Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/556

 542 NUTMEG but usually solitary ; the single pistil is with- out a style, and has a small two-lobed stigma. The fruit is pear-shaped or nearly spherical, about the size of the peach, and consists of a fleshy pericarp or capsule, which at maturity breaks open in two nearly equal valves, and exposes the contained seed and its appendages ; this exterior portion of the fruit is about half an inch thick, of a yellowish brown color, and has an astringent juice ; in collecting the crop this is thrown away as useless, but in its young state it is sometimes made into a sweetmeat with brandy and sugar. Within this husk is the seed, surrounded by a fleshy, much divided, bright scarlet arillus, a growth which starts from the f uniculus, or little stalk which sup- ports the ovule, and increases as that ripens, and at maturity it envelops the seed so com- pletely that there are only here and there a few apertures through which it is visible ; the arillus in drying loses its scarlet color and be- comes yellowish brown, horny in texture, and brittle ; it is then known as mace. The seed or nut within the mace has a hard, dark brown shell, about a line thick, enclosing the kernel or nucleus, which is the nutmeg of commerce ; this is pale brown, and smooth when freshly deprived of its shell, but it becomes much wrinkled by drying; it consists principally of the large albumen of the seed, closely invested by a very thin inner covering, folds or pro- cesses from which penetrate the albumen and give it the well known marbled appearance ; the albumen abounds in oil, which is chiefly con- tained in the dark veins; the embryo, lodged in a cavity at the base of the albumen, has two fan-shaped cotyledons and a very short radicle. The nutmeg tree is a native of the Moluccas, and has long been cultivated, especially in the group known as the Banda islands. The plants come into bearing in about eight years from the seed, and reach their maximum productive- ness in 15 years ; they are said to continue in bearing for 70 or 80 years. While the tree has ripe fruit upon it at all seasons, there are three periods of harvesting : July and August, when the fruit is most abundant, but the mace thin- ner than at the second harvest; November, when the nuts are smaller, with thicker mace ; and March or early April, when both nuts and mace are in the greatest perfection, but the season being dry their number is not so great. The average product is about 5 Ibs. of nutmegs and 1 Ib. of mace to each tree. The fruit is gathered by means of a barb at the end of a long stick ; the outer husk is removed, and the mace carefully separated by means of a knife ; this is then dried in the sun, or in wet weather by artificial heat; some flatten out the mace with the hands, and dry it in a single layer, while others dry it in double blades ; when it has attained the desired golden-brown color it is sprinkled with salt water, which is said to aid in its preservation, and packed in sacks for exportation. The nutmegs are placed upon gratings over a slow fire, and dried at a heat not exceeding 140 F. until the nut rattles freely in the shell, an operation requiring about two months ; the shells, then very brittle, are broken with a mallet, and the nutmegs sepa- rated. In some localities the nutmegs are dipped in milk of lime, with a view to prevent the attacks of insects, as well as to destroy their power of germinating. They have been sometimes exported in their shells, in order to preserve them more completely; but this in- creases the cost of transportation about one third. They are exported in tight casks which have been thoroughly smoked and then coated on the interior with lime wash. The true or round nutmeg is olive-shaped, and about an inch long, marked externally with a network of furrows which in limed nuts are filled with the lime ; in the unlimed the surface is ashy brown, and they are known as brown nutmegs; in- ternally the color is a pale reddish gray, with darker veins. Their odor is strongly aromatic, and, as well as the taste, pleasant and peculiar. The odor and the taste of mace, while closely analogous to those of nutmeg, are sufficiently distinct to be readily recognized ; both contain a volatile oil, upon which their flavor and aroma depend, as well as a solid and a liquid fat. Ac- cording to Bonastre, nutmegs contain, in 100 parts, volatile oil 6, liquid fat 7' 6, solid fat 24, woody fibre 54, besides starch, gum, &c. The volatile oil is obtained by distilling the nutmegs with water ; it is colorless or pale yellow, some- what viscid, and possesses in a high degree the characteristic odor and flavor of nutmegs. The solid fat, known as the expressed oil of nutmegs, butter of nutmegs, and oil of mace, is obtained by heating the nutmegs to a paste and expressing this, after exposure in a bag to steam, between heated plates. It is imported in cubes of the size and shape of a brick ; it is orange- colored and firm, and has the odor of nutmegs from a portion of the volatile oil it contains ; it was formerly used as a stimulant external appli- cation, and as an ingredient in plasters. The chief use of both nutmegs and mace is as a con- diment, especially for flavoring preparations of milk and farinaceous substances. In Germa- ny nutmeg is thought to promote the digestion of brassicaceous plants, and is often used in dressing cabbage and cauliflower. Medicinally nutmeg ranks as an aromatic stimulant, with narcotic powers in large doses. Two drachms have been known to produce drowsiness, fol- lowed by complete stupor and insensibility ; in mild diarrhoea it is regarded as a useful substi- tute for opium in doses of 20 to 30 grs. It is used in substance or in the form of spirit of nutmeg, to cover the taste or modify the action of purgative and other medicines. As nutmegs are not sold in the powdered state, they are not so subject to adulteration as are most other spices. If the volatile oil has been extracted by distillation, the nutmegs will be appreciably lighter ; their quality can be judged by their weight when handled, and by the oozing out of the oil when the surface is pricked with a