Jan. 1, 1900.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
48§ 
even with its sex as sliown la Vogels' remarkable 
passage* : " If the bird that drops the nut is a 
male, the tree growing from it will be a male too: 
if the bird is a female, the tree will be a female as 
well, whilst if the bird happens to be still a Tirgin, 
the tree that grows froni the swallowed nut, will 
be one of the best in the woods. 
Whilst nature produces 100 male against 100 to 
300 female trees, it is a fact that only the females 
yield fruit. On the whole the latter bear fruit 
when ten years old, but their produce at that age 
is still small. In tlie years immediately following, 
the produce increases rapidly, gradually again 
more slowly, until the highest point of production 
is reached'between the •20th and 2oth year, con- 
tinuing, undiminished during 25 years. Only then, 
about its 60th year a decrease may be noticed. 
Many trees however reach a much greater age, 
some of them are said to complete a century. 
The nutmeg trees bear blossom and fruit with- 
out intermission, in every stage of ripeness, and 
so the nuts may be gathered all the year round. 
The greatest abundance however falls during the 
months of July and August. 
The nutmeg itself is the kernel of the fruit, 
which is pearshaped, of the colour of a peach and 
consists of four parts ; the outer fleshy part, then 
the membranous substances, covering the shell of 
the nutmeg and known to Commerce as mace, 
then the shell, and finally the kernel or actual 
nutmeg. 
The greatest care is required in gathering and 
handling the fruit. Twenty-four hours after the 
opening of the fruit, a sure sign of its ripeness, 
the nut will drop to the ground, thus injuring the 
mace-network and deteriorating its ^proper quality 
as its lying on the soil makes it apt to become 
wormy. On the other hand the closed fruit may 
be still unripe, and knocking these down would be 
highly unjudicious. 
Work commences at 5 o'clock in the morning at 
the ringing of a bell, when men, women and 
boys and girls over 16 years, go out into the 
woods, armed with the gaai-gaai, a long stick with 
a prong at the end to break ofE the ripe fruit and 
a basket to carry the collected nuts. 
The wood is the all in all to the labourers . 
It is his place for work and recreation. It is his 
club and even the spot where the young man 
seeks his future wife when the overseer is out of 
the way, notice of whose approach is kindly given 
by the friends of the young couples imitating the 
call of the nut-pigeon as a danger-signal. 
Apart from the romantic side of these pro- 
ceedings, the practical advantage becomes evident 
when we know that love-making contributes 
greatly towards the rapid filling of the basket, the 
boys helping all the pretty girls most assiduously, 
in order to secure for them the premium awarded 
for extra-diligence, (a practise which has followed 
up the rottan used in the days of Monopoly). 
While the owner may thus be profiting by the 
romantic disposition of his young staff, it is quiet 
on the cards that his overseers are not overanxious 
bo intrude where the voice of the manocJc faloer 
is heard. The only drawback of this arrangement 
is that the boys do not regard the boundary of the 
estates too scrupulously, thus filling with the pro- 
duce of one estate- the basket? of the other. 
We cannot vouch for the veracity of the state- 
ment, but it is asserted, says Mr. v. d. Linden, that 
an estate-owner who o;ie year happened to engage 
an unusually attractive female staff, thus saw 
himself unexpectedly rewarded with a superabun- 
dant crop, whilst on the neighbouring estates 
many complaints were heard about the scar- 
city of fruit. 
Work in the woods finishes at three in the 
afternoon when the collected fruit is delivered 
at the ^:>«^^e;' where the warehouse, drying-house 
and other out-houses are located. On entering, 
all the pickers, males as well as females, squat 
down in the open gallery to separate the ripe fruit 
from the unripe (Mrangs) and portion them out 
in little heaps. After the inspecting and sorting 
of the fruit, the nuts are taken to the drying-shed 
(rookkombuis) where a low fire is constantly 
kept smouldering. Here the nuts are spread out 
and dried on a second flooring of split bamboo 
(2)ara-para) constructed at not less than 12 feet * 
above the fire on the floor. After about 6 weeks, 
during which time the uuts are repeatedly turned 
over, they may be considered dry, which is heard 
when they begin to rattle. 
In the drying-sheds the nuts should not be 
■ overheated, merely to accelerate the process of 
drying them, as they are very rich in oil 
(35%) which would ooze out. The tempera- 
ture in the drying-sheds varies as a rule be- 
tween 35° and 40= C. (95° till 104" Fah.), 
care being taken to avoid fluctuation, a pre- 
caution which explains why the walls of the 
drying-sheds should be so thick. A tempera-' 
ture above 45° C. is considered injurious by 
Dr. Janse, the eminent scholar who was sent 
out in 1897 by the Dutch Government to 
institute a special inquiry into the growth of 
nutmegs and its requirements. 
The smoke which formerly was looked upon 
as necessary, is not essential ; the smouldering 
fire being preferred because it assures the best, 
i.e., a slow process of drying. A change in 
the venerable, old proceeding was repeatedly 
urged. Meanwhile, Dr. J. remarks that tlie use 
of machinery is not free from objections, the 
nutmeg being an article which is valued ac- 
cording to its "face" value, necessitating the 
greatest care for the preservation of its out- 
ward appearance. 
When dried too quickly the nut cracks, 
when exposed to an excessive temperature it. 
shows spots in consequence of the oil finding 
its way out. 
When the nuts have been sorted they are 
limed, which is not done to rob the nut of 
its productive power as people used to tliink 
in the days of monopoly, in order to prevent 
cullivation elsewhere, but only to safeguard 
the nut against getting worm-eaten, or in 
case a worm should have got in already, to 
fill up its hole and kill it. 
There are two systems of liming, th^ wet and the 
dry. In the dry process the nuts are treated 
• Warburg. , . 
t V. d. Linden. 
* Van Gorcum (Colonial Museum, Harlem.) 
