Am.  Joui'.Pharm.l 
Aug.,  1892.  j 
Useful  Varieties  of  Nutmegs. 
437 
Holland  and  England,  they  are  now  regularly  imported  by  way  of 
Amsterdam  into  England  as  long  nutmegs,  and  they  have  been 
known  in  Germany  since  1890  as  horse  nutmegs.  Apart  from  the 
fact  that  the  aroma  is  not  so  delicate  the  nutmegs  are  also  very 
friable,  but  the  broken  fragments  can  be  used  for  the  production  of 
essential  oil.  They  are  also' very  liable  to  be  attacked  by  maggots 
even  when  they  have  been  limed.  The  aroma  is  very  permanent 
even  when  the  nutmegs  have  been  kept  for  a  number  of  years. 
Samples  dating  from  the  previous  century  have  still  a  strong  smell 
when  crushed. 
Hitherto,  the  mace  has  not  been  brought  into  commerce.  Samples 
of  it  brought  to  Europe  have  a  dirty  gray  to  brown-red  color, 
but  this  is  probably  due  to  defective  drying,  since  some  of  the  nut- 
megs brought  over  by  the  author  have  a  fine  dark  arillus  that  is 
very  oily,  and  has  a  powerful  odor.  It  is  uncertain  whether  in  dry- 
ing the  mace  would  acquire  the  yellowish  red  color  of  that  from  M. 
fragrans,  but  it  is  certainly  capable  of  being  made  useful  provided 
it  can  be  properly  prepared. 
These  nutmegs  would  come  into  actual  competition  with  true 
nutmeg,  only  in  the  event  of  their  being  carefully  cultivated  and 
gathered,  as  the  produce  of  M.  fragrans  is  in  Hainen,  and  it  is  not 
improbable  that  their  lower  price  would  be  compensated  by  a  larger 
yield 
The  nutmegs  of  M.  argentea  differ  from  true  nutmegs  in  their 
narrow,  long  shape,  and  the  relatively  less  marked  arillus  furrows. 
The  arillus  generally  consists  of  four  broad  stripes,  which  are  united 
above  and  below.    The  same  with  the  hard  shell  is  from  3^  to  41^ 
becomes  gradually  narrower  towards  the  end,  externally  of  a  bright 
red -brown  color  when  fresh,  but  as  met  with  in  commerce  it  is 
generally  rubbed  and  of  a  yellow-brown  color.  The  fruit  is 
imbedded  in  a  very  thick  pericarp,  and  when  fresh  it  is  from  4^  to 
6y2  cm.  long  and  4^  to  5^  cm.  broad.  The  testa  is  nearly  1 
mm.  thick.  The  endosperm  contains  much  starch,  and  the  brown 
runcination  streaks,  which  alone  contain  the  aroma,  are  more  scat- 
tered and  coarser-  than  in  true  nutmegs.  The  cotyledons  are  joined 
in  a  disc  swelled  at  its  edges  to  5  mm.  diameter. 
Among  other  available  kinds  of  nutmegs,  the  author  mentioned 
M.  succedanea,  Reinw.,  discovered  by  Reinwardt  in  the  island  of 
It  is  broadest  at  the  base  and 
