Eastern Islands.] OMENTAL COMMERCE. 



which is the time for gathering them. If they are suffered to remain three 

 or four weeks longer, they swell, and hecome what are called mother cloves, 

 which are proper for propagation or for candying, but not fit for drying as 

 a spice. The cloves grow on separate stalks, but in bunches of three or 

 more together. Valentyn describes four sorts; that which he calls the mala 

 clove is the sort used for drying ; the female produces cloves of a pale 

 colour, which are the best for extracting of oil ; the king's clove is a very 

 scarce species, bearing larger and double cloves ; the fourth sort is called 

 rice cloves, which are very small, but likewise very rare. The clove pro- 

 duced upon ihe wild clove- tree has no kind of spit: mess. At the time of 

 gathering the cIovq, the ground is carefully swept under the trees, that none 

 may be lost. They are generally pulled off by long hooks, or beaten down 

 with bamboos ; large cloths are spread to receive them, and they are after- 

 wards either dried by the fire or in the sun: the last mode is the best. The 

 usual time of the clove crop is in October, and it lasts till December. The 

 crop of cloves depends much upon the temperature of the weather in June 

 and September ; an after-crop is sometimes made, but the time is uncertain, 

 and it does not often happen. 



Cloves should be chosen large-sized, perfect in all parts, and heavy, of 

 a fine fragrant smell, and hot aromatic taste, so as almost to burn the throat; 

 the colour should be a dark brown, almost approaching to black, and when 

 handled, should leave an oily moisture upon the fingers. When fresh 

 gathered, cloves will yield, on simple pressure, a fragrant thick reddish 

 oil. They have sometimes a considerable portion of their essential oil drawn 

 from them, and are then mixed with those wiiich are freak By this mixture 

 the purchaser may be deceived ; but, on examination, those cloves which 

 have lost their virtue, always continue weaker than the rest, and of a paler 

 colour; and whenever they look shrivelled, having lost the knob at the top, 

 and are light and broken, with but little smell or taste, they should be 

 rejected, as it affords reason to suspect the oil has been extracted from them 

 As cloves readily absorb moisture, it is not uncommon, when a quantity is 

 ordered, for them to be kept near a vessel of water, by which means a con- 

 siderable addition to their weight is made. The ton is 12 Cwt. for freight. 



Oil of Cloves is procured from the cloves by distillation. When new, 

 it is of a pale reddish brown colour, (which becomes darker by age), ex- 

 tremely hot and fiery, and sinks in water. The kind generally imported 

 from India, contains nearly half its weight of an insipid expressed oil, which 

 is discovered by dropping a little into spirits of wine; on shaking it, the 

 genuine oil mixes with the spirit, and the insipid separates. It is sometimes 

 adulterated with a cheaper essemial oil; to discover this, dip a rag iuto it, 



C c 



