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CLOVES. 
( Eugenia caryophyllata ) . 
The clove tree is a small conical tree, indigenous to 
a number of islands in the Moluccas. It is generally 
about 12 to 20 feet tall, but in some places may 
attain a height of 40 feet. The cloves of commerce 
are the dried, unopened flower-buds. The tree is 
cultivated on a large scale in Zanzibar and Pemba, 
but also in Penang, Amboyna, Sumatra, Ceylon and 
the West Indies. 
Clove Industry in Penang . — The clove plantations 
in Penang, which were formerly of importance, are 
now almost entirely in the hands of Chinese and 
Malays, who have interplanted rubber, coconuts, and 
other products amongst the clove trees, with the 
result that the latter have been gradually forced 
out of cultivation on many of the plantations. 
This is responsible for the big decline in the local 
production. 
Cultivation . — The clove does not thrive far from the 
sea, and grows best on sloping situations up to an 
elevation of 1,500 feet. The most suitable soil is 
a dark loam overlying a subsoil of clay mixed with 
gravel. 
The tree is grown usually from seed, but can be 
propagated by layering. The seeds are sown 4 to 
6 inches apart in nursery beds about 5 feet wide, 
which should be slightly raised and shaded. The 
beds are watered morning and evening if the soil 
has become dry but, after the plants are above 
ground, watering should be less frequent. When 
the plants are about 6 inches high they should 
be gradually hardened by partially removing the 
shading, and left in the beds exposed to the sun 
