98 
SPICES 
CHAP. 
crimson network, the mace, which is an arillus or 
outgrowth from the base of the seed. 
The mace is attached to the seed only at the base, 
but closely enwraps it to the top. It is rather leathery 
in texture, and cut 
into narrow flaps of 
irregular form. The 
testa of the seed is 
deep brown, polished, 
and marked with shal- 
low grooves corre- 
sponding to the flaps 
of the mace, which 
overlie it. In the shell 
a good nutmeg should 
measure about 1 in. 
long. The shell is woody and brittle, and encloses the 
seed, the nutmeg of trade, which is oval but rather 
variable in shape, a little under 1 in. long. 
It is hard and woody in texture, and marked inside 
with brown on a greyish ground, strongly aromatic and 
oily. 
When fresh the nutmeg nearly fills up its shell, but 
as it dries it shrinks somewhat, and when shaken rattles 
in the testa. Seed used for sowing should not be dry 
enough to rattle, while for trade purposes it is essential 
for it to rattle in the testa when shaken. 
DISTRIBUTION OF THE PLANT 
The nutmeg is a native of the eastern islands of the 
Moluccas, known as the Spice Islands from the presence 
of this plant and the clove tree, and is stated by Blume 
to be wild in Ceram and the southern and eastern 
islands of this part of the Malay Archipelago. It is also 
indigenous to Banda, an island which has long been 
famous for its nutmegs, Amboyna, Gilolo, and Western 
New Guinea. 
