Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  1893. 
Clove  Cultivation. 
309 
Bourbon  and  obtained  permission  to  take  back  a  small  quantity  of 
seeds  and  plants  with  him.  This  was  the  commencement  of  clove 
cultivation  in  Zanzibar,  Harameli  making  the  first  plantation  at 
Mitoni,  on  the  road  to  Chueni ;  and  the  cultivation  rapidly  spread. 
The  different  methods  by  which  this  cultivation  is  now  carried  on  are 
evidently  borrowed  from  the  French,  and  the  Swahili  word  for  clove, 
"  garafu,"  is  probably  a  corruption  of  the  French  word  "  giroflier." 
Germination. — The  seeds  are  first  soaked  in  water  for  three  days, 
and  when  germination  has  set  in  they  are  planted  out  6  inches 
apart,  with  the  bud  end  above  ground,  into  shaded  beds — the 
usual  practice  being  to  put  down  two  seeds  together  in  case  of 
failure.  If  a  large  number  of  plants  are  to  be  grown  the  seeds  are 
only  put  down  3  inches  to  4  inches  apart.  Beds  are  about  6  feet 
wide,  and  of  any  length.  They  are  shaded  by  a  flat  framework  of 
sticks,  over  which  is  placed  a  layer  of  either  dry  grass  or  cocoanut 
leaves;  the  height  of  this  framework  is  about  3  feet  to  3^  feet. 
There  is  no  regular  rule  for  this,  the  important  point  being  to  keep 
the  beds  constantly  damp.  The  slaves  in  charge  go  over  to  the 
nursery  beds  both  morning  and  evening,  watering  any  of  which  the 
surface  has  become  dry,  the  practice  being  to  sprinkle  water  with 
the  hand  from  the  water  jar.  The  process  may  be  summarized  as 
follows :  As  long  as  the  seedling  is  not  thoroughly  developed,  every 
day ;  when  the  plants  are  above  ground,  every  other  day  ;  when  6 
inches  high,  once  a  week  or  ten  days.  The  plants  are  kept,  on  an 
average,  from  nine  months  to  one  year  in  shaded  beds.  When  the 
plants  are  about  6  inches  high  they  are  by  degrees  hardened  by  the 
thatch  of  the  framework  being  gradually  removed,  and  they  are 
then  left  in  the  open  beds  freely  exposed  to  sunshine  lor  the  space 
of  one  month  or  two  months  before  planting  out. 
Planting  Out. — Special  care  is  taken  in  planting  out.  The  earth 
round  the  plant  is  loosened  by  a  peculiar  triangular-shaped  spade 
used  especially  on  clove  plantations,  and  called  "  moaa,"  and  in  use 
in  Zanzibar,  as  well  as  the  ordinary  native  "  jembe,"  or  hoe,  already 
referred  to.  The  plant  is  then  carefully  lifted  out  by  the  hand  with 
as  much  earth  adhering  to  the  roots  as  possible,  and  placed  upon 
two  strips  of  banana  fibre  previously  placed  cross-wise  upon  the 
ground.  (Each  strip  of  fibre  is  about  3  inches  to  4  inches  wide,  by 
1  y2  feet  to  2  feet  in  length.)  The  four  ends  are  then  taken  up  and 
wrapped  round  the  plant  and  firmly  tied  together.    The  plant  is 
