AmMay;i!9h2arm-}     Nutmeg  Cultivation  in  Jamaica.  261 
the  purpose  of  breaking  the  wind  as  well  as  for  shade.  The  trees 
are  a  longtime  coming  to  maturity,  not  producing  a  crop,  as  a  rule, 
till  they  are  nine  years  old  ;  and  only  when  they  first  flower,  at  six 
or  seven  years  of  age,  is  it  possible  to  determine  whether  they  are 
male  or  female.  A  very  small  proportion  of  male  trees  is  left  for 
fertilization  by  insects  ;  the  rest  are  cut  down  and  fresh  plants  are 
substituted.  The  fertile  trees  continue  to  produce  for  seventy  or 
eighty  years.  On  an  average,  each  tree  will  yield  10  pounds  of  nut- 
megs and  about  1  pound  of  mace  every  year  ;  and,  when  highly 
manured,  it  is  said  that  they  will  produce  ten  times  that  amount. 
In  connection  with  the  same -subject,  a  note  on  the  curing  of  nut- 
megs in  Grenada  is  given  in  the  November  number  of  the  Jamaica 
Bulletin,  the  details  of  which  may  be  of  service  to  those  who  are 
starting  the  culture.  The  process  is  said  to  be  that  which  is  adopted 
for  preparing  the  nutmegs  for  the  London  market.  The  nutmegs 
are  picked  up  from  under  the  trees  every  day  except  Sunday.  On 
being  brought  into  the  boucan,  the  mace  is  peeled  off  and  pressed 
flat  between  heavy  blocks  of  wood,  where  it  is  left  for  two  or  three 
days,  then  put  into  a  case  and  left  till  it  reaches  the  proper 
color.  The  nutmegs  are  put  into  receptacles  (with  fine  mesh  bot- 
toms so  that  the  air  can  pass  through),  inside  the  boucan,  and  left 
there  for  three  weeks  or  a  month,  in  fact  until  the  nut  begins  to 
shake  inside  the  shell.  They  are  then  shown  the  sun  for  a  couple 
of  hours  a  day  for  two  or  three  days.  After  this  they  are  cracked. 
Great  care  is  necessary  here,  for  if  the  outside  shell  is  struck  too 
hard  it  makes  a  black  spot  in  the  nutmeg,  which  affects  the  value 
considerably.  When  cracked,  the  nuts  are  sorted  according  to  size, 
put  into  ordinary  flour  barrels  and  shipped.  Regarding  the  value 
of  the  produce  of  nutmeg  trees  when  in  full  bearing,  it  is  stated  that 
one  grower  in  1883  realized  from  two  trees  as  much  as  £30.— 
Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts ;  Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  Feb.  13, 
1892,  p.  656. 
Compound  Elixir  of  Iodine  is  the  name  suggested  by  Wm.  Pepper,  M.D. 
{University  Med.  Magaz.,  Feb.,  1892,  p.  376),  for  a  preparation  made  by 
dissolving  phosphorus,  grain,  and  iodine  and  bromine,  each,  l/e  grain,  in  one 
drachm  of  simple  elixir.  It  has  been  used  with  considerable  satisfaction  in 
cases  of  torpid  circulation  with  subacute  gastric  catarrh,  and  of  subacute 
bronchitis  with  a  relaxed  and  atonic  state  of  the  system.  An  elixir  of 
balsam  or  of  white  pine  may  be  used  as  the  solvent,  to  wn*ich:  the  name  of 
Compound  elixir  of  pine  might  be  appropriate. 
