according to the height and propinquity of the 

 trees and the amount of crop, but Warburg says a good 

 worker can collect in the full season 1000 to 1500 nuts 

 in a day. In Singapore one man can collect from 100 

 trees in a day. In Men ado each worker can pluck 40 

 to 50 trees, and in Banda often 2 or 3 trees will keep a 

 man employed all day. 



The smaller size of the Malay Peninsula trees is a 

 distinct advantage to the gatherer. 



YIELD OF THE TREES 



The actual return in amount of nutmegs given by 

 each tree varies considerably. Some trees are very 



