NUTMEGS 179 



the kernel removed. They are frequently dusted over with slaked 

 lime, or washed in milk of lime and dried, before they are exported ; 

 this protects them from the attacks of insects, to which they are 



FIG. 97. Nutmeg. A, fruiting branch of Myristica 

 fragrans, showing fruit dehiscing. B, stamens of 

 staminate flower ; magnified. C, pistillate flower cut 

 longitudinally ; p, perianth ; g, ovary ; magnified. 

 D, Nutmeg surrounded by the arillus (mace). E, the 

 same cut longitudinally, showing the embryo, e. 

 (Luerssen.) 



otherwise very liable. Very probably the original ' liming ' of nut- 

 megs was intended to protect them from insects and not to destroy 

 the vitality of the seeds, as has been often assumed (Tschirch, 1898). 

 They are usually imported in cases which, on arrival in this country, 

 are opened and the contents bulked. The nutmegs are then thrown 

 on to a coarse iron riddle, the broken and otherwise damaged picked 

 out and the sound ones sorted according to their size which is indicated 



