320 COFFEE. 



fully fragrant, but it varies greatly in quality, the younger and 

 thinner pieces usually being much, the best. The root of the cin- 

 namon tree contains camphor, and the fruit, which is a sort of a nut, 

 somewhat resembling an acorn, yields an acrid kind of oil called 

 " cinnamon suet," which is also quite fragrant, and in Ceylon was 

 formerly made into candles for the exclusive use of the nobility. 



Cassia is prepared in the same manner as cinnamon, and is 

 really a variety of that tree. There is much wild cassia gathered, 

 however, and there is consequently a lack of the uniformity in 

 thickness of bark and in perfection of preparation which we find 

 in the Ceylon cinnamon, which brings a much higher price than 

 cassia and, almost without exception, is sent to Europe. "We 

 occasionally get small parcels in America, but by far the larger 

 portion of what is consumed in America under the name of 

 cinnamon is really cassia. 



NrrrMEGS. 



Nutmegs are grown more or less in all of the great Spice 

 Islands of the Malayan Archipelago, and also on the Peninsula, 

 Penang being one of the principal ports from which they are ex- 

 ported. The nutmeg-tree is a very beautiful one, growing in a 

 compact conical shape to the height of thirty or forty feet. It 

 has a dark, glossy leaf, and bears a profusion of fruit, which, 

 however, on the tree, does not much resemble the nutmeg of 

 commerce. In fact, when growing, it looks precisely like a black 

 walnut, and the outer husk is of about the same thickness and 

 consistency as that of the walnut. When the nut is ripe it 

 cracks open and exposes the nut, growing closely around which is 

 the fibrous mace. I had always supposed that the mace formed 

 immediately next the kernel, which is the nutmeg of commerce, 

 but on examining it closely, I found that the kernel was contained 

 within a thin, hard shell, and it is around this shell that the mace 

 forms. When the nuts are ripe they drop or are taken off the 

 tree, and the mace at that time being of a bright scarlet color 

 looks very beautiful ; when it is separated and dried in the sun, 

 however, it gradually assumes the brownish red or orange color 

 which is familiar to all grocers. The nuts are also dri^d in the 



