Junk, 1010,] 



493 



Edible Products, 



(6.) The field for nutmegs as a spice is 

 much larger than that as a material for 

 the oil. Even if the nutmeg tallow (ob- 

 tained from the oil) could be used on a 

 larger scale, for manufacturing soap, the 

 price paid would be too low to make it 

 profitable to grow nutmegs. 



(7.) In view of the fact that the 

 demand for nutmegs is not greater, aud 

 that there does not seem to be any pros- 

 pect of its increase, Dr. Treub recom- 

 mends that growers in Java should not 

 enlarge the area under cultivation, but 

 that they should replace the plant by 

 another crop as soon as possible. 



In their Semi- Annual Report, dated 

 October, 1909, Messrs. Schimmel & Co. 

 say :— 



Nutmeg oil remains unchanged at low 

 prices. There has been no lack of cheap 

 nutmegs suitable for distilling, and 

 occasionally exquisite material could be 

 found at ridiculously low prices. All 

 those interested in the article are ad- 

 vised, when requiring large parcels, to 

 ask us for special quotations. 



To return to the nutmeg itself, an 

 account is given in the Revue des Cul- 

 tures Coloniales, Vol: XXV., pp. 343-4, 

 of the way in which it is prepared for 

 export at Djati Roengge, Java, from 

 which the following is translated : — 



Preparation of the crop for export is 

 very simple. The mace is carefully re- 

 moved from the ' seed,' in order to pre- 

 vent the growth of moulds, and then 

 the latter is washed in brine, Drying 

 is conducted in sunshine, or by means 

 of drier, as quickly as possible. The 

 nuts, separated from the shell, are 

 rolled in slacked lime and then packed 

 in cases, the interior of which is coated 

 with lime ; these cases measure 45 x 

 45 x 45 centimetres (1 foot 6 inches each 

 way), and are each capable of holding 

 60 kilogrammes (about 132 lbs.) of nut- 

 megs. The mace is packed in unlined 

 cases, which are lined with paper. These 

 measure 61 x 61 x 61 centimetres (about 

 10 feet 0J inch each way), and each 

 also holds about 60 kilogrammes. These 

 measurements are the ones preferred by 

 the importers at Amsterdam. The cases 

 are strengthened by means of iron 

 bands or iron wire. The treatment of 

 the nuts with lime is for the purpose 

 of preserving them from a boring beetle 

 called ' boeback,' At Banda, they are 

 sometimes smoked for the same purpose, 

 though this does not appear to be neces- 

 sary. The nutmegs are graded into 

 nine kinds, aud the mace into four kinds. 



In dealing with the question as to 

 the advisability of expressing the oil 



(fat) from the nuts for shipment, careful 

 experiments are required for the pur- 

 pose of ascertaining what proportion of 

 the oil can be extracted. To approach 

 the question theoretically, on consulting 

 various authorities, it was found that 

 the average proportion of oil that can 

 be expressed from the powdered nuts, 

 with the aid of heat, is about 25 per 

 cent, of the weight of the material 

 pressed. A barrel of nutmegs weighs 

 approximately 165 lbs., so that this quan- 

 tity would yield about 41 lbs. of* oil. 

 As far as the essential oil is concerned, 

 according to Gildemeister and Hoff- 

 mann's Volatile Oils, the amount of oil 

 obtained by distilling nutmegs varies 

 from 8 to 15 per cent, of the weight 

 of the material taken. Allowing a 

 simple average of 10 per cent., this 

 would give 16£ lb. of essential oil from 

 one barrel of nuts. 



In considering, however, the advisa- 

 bility of placing the oils on the market, 

 the chief matter of serious import is 

 that, as is shown above, there is only 

 a very limited demand for either of 

 them. 



CONSUMPTION OF CACAO, 

 COFFEE, AND TEA. 



(From the Tropenflanzer, April, 1910. 

 Abstracted by J. C, Willis-) 



Detailed figures in kilograms. (1 kilo 

 = 2| lbs.) are given for all the principal 

 countries, from which we take the 

 following : — . 



Cacao. Coffee. Tea. 



Germany 1899 13,271,800 156,137,300 2,958,900 



1909 40,724,800 213,483,400 4,901,201' 

 America 1899 15,980,563 379,900,000 32,776,000 



1909 53,378,775 410,000,000 45.,0ul',000 

 France 1899 .7,656,374 81,448,000 885,000 



1909 23,254/200 107,134,700 1,223,300 

 England 1899 14,775,400 13,100,009 104,2OO,0tO 



1909 24,264,112 lb, 700,000 128,00i',000 



Increases in consumption are enor- 

 mously larger in Germany and America 

 than in France and England, amounting 

 in all to 71 and 82 million kilos against 

 32 and 34. 



THE COPRA~ EXPORTS OF THE 



DUTCH INDIES. 



A note in the Tropenflanzer for April 

 gives these for 1908 as 229,491 metric 

 tons, those of Ceylon for the same 

 period being 33,994 metric tons. 



CINNAMON IN CEYLON. 



(From the Ceijlon Independent, 13 th 

 May, 1910.) 



Many of the Chaliyas (Sinhalese caste 

 of cinnamon-peelers) from the neighbour- 

 hood of Galle were accustomed, while 

 prices were good, to migrate at a certain 



