June i, 1892.] tHE TROPICAL AQRICULTURIST. 891 
My guinea chicks are fed on tangen, a kind of 
millet and wliitc ant* till they aro a fortnight old, 
and then they are fed on6(i/m, and after a little time 
will eat ahnost any grain and a little meat. Goalingn 
I have only been able to roar on tangeu^ letting tlio 
mother goose have them all day with her in the 
river and seeing them fed every morning and evening. 
Turkey chicks aro given bread and milk or rice and 
milk at first, and then, later on, bran, onions and 
grain with a little moat or milk. The rest of the 
poultry are fed twice a day on peas, Indian corn, 
unhusked rice and wheat aometimcs mixed and some- 
times in turn, as they tiro of tlic same thing every 
day. 
In conclusion, 1 may add that my notes though 
hurried, may be »orviceal)le to those who live in the 
district, where butcher's nneat is not to bo had, and 
a variety of food is very necessary and beneficial, 
and the only things procurable in the bazaar are the 
ordinary tasteless, the floshlees moorghic, occasionaJiy 
wild duck, and quail, and the "everlasting goat. 
Poultry farming does pay, as anyone, who will try my 
plan for a year or two, will find very- few deaths 
occmring. In fact I may say so far all the deaths in 
my farmyard have boon accidental such as ducklings 
being carried off by kilos, fowls being tom by pariahs, 
life., and these have been few and far bctw'een."— 
Indian Idantn-a' Oavtte. 
ALLSIMCK. 
Tile term “ al spice," like many other trade terras, 
is merely a conventional one ; it has probably been 
applied to the ama'l brown globular berries because of 
tlieir curious compound flavour, which is thought to 
coinprcliend thatof cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The 
so callod '‘allspice" is really the fruit of t,ho Eugeni 
yiiiini/ii, a momber of the natural order of Mgiiaee<e. 
The tree is a beautiful evergreen, growing often as 
high as tliirty feet, and it con ho conveniently 
described as a species of largo myrtle. The natural 
habitat of the Eugenia pimenta is the West Indies, 
hut it is now cultivated almost exclusively in the 
island ef Jamaica, where it seems to thrive without 
much attention. If a plantation bo near a town it 
usually forms a favourite resort for the inhabitants, 
who love to siuinter along the “pimento walks.” 
There are nearly ten thousand acres of pimento trees 
under cultivation in Jamaica. After flowering, small 
racemes or bunches of tiny green barrios appear 
upon the branches, and before they roacli maturity 
tlioy aro picked, and spread out in the sun to dry'. 
Some growers prefer to kiln-dry their produce. If 
the berries were allowed to ripen before being gatliered, 
much of the cliaraeterislic llavour would bo lost, 
for the essential oil, which chiefly resides in the 
sliell, is most abundant in the unripe state. 
After a few days' exposure to the sub-tropical sun 
the harries are suflioiently dried, and their green 
colour has changed to a characteristic clovo-brown ; 
they are then stripped fronj their stalks and packed 
for export. The berries chiefly consist of a woody 
shell containing a kernel, and in the hIicU are tiny 
spaces whicli serve as receptacles for the essential 
oil. 
'The liistory, of allspice, like that of ukost spiees, 
is involved in nmcli tliat is merely logondary. A 
very liigh value was sot upon species by the ancients, 
which was duo, perhaps, not to their hemg of aiw 
renmrkalily good use, but rather to their being difli- 
ciilt to procure, for means of communication, es- 
pecially with tropical countries, were limited and 
uangerous. The old Spanish navigators gave tlie 
name piinieula to tho berries which we now call 
allspioo, heoauso they thouglit they resembled m 
shape and pungency of taste the pepper berries with 
which tliey were already familiar. Allspice appears 
to have been first mentioned by an oi l clirouicler 
named Clusius, wlio wrote a good deal in the early 
part of tile seveniceth century. We first hear of its 
appearance in Knginnd from'Tarkinson, who informs 
Us that at about tho same lime H was ‘‘being 
obtruded for amoinum, so that some more audacious 
than wise put it in their compoaitions instead of the 
riglit." This amomnra of which Parkinson speaks 
is probably the round cardamom seed. A writer in 
tile latter part of the seventeentli century called Ray 
is tho first who speaks of Jamaica as tho source of 
allspice. He also tolls us that it was used as a con- 
diment like pepper, and commonly known by the 
name of ‘‘sweet-scented Jamaica popper." It was 
during the latter part of the eighteenth century and 
espooially, tho early part of the current century 
tliat allspice developed into such aii important com- 
modity. 
In order to recognise any article that is liable to 
adulteration, it is important to be familiar with the 
raicrosoope structure. Familiarity with appearances 
under tho microsoopo can of course bo best acquired by 
actual study, hut here are the most important features. 
A section of the husk exhibits cells tiUod with 
essential oil, and stellate cells embedded in cellular 
tissue with spiral vessels and bundles of woody fibres. 
Membranes separate the shell from the inner kernel, 
and in these the microscopiat will notice elongated 
and angular collsj one of these membranes contains 
cells of a deep port-wine oolonr which is very 
characteristic. Starch grannlos will cliiefly be found 
in the kernel, and mixed up with ihom will bo 
noticed angular and transparent cells of ohnracter- 
istic appearance. The chemical composition of all- 
spice, strangely enough, lias not been Ihrouglily in- 
vestigated ; it is difficult to obtain access to any 
very recent complete analyses. In many respects 
it seems to resemble tlie composition of cloves. The 
berries contain a volatile oil, which ooiitrihates the 
peculiar flavour; tanniu, which accounts for their 
slightly astringent taste ; and starch, which is unim- 
portant for flavouring purposes. Drogendorll states 
that ho has isolated an alkaloid from allspice which 
has an odour reBenibliiig that of uouine ; now this 
substance smells like nothing so nioch as the odonr 
of mice, so that it is a lucky thing for allspice that 
it contains so minute a quantity. The essential oil 
is the most important constituent of the spice. Pereira 
informs us that it really consists of two oils; these 
he distinguished as light oil of pimento, which is a 
hydro-carbon, and heavy oil of pimento, which is 
a substance possessing acid properties. The oil 
chiefly resides in the slieT, and is best extracted by 
diatillation with water. The yield of pimento oil is 
4 37 per cent, of the total weight of tho seed, ac- 
cording to the authority of Whipple. 
Amongst other scientists, Olser and Gladstone have 
contributed to our knowledge of the chemistry of 
the fruit of pimento, but still there is room for 
more information. Perhaps the reason of our com- 
paratively imperfect knowledge of the chemistry of 
allspice exists in the fact tliat it is not much adultera- 
ted. If It had been subject to much adulteration, it 
is certain that analysis would have found it necessary 
to thoroughly investigate its ooustitution. When tho 
spice is in a ground condition we may possibly find 
starch, flour, or other fine cereal matters mixed with 
it. The percentage of starch is small in tho natural 
^ioe, so that this trick would easily bo discovered. 
Ground allspice is well known as an important ingre- 
dient of "mixed spice." Of course, such npromiacnous 
name ns “mixed spice” may cover a multitude of 
ingredients, hut it really ought only to represent 
a mixture of ground allspice, ginger, cloves, and 
cinnamon. Mixed spice is rarely adnlterntod with 
anything bnt floury matters. Of the “s'ubstitutes” 
for allspioe which are sometimes mixed in with 
the bciTicB there ore only the Pimento acris berries, 
those of the bay-berry tree, and those of the Pimi' 
enta di Tahanco. or Mexican spice. These berries are 
somewhat larger than those of true allspice, nud liy 
anyone who knows how to examine a sample, o'ngh't 
at once to lie recognised from their different external 
characteristics. 'The consumption of allspice in 
Kuropo and tlie United States has considerably in- 
creased during the past few years; being inexpen- 
sive and possessing a very agreeable flavour the 
spice forms a popular ingredient for domestic 
cookery, — Uiveee, 
