THE CLOVE AND NUTMEG, 
125 
tliose of the laurel, the flowers growing in bunches at the 
extremity of the branches, Wlien they first appear, 
which is at the begiiming of the rainy season, they are in 
the form of elongated greenish bud.s, from tlie extremity 
of which the corolla is expandedj whicli is of a delicate 
peach-blossom colour. The corolla having fallen olT, the 
caiyx turns yellow, and then red ; when it is beaten from 
the tree, and dried in the sun. If the fruit be allowed to 
remain longer on the tree the calyx or clove gradually 
swells, the embr^'o seed enlarges, and the pungent pro- 
perties of the clove are in great part dissipated. 
The whole tree is highly aromatic, and the foot-stalha 
of the leaves have nearly the same pungent quality as the 
calyx of the flowers, " Clove trees," says bir Stamford 
RaffleSj "as an avenue to a residence, are perhaps un- 
rivalled — their noble height, the beauty of their form, 
the luxuriance of their foliage, and, above all, the spicy 
fragrance with which they perfume the air, produce, on 
driving through a long line of them, a degree of exquisite 
pleasure only to be enjoyed in 
the clear light atmosphere of the 
Eastern Archipelago." 
In spite of the endeavours of the 
Dutch to confine the nutmeg tree 
to the narrow precincts of Banda, 
it has likewise extended its rang 
not only over Sumatm, jlauritiurfj 
Bourbon, and Ceylon, but even 
over the western hemisphere. It 
is of a more majestic growth than 
the clove, as it attains a height of 
fifty feet, and the leaves of a fine 
green on the upper surface, and hvtxvj. 
grey beneath, are more handsome 
in the outline, and broader in proportion to the length. 
When the trees are about nine years old, they begin 
to bear. They are dioecious, having male or barren flowers 
