'THE PRINCIPLES OF BOTANY. 
923 
place to state that, though they are much cheaper than they 
used to be, much chicanery is still practised with regard to 
them. It is a common practice to extract the greater part 
of their essential oil, called oil of nutmeg, and then to dry 
and dress up the nut as fresh; and from the article just 
quoted we learn that ff The French are said to have various 
ingenious methods of dressing up inferior nutmegs to resemble 
good ones, and even to fabricate artificial nutmegs of bran, 
clay, and powder of nutmegs.” And Sam Slick accuses the 
Yankees of making wooden nutmegs. 
Pereira tells us that three sorts, both of nutmegs and mace, 
are known in the market as 
Penang, ~j Nutmegs or mace, 
Dutch or Batavian, > as the case may 
Singapore, j be. 
As an evidence of the quantities of these spices which are 
imported into this country, we quote the following as their 
annual importation from 1844 to 1850 inclusive, a period of 
seven years: 
Mace in lbs. 
Nutmegs in lbs. 
1844 
33,898 
152,110 
1845 
35,551 
444,706 
1840 
33,104 
405,679 
1847 
00,265 
367,936 
1848 
47,572 
336,420 
1849 
45,978 
224,021 
1850 
76,365 
312,418 
These figures show a great increase in seven years, and 
there is reason to suppose that within the last twenty years 
this has not fallen off. 
The principal uses of these spices will, of course, be found 
in domestic economics. They enter into the composition of 
the mince pie and the Christmas pudding, and are no less 
celebrated for their flavour in our Christmas cups; and as 
the joyous season is again so near, we are tempted to extract 
the following from “ Spring-Tide,” by our esteemed friend 
the Saxon antiquary, Mr. J. Y. Akerman : 
es The Parlour of the f Angler’s Best/ 
“ Sen ex and Julian. 
“ Enter Hostess, ivith a loving cup. 
“ Senetf. There, take a draught of what our hostess has 
brewed for us, and tell me what you think of it. 
(( Julian (after a protracted "puli’ at the tankard). Ha! 
