4 DATE. 
megs is chiefly made from the imperfect fruit, and such 
as would be unfit for the European market. 
Mace, or the covering of the nutmeg, that lies 
betwixt the outer coat and the shell, is an unctuous 
membrane, first of a light red, and afterwards, when 
dried, and as we see it, of yellowish colour. After it 
is taken from the shell it is exposed to the sun, then 
moistened with sea-water, and finally so far dried as to 
allow of its being packed in bales for exportation. In 
these it is pressed closely down, by which its fragrance 
and peculiar qualities are preserved. Mace is liable to 
seizure if imported in packages of less than 300 pounds' 
weight. We usually see it in flakes each about an inch 
in length, and presenting a great variety of ramifications. 
This spice has a very fragrant and agreeable odour, 
and, to most persons, a pleasant, though somewhat 
acrid, taste. It possesses nearly all the virtues of the 
nutmeg, but with less astringency; and, like that, is 
employed in numerous ways, both in culinary prepa- 
rations and medicine. 
In the island of Banda it is sometimes customary to 
boil the entire fruit of the nutmeg- tree, and afterwards 
to preserve it in syrup, and also to pickle it in spiced 
vinegar, in nearly the same manner as we pickle wal- 
nuts. In several parts of the East the inhabitants pre- 
serve the outer husk of the nutmeg as a sweetmeat, or 
eat it stewed with other food. 
257. The DATE is a fruit shaped somewhat like a large 
acorn, and covered externally with a yellowish membrane or 
skin, which contains a fine, soft, and sweetish pulp, and, in the 
centre, an oblong, hard stone. 
The trees (Phoenix dactylifera) which produce this fruit, 
grow chiefly on the shores of the Mediterranean, are forty 
feet and upwards in height, have an upright stem, marked 
through their whole length with protuberances, and terminated 
at the summit with a cluster of winged leaves or branches, 
each eight or nine feet in length. 
The cultivation of the date is attentively pursued on 
the African coast of the Mediterranean ; in several 
