MYRTACE^. 135 



lar^p; soed solitary; all the ovules but one l)ecoine abortive ; outer covering; 

 membranous. 



Ge of/raph I/. — 'Vho /.one of the clove tree is narrow. Its home is thp Mo- 

 lucca islands. It has been planted in Brazil, the West Indies, and extended 

 to distant islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans; but out of the latitude 

 of the Moluccas, its spicy character is very inferior. 



Eti/inolo(ji/. — Euyenia, the generic name, is for Prince Eugene <»f Savoy, a 

 patron of Botany. CarijophyUata, from the Greek Kapvov, a nut, <pv\\ov, a leaf, 

 due to the appearance of the flower-bud, a nut in a leaf, or among leaves. 

 Clove, from the Spanish clavo, a nail, on account of the fancied resemblance 

 to a nail. 



Histon/. — The clove has been in use among the we.steru nations of the Old 

 World for more than two thousand years, and was taken to Europe overland by 

 the Persians and Arabs ; but its native country was not revealed until after 

 1.511. when the Portuguese came into pos.ses- 

 siou of the Molucca Islands. As it is not known 

 in a wild state, the exact locality of its nativity 

 is not clearly determined. 



The enterprise and boldness that the dis- 

 covery of America gave to navigators and , \=3i/ n ^ir /-=> — -fe^ 

 merchants led them to the Indian Ocean, and "^^^^J ' ii:^^^ ' ^^^ 



discovery of the islands of the coast of Asia 

 thus opened the great storehouse of the spices 

 of India to the commerce of the world, and the 

 homes of the clove, cinnamon, allspice, and 

 pepper became known to the wondering nations. 



In the 17th century the Dutch came into the 

 possession of the Spice Islands and established 

 a monopoly of the spice trade. They raised Eugenia caryophtllata 



prices to exorbitant figures, and confined the (Clove), 



cultivation of the clove to the Island of Am- 



boyna. During the French war in 1810 the English for a short time held 

 po.ssession of these islands. They transplanted the trees to other islands, and 

 broke the monopoly. 



Mode of Harvesting. — Just before the flower-buds develop they are picked 

 or shaken off and dried over a fire or in the sun. then packed in bags made of 

 the leaf of the cocoa-nut, and thus sent to market. A tree yields about five 

 pounds for a crop, and bears two crops in a year. 



Use. — The tree is used for ornamental purposes in subtropical countries. 

 The wood of the clove-tree is hard, takes a fine ])oHsh, and is used by the 

 cabinet-maker in fine and ornamental articles of furniture. The clove, in 

 medicine, is a stimulant, aromatic, and irritant, and largely employed to cover 

 up the taste of disagreeable drugs. The odor resides in the essential oil, of 

 which the clove yields a very large percentage. Its principal use is as a spice 

 for flavoring cake, sauces, and confectionery. The oil and tincture are both 

 used in the manufacture of cordials and bitters. 



2. E. pimenta, DC. (Allspice.) Trunk 2.') t(. .30 feet high, much branched; 

 branches long and horizontal, forming a hemispherical head, in form and size 

 like an apple-tree. Bark light-gray. Leaves elli])tical, lanceolate, opposite, 

 evergreen, obtusely pointed, conspicuously veined, deep-green, shining above. 

 Flowers small, inconspicuous, in terminal, 3-forked panicles. Fruit a globular 



