Am'ju0ner;Sar,u-}  Clove  Cultivation.  311 
ance  of  the  clove  plantation  is,  as  a  rule,  most  healthy  and  luxuriant, 
the  height  of  the  more  matured  trees  averaging  fully  40  feet,  and 
the  branches  of  the  two  rows  often  completely  shading  the  ground. 
Clove  trees  generally  have  forked  stems,  and  often  as  many  as  three 
and  four,  and  a  single  boled  tree  is  the  exception. 
Enemies. — So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  and  I  have 
made  careful  inquiries  on  this  subject,  the  clove  tree  is  not  subject  to 
any  fungoid  disease,  and  the  percentage  of  dead,  dying  and 
unhealthy  trees  noticed  by  me  was  very  small.  The  cause  generally 
was  either  a  damp  situation,  or  else  want  of  cultivation,  and  the 
presence  of  grasses,  especially  "  hook,"  called  in  Swahili  «  Pamba 
ya  moitu."  The  clove  tree,  however,  suffers  from  the  attacks  of  two 
enemies :  One  a  caterpillar,  which  attacks  the  foliage  in  the  dry 
weather  and  often  denudes  the  tree  of  its  leaves,  but  the  tree 
recovers  at  once  as  soon  as  the  rain  sets  in.  The  other  is  the  white 
ant,  which  occasionally  attacks  the  roots.  No  remedial  measures 
appear  to  be  taken. 
Collection. — Clove  trees  begin  to  yield,  in  good  situations,  5  years 
from  planting;  in  inferior  soil,  6  years  to  6*^  years  fr6m  planting. 
Cocoanut  trees  are  generally  planted  at  irregular  distances  between 
the  rows  of  clove  trees,  but  the  reason  for  doing  so  appears  to  be 
quite  forgotten,  the  usual  reply  being  that  "  it  was  the  custom." 
(Cocoanut  trees  are  usually  planted  here  and  there  amongst  the 
clove  trees  in  Amboyna  and  the  Moluccas,  it  being  believed  that 
the  proximity  of  this  tree  is  beneficial  to  the  clove.  The  French 
most  probably  adopted  the  custom  in  Mauritius  and  Reunion,  and 
it  eventually  found  its  way  to  Zanzibar.)  The  picking  of  the  buds 
commences  in  August  and  lasts  for  four  months,  and  on  an  average 
each  tree  is  picked  three  times  in  a  season.  The  unexpanded  buds 
on  the  trees  are  at  first  a  pinkish  yellow,  becoming  a  deeper  red  as 
they  mature.  The  stalks  and  buds  are  gathered  at  the  same  time, 
and  thrown  on  to  grass  mats  spread  on  the  ground  ;  the  picking  of 
the  higher  branches  is  done  by  means  of  triangular  bamboo  ladders. 
Other  slaves  pick  off  the  buds  from  the  stalks,  and  they  are  then 
spread  out  to  dry  in  the  sun,  being  taken  in  every  night. 
Drying. — The  cloves  are  dried  on  mats  in  direct  sunlight.  The 
drying  is  continued  for  the  space  of  6  days  or  one'  week.  Green 
cloves,  dry  down  to  about  half  their  weight ;  thus  1  frasila,1  green, 
1  1  frasila  =  35  lbs. 
