IV 



CLOVES 177 



buds begin to appear. They are green at first, then 

 become yellowish with a pink tint, and finally dull blood- 

 red, when they are fit to gather. As the buds are not 

 all ripe at once, it is necessary to go over the trees twice 

 or thrice during the harvest season. 



The buds are usually gathered by hand, hooked 

 sticks being used to pull down the branches. In 

 Amboyna they are partly gathered by hand and partly 

 knocked off the branches with bamboos. As all parts of 

 the trees are not accessible from the ground, step-ladders 

 are used to enable the coolies to reach the buds. The 

 branches are rather brittle and care has to be taken not 

 to break them, as rough treatment may prevent their 

 bearing well for some years. 



The buds are then spread out to dry on mats in the 

 sun. In some places they are scalded with hot water 

 before drying. This is not common, however, and is apt 

 to spoil the appearance of the finished produce. 



In Amboyna they are first dried on a framework over 

 a slow wood fire, which gives them a brown colour, and 

 then are finally dried off in the sun, which produces a 

 black colour. Some of the finest cloves I have seen 

 were dried on zinc plates over a fire. These were pre- 

 pared for an Exhibition at Penang, and were remarkably 

 plump and well-coloured. 



In Zanzibar, after the cloves are gathered the slaves 

 pick the clove buds from the stalks and spread them 

 out to dry on mats in direct sunlight, taking them in 

 at night to avoid their becoming wet with dew. The 

 drying is continued for six or seven days, during which 

 they lose about 50 per cent of their weight, or sometimes 

 as much as 60 per cent. The Zanzibar cloves are drier 

 than those of Pemba when shipped, but lose 8 per cent 

 more in weight by shrinkage in transport to Europe. 



Mr. Thomas Burt urges, in the Shamba, that the 

 cloves should be separated from the stalks, and the 

 leaves, stalks, and waste bits thrown away at once, and 

 that the cloves should not be left in piles or baskets 

 over night, as if this is allowed they heat, much to their 



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