Hildegard described nutmegs in 1150, 
and Albertus Magnus (1 193-1280) de- 
scribed the tree and fruit. Not until 
about 1500 did European writers learn 
the home of the nutmeg. Ludovico 
Barthema designates the island Banda 
as its habitat. 
The Portuguese monopolized the 
spice trade, including nutmegs, for 
a time, but as stated in a previous paper 
they were driven out by the Dutch, who 
regulated the nutmeg trade as they did 
the clove trade. That is, they destroyed 
all nutmeg trees not under the control 
of the government and burned all nut- 
megs which could not be sold. The 
government nutmeg plantations were 
in charge of army officials and worked 
by slaves. In 1769 the French suc- 
ceeded in transplanting the nutmeg to 
the Isle de France. From 1796 to 1802 
the spice islands were under the con- 
trol of the English, who transplanted the 
nutmeg to Bencoolen, Penang.and, later, 
to Singapore. In i860 the Singapore 
plantations were destroyed by a disease 
of the tree. The nutmeg is" now culti- 
vated in the Philippines, West Indies, 
South America, and other tropical 
islands and countries. The botanic 
gardens have been largely instrumental 
in extending nutmeg cultivation in the 
tropical English possessions. Besides 
Myristica fragrans there are several 
other species which are found useful. 
M. Otoba of the U. S. of Colombia 
yields an edible article known as Santa 
F6 nutmeg. The seeds of the tropical 
M. sebifera (tallow nutmeg) yield a 
fixed oil or fat used in making soap and 
candles. This oil is also known as 
American nutmeg oil. 
The trees are produced from seeds. 
After sprouting the plants are trans- 
ferred to pots, in which they are kept 
until ready for the nutmeg plantation. 
Transferring from the pots to the soil 
must be done carefully, as any consid- 
erable injury to the terminal rootlets 
kills the plants. A rich, loamy soil 
with considerable moisture is required 
for the favorable and rapid growth of 
the plants. They thrive best in river 
valleys, from sea-level to 300 and 400 
feet or even to an elevation of 2,000 
feet. The trees are usually planted 
twenty-five or thirty feet apart, in pro- 
tected situations, so as to shelter them 
from strong winds and excessive sun- 
light. 
The trees do not yield a crop until 
about the ninth year and continue pro- 
ductive for seventy or eighty years. 
Each tree yields on an average about 
ten pounds of nutmegs and about one 
pound of mace annually. If the trees 
are well cared for and the soil well fer- 
tilized, the yield is much greater, even 
tenfold. 
As already stated the nutmeg plant 
is dioecious. A seed may therefore de- 
velop into a male or female plant; if a 
male plant it will of course not produce 
nutmegs. The only way to learn 
whether it is one or the other is to wait 
until the first flowers are formed during 
the fifth or sixth year. The planter 
does, however, not sit by and wait; he 
simply grafts the young shoots with 
branches of the female tree. Some 
male trees, about one to twenty female 
trees, are allowed to mature in order 
that pollination, by insects, may be 
possible, as without pollination and 
subsequent fertilization the seed could 
not develop. 
The tree bears fruit all the year round, 
so that nutmegs may be collected at 
all times. It is, however, customary to 
collect two principal crops, one during' 
October, November, and December, 
and another during April, May, and 
June. The nuts are picked by hand 
or gathered by means of long hooks 
and the thick pericarp removed. The 
red arillus is also carefully removed 
and flattened between blocks of wood 
so as to reduce the danger of breaking 
as much as possible. Mace and nuts 
are then dried separately. The nuts 
are placed upon hurdles for several 
weeks until the kernels, nutmegs, rat- 
tle inside of the thin, tasteless, and odor- 
less hard shell. This shell is now care- 
fully broken and removed; the worm- 
eaten nutmegs are thrown away and the 
sound ones are rolled in powdered lime 
and again dried for several weeks. Gen- 
erally the drying is done over a smol- 
dering fire so that the nuts are really 
smoke dried. For shipment they are 
packed in air-tight boxes which have 
been smoked and dusted with lime on 
the inside. Liming gives the nuts a 
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