486 



NUTMEGS AND MACE. 



nutmegs. These are classed into medium, inferior, and broken nuts, 

 and the mace into good and chips. As the consumption would seem 

 to be increasing, and the production does not keep pace, the value is 

 likely to rise, although the price has doubled in the last two years. In 

 1863, the combined shipments of nutmegs and mace from Java were 

 900,000 lbs. In 1870 the shipment of nutmegs alone was 5931 piculs; 

 and in 1871, 8107 piculs, of which more than a fourth went to the 

 United States. 



The British production in the Straits Settlements twenty years ago 

 exceeded the Dutch crop, the total yield of the Bandas in 1855, being 

 but 4032 piculs of nutmegs and 1000 of mace. The production of 

 Pinang alone (exclusive of Singapore) was as follows, for ten years : — 





Year. 



Nutmegs. 



Mace. 



Total. 







piculs. 



piculs. 



piculs. 







1846-47 



1,519 



477 



1,996 







1847-48 



2,077 



661 



2,738 







1848-49 



2,178 



666 



2,844 







1849-50 



2,086 



656 



2,742 







1850-51 



2,564 



751 



3,315 







1851-52 



2,625 



886 



3,511 







1852-53 



3,020 



781 



3,801 







1853-54 



2,768 



887 



3,655 







1854-55 



3,294 



898 



4,192 







1855-56 



4,624 



1,340 



5,964 







Total 



26,755 



8,003 



34,758 j 



The following shows the decennial progress of the exports from 

 Pinang, in piculs : — 



Year. 



Nutmegs. 



Mace. 





piculs. 



piculs. 



1840 



598 



159 



1850 



2,086 



656 



1860 



6,421 



2,094 



There were, in 1860, 14,502 acres under culture with spices of all 

 kinds, namely, 13,153 in Pinang, and 1349 in Province Wellesley. 

 Pinang nutmegs are always shipped in the natural state, and not 

 limed. 



In 1848, there were 1190 acres under nutmeg trees in Singapore, 

 containing 71,400 trees, which produced 624 cwts. of nutmegs and 

 156 cwts. of mace. In 1855, there were 2639 nutmeg trees bearing, 

 and 34,000 young trees. The production was but 89,379 nutmegs, 

 which were then valued at 3J dollars per 1000. 



The island plantations in Singapore and Pinang have never re- 

 covered the severe blight which, in 1857, destroyed nearly every nut- 

 meg tree then in existence. The plantations at that time were yielding 

 at the rate of 30Z. to 40Z. per acre. The lands formerly in nutmeg 

 cultivation are now planted with cocoa-nut and other fruit trees. 



