CHAP. VIII THE NUTMEG 179 



The nutmeg tree which grows to a height of from thirty Description 

 to fifty feet, bears a fruit which resembles the apricot of tem- ° 

 perate climates. The fruit, when ripe, bursts into two pieces The fruit. 

 and discloses, inside, a dark nut covered with a brilliant 

 scarlet reticulated covering called an aril — and this is the 

 7nace of commerce. The tree is dioecious — that is, the male The flowers. 

 flowers are borne on one tree and the female on another ; 



NUTMEG. Myristica fragrans. 

 I. — Flower. 2. — Nutmeg with mace. 



pollination, therefore, can only be effected by the agency of 

 winds and insects. 



Soil.— The best soil for the nutmeg tree is an alluvium The best 

 formed of a deep, friable loam, with good drainage. The ^°''- 

 plant will not thrive on sandy soils, and stagnant water about 

 the roots will soon kill it. Virgin forest land, with a soil of Forest land. 

 red loam covered with a layer of humus, is well adapted to 



N 2 



