September, 1909.] 



223 



Edible Products, 



THE SPICES OF THE TROPICS. 



Their Distribution, Cultivation 

 and Uses. 



By H. F. Macmillan. 



(Paper read before the Board of Agricul- 

 ture, 2nd August, 1909.) 



From remote ages the Spices of the tropics 

 have attracted traders from distant lands, and 

 formed a lure for adventurous explorers. 

 More especially can this be said of the spices 

 of Southern Asia, as the cinnamon of 

 Ceylon, nutmegs and cloves of the Moluccas, 

 cardamoms, ginger, and pepper of Southern 

 India. Some of the ancient cities of Europe 

 are said to have been indebted for a large 

 share of their wealth to the trade in tropical 

 spices during the time of the Romans. 

 Cinnamon, which has long made the name 

 of Ceylon famous, was from the earliest 

 times perhaps the most coveted of all spices. 

 It is mentioned in the Songs of Solomon and 

 in the Book of Proverbs ; the Arabians 

 supplied it to the Greeks and Romans, but 

 jealously shrouded in mystery the sources 

 of its origin and the manner of obtaining it. 

 It is supposed that the spice, being first 

 brought from Ceylon to the western coast of 

 India, was carried to Arabia and Egypt by 

 African and Arabian traders, finally reaching 

 Europe after a journey of very many 

 months. Cinnamon was for a long period a 

 State monopoly in Ceylon, and its cultivation 

 was not declared free until 1833. At one 

 time, it is said, cinnamon was sold for 

 £8 per lb., pepper at 10s. a lb., while other 

 spices commanded similar fabialous prices. 

 As recently as 1880 cardamoms were sold for 

 over 9s. a* lb. In 1826 the English import 

 duty alone on pepper was 2s. 6d. a pound, 

 on nutmegs and mace 3s. 6d. a pound each, 

 on cloves 5s. l\d„ while vanilla was taxed 

 to the extent of nearly 17s. per lb. 



Distribution of Spices. 



For a long period the uncultivated or wild 

 trees of the forests furnished the world's 

 supply of spices, which were consequently 

 confined to the natural habitat of the plants. 

 Subsequently the spread and cultivation of 

 spice-producing plants was for a long time 

 retarded by the system of State monopoly 

 established by the Dutch in the principal 

 spice-producing countries. So severe, for in- 

 stance, was the Dutch consorship in regard 

 to Cinnamon in Ceylon that an infringe- 

 ment was, it is said, punishable even by 

 death. The history of Cloves, Nutmegs and 

 Pepper at the hands of the Dutch in the 

 Malay Archipelago might be told in similar 

 language, the plants being either deliberately 

 destroyed, or their cultivation enforced to 

 suit the circumstances. An amusing story 

 told in this connection is that the Home 

 Dutch Government once despatched orders 



to their Colonial Governor requesting him to 

 reduce the number of Nutmeg trees, but to 

 increase the cultivation of Mace trees, being 

 of course ignorant of the fact that both 

 spices were produced by the same tree. But 

 this is an error which is not uncommon 

 even nowadays. Sir Hugh Clifford in- 

 forms us how the clove tree became extinct 

 in the islands of Tidor and Ternate by 

 being deliberately destroyed by the Dutch, 

 in their endeavour to secure their monopoly 

 of the spice by confining the tree to Am- 

 boyna. Notwithstanding the severe restric- 

 tions of the Dutch, however, the escape of the 

 precious spice plants to other countries 

 gradually took place, both by smuggling 

 and by the agency of migrating birds. Of 

 the latter the principal culprit was a kind of 

 pigeon, which extracted the nutmeg from 

 its pulpy covering, digested the mace, and 

 voided the seed uninjured. The French 

 succeeded in 1770 in introducing the Clove 

 tree into Mauritius and Reunion, from 

 whence it soon reached Zanzibar, &c. A 

 striking result of this is that the world's 

 greatest supply of cloves now comes from 

 these Islands, and not from the native home 

 of the tree, the Moluccas. Similarly Jamaica 

 obtained Ginger from India, and has long- 

 practically commanded the supply of that 

 product ; and the same may be said of 

 Reunion and Seychelles in regard to the 

 production of Vanilla, whose native home 

 is South America. Now with the free inter- 

 change of plants from one country to another, 

 followed by systematic methods of cultiva- 

 tion, the supply of spices has increased many- 

 fold, prices have been reduced so as to bring 

 the articles within the reach of all com- 

 munities, while the consumption and demand 

 have enhanced in proportion. 



The Importance op Spices, 

 Spices form one of the most important 

 classes of vegatable products. Not only do 

 they contain valuable medicinal properties, 

 but their presence renders agreeable articles 

 of food which are otherwise unpalatable. 

 When used judicioiisly in cooking they aid 

 the digestion by their effect in increasing 

 the secretion of the gastric fluids ; to the 

 confectioner they are particularly essential, 

 and are largely used for his purpose, more 

 especially on the Continent of Europe : 

 while in the preparation of superior bever- 

 ages they are also important. In medicine 

 certain spices, especially ginger, cardamoms, 

 and cloves hold a very important place, and 

 doctors also find them indispensable in 

 disguising nauseous decoctions. The anti- 

 septic properties of spices, especially cloves, 

 due to their volatile oils, is well known, and 

 for preservative purposes both in domestic and 

 scientific vises, they are often unsurpassed. 

 The appropriateness of spices to sacred 

 uses has long been recognised, being 

 always a favourite ingredient for burning 

 in incense, while in certain social customs 



