vi CINNAMON 221 



grown in shade. Cinnamon grown in marshy land is 

 spongy and coarse grained, with very little aroma. 1 



The best cinnamon is said to come from the middle of 

 the shoot, that of the upper end being of second quality, 

 and that from the base or thickest end the most 

 inferior. 



The bits trimmed off are known as " cinnamon 

 chips," chiefly used for oil, and a thick bark derived 

 from older stems is known to the trade as " cinnamon 

 bark." It occurs in flat or slightly channelled fragments, 

 as much as | of an inch thick. It is also used for manu- 

 facturing oil. 



The bales of cinnamon which arrive in London are 

 always repacked in the dock warehouses, and in this 

 handling there is a certain amount of breakage. The 

 broken bits are kept separate and sold as " small 

 cinnamon." It is often of excellent quality and used 

 in pharmacy. 



CINNAMON CHIPS 



This is the name given to the coarsest and most 

 inferior cinnamon that cannot be quilled, and the 

 prunings and waste bits obtained in trimming and 

 peeling. Till 1867 it appears that in Ceylon this was 

 used for extracting the cinnamon oil locally, and not 

 shipped to Europe. It was then, however, found profit- 

 able to export chips wholesale, which resulted in an 

 excessive export of cinnamon, in the two forms. The 

 rubbish sent from the island brought the chips into 

 disfavour, and the price of the spice fell. 



Then followed great discussions as to the advantages 

 to be gained by the planters by preventing the shipping 

 of chips altogether. A native Representative Association 

 agreed in 1883-1884 to give up the preparation and 

 export of chips, but this does not seem to have had 

 much effect, and chips are shipped to the present day. 



The amount of chips in proportion to the quills was 

 very large in 1880, over one-third of the amount of 



1 Experienced planter, and E. Boddam, in All about Spices. 



