171 



between two stones ; it is then put into a wooden bowl 

 (which after long use acquires a bluish, almost iridescent 

 glaze, and is then much prized) and water is poured upon 

 it ; it is then kneaded and the disintegrated debris is 

 finally removed by drawing a bundle of Pandanus fibre 

 through the liquor, which is then fit for drinking. It is 

 slightly -intoxicant or narcotic and tastes like soapsuds ; 

 but the taste for it seems to be easily acquired and it is 

 said to quench the thirst better than any other liquid. In 

 Samoa and elsewhere in the Pacific the root is cut into 

 small pieces, and masticated into a paste before the 

 addition of water. 



The active properties of Piper methysticum appear to 

 be due to a resin, which like Cocaine, produces local 

 insensibility. 



Note Kava Bowls from Samoa and Fiji. 



Nutmeg: Order (Myristiceae). Evergreen trees con- 

 fined to the tropics, often characterised by their red viscid 

 juice and aromatic properties. 



Observe fruits and seeds of various species of Myristica 

 occasionally imported into Liverpool as oil seeds, amongst 

 them M. surinamensis, Roland, M. angolensis, Welw., 

 M, guatefnalensis, Hemsl. Butter obtained from seeds of 

 M. Otoha^ H.B., from Antioquia, and seeds, mace and 

 butter from M. malaharica^ Lam., from India. 



No. 413. Nutmegs, the seeds of if 2/r^sh'ca/ra^rans, 

 Houtt. A beautiful tree of the Moluccas, scattered also 

 in other islands of the East Indian Archipelago, and 

 introduced into Mauritius, West Indies, and South 

 America. The fruit of the nutmeg, which resembles a 

 Peach, consists of a fleshy exterior, which is edible and 

 splits into two, disclosing the solitary seed or nutmeg 

 surrounded by the scarlet aril, which latter is the spice 

 called Mace. Specimens preserved in fluid show the 

 entire fruits, some of which are partly open, exhibiting 

 the shell of the nutmeg and the Mace covering it. 



Other species allied to M. fragrans yield inferior Nut- 

 megs. Observe instrument used in Banda for gathering- 

 nutmegs from the trees. "By far the largest supply of 

 nutmegs are derived from the Banda Islands. These are 

 all at first shipped to Batavia." 



