218 MYRISTICA FRAGRANS 



Official Parts and Names. 1. MYRISTICA, Nutmeg ; the kernel 

 of the seed of Myristica officinalis, Linn. : 2. OLEUM MYRISTICA 

 Volatile Oil of Nutmeg ; the oil distilled in Britain from Nutmeg : 

 3. OLEUM MYRISTICA EXPRESSUM, Exprmted Oil of Nutmeg; a 

 concrete oil obtained by means of expression and heat from 

 nutmegs (B. P.). The kernel of the fruit (Myristica) of 

 Myristica officinalis, Linn. (I. P.). 1. MYRISTICA; the kernel of 

 the fruit of Myristica fragrans, Houttuyn : 2. OLEUM MYRISTICA ; 

 the volatile oil obtained from the kernels of the fruit : 3. MACIS ; 

 the arillus of the fruit. 



1. MYRISTICA. The Nutmeg. Collection and Preparation. At 

 Bencoolen the nutmeg tree bears all the year round, but more 

 plentifully in some months than in others. But the great 

 harvest is generally in the four last months of the year, and there 

 is a smaller one in April, May, and June. The fruit when ripe 

 splits open spontaneously on one side, and is gathered by means 

 of a hook attached to a long stick ; the pericarp is then removed 

 from the solitary seed, after which the aril (mace] is carefully 

 stripped from the other parts of the seed (nut} } and the mace and 

 the nut are then separately prepared for the market. 



The mace will be described hereafter under the head of Macis ; 

 we now allude to the preparation of the nutmeg only. For this 

 purpose the nuts are taken to the drying house, placed on hurdle- 

 like frames, and smoke-dried for about two months by the 

 smouldering heat of a wood fire at a temperature not exceeding 

 140, and with suitable arrangements for a proper circulation of 

 air. The nuts are turned every second or third day, and when 

 thoroughly dried, the kernels, which are the nutmegs of com- 

 merce, rattle in their shell. The shells are then cracked with 

 wooden mallets, the worm-eaten and shrivelled kernels are 

 rejected, and the good ones picked out and rubbed over with 

 well-sifted dry lime. The nutmegs are then finally packed for 

 exportation in tight casks, the insides of which have been 

 smoked, and covered with a coating of fresh water and lime. 

 Nutmegs are prepared by the Dutch in the Banda Islands in a 

 nearly similar way, but before being smoke-dried they are first 



