216 DESCRIPTIVE BOTANY. 



1. M. fragrans, Houtt. (Nutmeg and Mace.) Trunk 20 to 35 feet high, 

 much-branched, braucheri erect, forming a tree wliich resembles the pear-tree ; 

 bark smooth, ash-colored, when wounded bleeding a glutinous red juice. 

 Leaves alternate, on short petioles, elliptical, pointed, wavy, entire, obliquely 

 nerved, bright-green above, grayish beneath, aromatic. Flowers and fruit 

 present at the same time ; flowers inodorous, small, axillary, 1 to 3 on a stem ; 

 calyx smooth, fleshy, 3-parted ; segments sjareading ; corolla wanting ; ovary 

 oval ; style short, with 2 stigmas. Fruit as described under the genus. 



There are many species, about 80 in all ; the M. fragrans is the most impor- 

 tant, though several produce aromatic seeds. 



2. M. spuria, Houtt., yields a mace, which is first yellow, turning red. 

 From wounds in the bark it bleeds a red sap, sold as a substitute for dragon's 

 blood. 



3. M. fatua, Houtt., yields an inferior nutmeg, called long or wild nutmeg. 

 It is used in India, but does not enter into commerce. 



Geography. — The nutmeg requires a tropical climate, or at least a region 

 of no frost. It has, by the appointed means for geographical distribution of 

 plants, — the winds, waves, birds, and by human agency, — been carried from 

 the Moluccas to the mainland of both hemispheres and their adjacent isles, 

 and occupies at present a geograpliical belt all around the globe, extending 

 just outside the tropics in both hemispheres. 



Etymology. — Myr'istica, the generic name, is from the Greek ixvppa, myrrh, 

 due to the aromatic fruit and leaves. Fragrans, the specific name, is Latin, 

 also due to the odor-bearing fruit, leaves, and the oils obtained therefrom 

 Nutmeg, the popular name, is from the low Latin word muscata, a nutmeg, or 

 a musk-like nut, referring to the perfume, which was supposed to resemble the 

 odor of musk. Mace is from the Greek ixanep, a spice. 



History. — The nutmeg was introduced into European commerce by tlie 

 Arabs through tlie Red Sea, early in the sixth century. An account of the 

 tree and place of its growth was first given by an Arab traveller in the begin- 

 ning of the tenth century. 



The home of the nutmeg is the Molucca islands, but especially the Banda 

 group of the Spice Islands. When the Dutch first came into possession of 

 these islands, they attempted to confine the tree to a very few of them, in 

 order the better to monopolize the trade as they did of the clove. When the 

 English obtained possession of them, in the latter part of the eighteenth 

 century, they made an effort to extend the area of growth, and introduced 

 young trees into Sumatra, near Bencoolen, the Isle of Bourbon, Mauritius, 

 and Madagascar, and also into the West Indies. The tree comes into bear- 

 ing after ten years, but does not yield its largest crops till after 100 years, 

 producing three full crops in a year. 



Preparation. — When the nutmeg is harvested, the mace is removed and 

 pickled in salt, afterwards dried in the sun and packed in boxes, and sent to 

 market. The nut is dried either in the sun or by artificial heat, Avhen it 

 shrinks so that the shell may be broken witliout damage to the kernel. The 

 kernel is then soaked in sea-water and lime, after which it is placed in heaps 

 and left to heat sufficiently to destroy its vitality, when it is fit for market 

 The kernels that come to the United States take 100 to the pound ; those sent 

 to England, about 60, or about 4 to the ounce. 



Use. — The medicinal properties of the nutmeg are tonic, digestive, stimu- 

 lant, and intoxicating. In excessive doses it produces stupor, delirium, and 



