168 



INSECTS IN NUTMEGS. 



Information has been sought as to the best method of dealing with 

 nutmegs so as to prevent loss through the nuts being destroyed by in- 

 sects. It is mainly a question of care in the first instance of picking out 

 and rejecting the nuts that are already attacked, and then in drying them 

 properly and finally in dusting them with lime so as to prevent fresh 

 attacks. 



In Banda and the Straits Settlements the insect is said to be a weevil 

 which lays its eggs in the outer fleshy parts of the fruit,, causing a small 

 black disceloration at the spot. The " worms" or larvae that come from 

 the eggs, feed on the fruit until it splits, and then make their way into 

 the soft nuts which they eventually destroy. 



The method of drying the nuts over slow wood fires for 2 or 3 months, 

 turning the nuts every second or third day, is likely to discourage the 

 presence of the weevil during the time of curing. The kernels should 

 be well looked over when taken from the shell, to avoid packing up any 

 that are " worm-eaten." The refuse nuts are converted into the " nut- 

 meg butter" or " mace-oil" of commerce. 



Now that plantations have been made in Jamaica on a large scale, the 

 greatest care should be taken by everyone that owns even a single tree 

 to see that the insect is destroyed whenever noticed, and is not allowed to 

 increase so as to become a pest. 



The following extract from Dr. Mcholls' Tropical Agriculture is a 

 useful summary of the process of curing : — 



" In the east, there are usually three crops a year, and the ripe nuts 

 take a little over six months to grow from the flower. The fruit is 

 picked up every morning after it has fallen to the ground, or, if the 

 trees are not too high it is gathered by means of a hook attached to a 

 long stick ; the mace is then stripped off and the nuts are dried in sheds, 

 in wickerwork trays, raised about ten feet above the earthen floor on 

 which smouldering fires are kept up all night and put out during the 

 day time. The heat should not be more than 140° Fahrenheit. The 

 nuts are turned in the trays occasi©nally ; and, when they are thoroughly 

 dry, the shells are broken with wooden mallets, and the nuts are rubbed 

 over with sifted dry lime to prevent worms attacking them, and then 

 packed in tight casks for export. It is well to smoke the inside of the 

 packages and then to white-wash them. If boxes are used for shipping 

 the nutmegs, the seams must be stopped up, for every precaution is to 

 be taken to prevent the nuts from becoming worm-eaten." 



