the Nutmeg-tree, in botany: A genus of plants belonging to the clas diecia, and order Syngenesia, in the New Genera Plantarum of Linneus by Shreber; and of the natural order Lauri, in his fourth clas Monocotyledones.—The male calyx is monophyllous, strong, and parted into three lacinii of an oval shape, and ending in a point; it has no corolla. In the middle of the receptacle rises a column of the height of the calyx; to the upper part of which the antheræ are attached. They vary in number from three to twelve or thirteen.—The female calyx and corolla as in the male, on a distinct tree. The germens of an oval shape; the style short, with a bifid stigma; the lacinii of which are oval and spreading.—The fruit is of that sort called drupa. It is fleshy, roundish, sometimes unilocular, sometimes bivalved, and bursts when ripe at the side. The seed is enveloped with a fleshy and fatty membranous substance, which divides into filaments (this, in one of the species, is the mace of the shops). The seed or nutmeg is round or oval shaped, unilocular, and contains a small kernel, variegated on the surface by the fibres running in the form of a screw.
Species. There are five species of this genus according Myrifica, according to some authors; but several of these being only varieties, may be reduced to three, viz.
1. Myrifica fatua, or wild nutmeg: this grows in Tobago, and rises to the height of an apple-tree; has oblong, lanceolate, downy leaves, and hairy fruit:—the nutmeg of which is aromatic, but when given inwardly is narcotic, and occasions drunkenness, delirium, and madness, for a time. See a figure in Gaertner de Serm and Fruct. T. 4 r. f. 3. 4.
2. The myrifica sebifera, (Virola Silifera Aublet, page 904. Tab. 345.) A tree frequent in Guiana, rising to 40 or even to 60 feet high; on wounding the trunk of which, a thick, acrid, red juice runs out. Aublet says nothing of the nutmegs being aromatic; he only observes, that a yellow fat is obtained from them, which serves many economical and medical purposes, and that the natives make candles of it.
3. The myrifica moschata, or nutmeg, attains the height of 30 feet, producing numerous branches which rise together in stories, and covered with bark, which of the trunk is a reddish brown, but that of the young branches is of a bright green colour: the leaves are nearly elliptical, pointed, undulated, obliquely nerved, on the upper side of a bright green, on the under whitish, and stand alternately upon footstalks: the flowers are small, and hang upon slender peduncles, proceeding from the axilla of the leaves: they are both male and female upon separate trees.
M. Schwartz, who has carefully examined this as well as the two first species, preserved in spirits, places them amongst the monodelphia.
The nutmeg has been supposed to be the Comacum of Theophrastus, but there seems little foundation for this opinion; nor can it with more probability be thought to be the Chrysobalanos of Galen. Our first knowledge of it was evidently derived from the Arabians; by Avicenna it was called jauabian, or jauaband, which signifies nut of banda. Rumphius both figured and described this tree; but the figure given by him is so imperfect, and the description so confused, that Linnaeus, who gave it the generic name myrifica, was unable to assign its proper characters.—Sonnar's account of the mucedier is still more erroneous; and the younger Linnaeus was unfortunately misled by this author, placing the myrifica in the clasps Polyandria, and describing the corolla as consisting of five petals. Thunberg, who examined the flower of the nutmeg, places it in the clasps Monoeia; and according to his description, the male flower has but one filament, surrounded at the upper part by the antheræ; and as the filaments are short and slender, and the antheræ united, this mistake might easily arise. M. De La Marek informs us, that he received several branches of the myrifica, both in flower and fruit, from the Isle of France, where a nutmeg-tree, which was introduced by Monsieur Poivre in 1770, is now very large, and continually producing flowers and fruit. From these branches, which were sent from Mons. Cere, director of the king's garden in that island, Mons. De La Marek has been enabled to describe and figure this and other species of the myrifica with tolerable accuracy: and that we have profited by his labours, will appear from the annexed plate, of which the following is an explanation:
Fig. a. A sprig with fructification. The drupa of the natural size, and bursting open. Fig. b. The full grown fruit cut lengthways. Fig. c. Another section of the same. Fig. d. The nutmeg enveloped with its covering the mace. Fig. e. The fatty membrane or mace spread out. Fig. f. The nutmeg of its natural size. Fig. g. The same with its external tegument removed at one end. Fig. h. The same with its outer tegument entirely removed. Fig. i. A transverse section of the nutmeg. Fig. l. and z. Sprigs of the Myrifica moschata in flower, with a leaf of the natural size, and a representation of the calyx and column in the flower.
The seeds or kernels called nutmegs are well known, as they have been long used both for culinary and medical purposes. Distilled with water, they yield a large quantity of essential oil, resembling in flavour the spice itself; after the distillation, an insipid febrile matter is found swimming on the water; the decoction infusitated, gives an extract of an unctuous, very lightly bitterish taste, and with little or no astrigency. Rectified spirit extracts the whole virtue of nutmegs by infusion, and elevates very little of it in distillation; hence the spirituous extract possesses the flavour of the spice in an eminent degree.
Nutmegs, when heated, yield to the press a considerable quantity of limpid yellow oil, which on cooling concretes into a febraceous consistence. In the shops we meet with three sorts of unctuous substances, called oil of mace, though really expressed from the nutmeg. The best is brought from the East Indies in stone jars; this is of a thick, confluence, of the colours of mace, and has an agreeable fragrant smell; the second sort, which is paler coloured, and much inferior in quality, comes from Holland in solid masses, generally flat, and of a square figure: the third, which is the worst of all, and usually called common oil of mace, is an artificial composition of sebum, palm oil, and the like, flavoured with a little genuine oil of nutmeg.
Method of gathering and preparing Nutmeg. When the fruit is ripe, the natives ascend the trees, and gather it by pulling the branches to them with long hooks. Some are employed in opening them immediately, and in taking off the green shell or first rhind, which is laid together in a heap in the woods, where in time it putrefies. As soon as the putrefaction has taken place, there spring up a kind of mushrooms, called boleti moschatyni, of a blackish colour, and much valued by the natives, who consider them as delicate eating. When the nuts are stripped of their first rhind they are carried home, and the mace is carefully taken off with a small knife. The mace, which is of a beautiful red, but afterwards assumes a darkish or reddish colour, is laid to dry in the sun for the space of a day, and is then removed to a place less exposed to the rays, where it remains for eight days, that it may soften a little. They afterwards moisten it with sea-water, to prevent it from drying too much, or losing its oil. They are careful, however, not to employ too much water, lest it should become putrid, and be devoured by the worms. It is last of all put into small bags, and squeezed very close. Mace must not be confounded with macer. See the word Macer.
The nuts, which are still covered with their ligneous shell, are for three days exposed to the sun, and afterwards afterwards dried before a fire till they emit a sound when they are shaken; they then beat them with small sticks in order to remove their shell, which flies off in pieces. These nuts are distributed into three parcels; the first of which contains the largest and most beautiful, which are destined to be brought to Europe; the second contains such as are reserved for the use of the inhabitants; and the third contains the smallest, which are irregular or unripe. These are burnt; and part of the rest is employed for procuring oil by pressure. A pound of them commonly gives three ounces of oil, which has the consistence of tallow, and has entirely the taste of nutmeg. Both the nut and mace, when distilled, afford an essential, transparent, and volatile oil, of an excellent flavour.
The nutmegs which have been thus selected would soon corrupt if they were not watered, or rather pickled, with lime-water made from calcined shell-fish, which they dilute with salt-water till it attain the consistence of fluid pap. Into this mixture they plunge the nutmegs, contained in small baskets, two or three times, till they are completely covered over with the liquor. They are afterwards laid in a heap, where they heat, and lose their superfluous moisture by evaporation. When they have sweated sufficiently, they are then properly prepared, and fit for a sea-voyage.
In the island of Banda, the fruit of the nutmeg-tree is preserved entire in the following manner: When it is almost ripe, but previous to its opening, it is boiled in water and pierced with a needle. They next lay it in water to soak for ten days, till it has lost its four and sharp taste. They then boil it gently in a syrup of sugar, to which, if they wish it to be hard, a little lime is added. This operation is repeated for eight days, and each time the syrup is renewed. The fruit when thus preserved is put for the last time into a pretty thick syrup, and is kept in earthen pots closely shut.
These nuts are likewise pickled with brine or with vinegar; and when they intend to eat them, they first steep them in fresh water, and afterwards boil them in syrup of sugar, &c.
Uses. Nutmegs preserved entire are presented as deserts, and the inhabitants of India sometimes eat them when they drink tea. Some of them use nothing but the pulp; others likewise chew the mace; but they generally throw away the kernel, which is really the nutmeg. Many who perform sea-voyages to the north chew this fruit every morning.
The medicinal qualities of nutmeg are supposed to be aromatic, anodyne, stomachic, and refringent; and with a view to the last mentioned effects, it has been much used in diarrhoeas and dysenteries. To many people the aromatic flavour of nutmeg is very agreeable; they however should be cautious not to use it in large quantities, as it is apt to affect the head, and even to manifest an hypnotic power in such a degree as to prove extremely dangerous. Bontius speaks of this as a frequent occurrence in India; and Dr Cullen relates a remarkable instance of this soporific effect of the nutmeg, which fell under his own observation, and hence concludes, that in apoplectic and paralytic cases this spice may be very improper. He observes, that a person by mistake took two drams or a little more of powered nutmeg: he felt it warm in his stomach, without any uneasiness; but in about an hour after he had taken it he was seized with a drowsiness, which gradually increased to a complete stupor and insensibility; and not long after he was found fallen from his chair, lying on the floor of his chamber in the state mentioned. Being laid a-bed he fell asleep; but waking a little from time to time, he was quite delirious; and he thus continued alternately sleeping and delirious for several hours. By degrees, however, both these symptoms diminished; so that in about six hours from the time of taking the nutmeg he was pretty well recovered from both. Although still complained of head-ach, and some drowsiness, he slept naturally and quietly the following night, and next day was quite in his ordinary health.
The officinal preparations of nutmeg are a spirit and essential oil, and the nutmeg in sublimate roasted, to render it more aromatic. Both the spice itself and its essential oil enter several compositions, as the confection aromatica, spiritus amonis com. &c. Mace possesses qualities similar to those of the nutmeg, but is less aromatic, and its oil is supposed to be more volatile and acrid.
Remarks on the Trade of Nutmegs. Nutmeg-trees grow in several islands in the eastern ocean. The wood-pigeon of the Moluccas is unintentionally a great planter of these trees, and disseminates them in places where a nation, powerful by its commerce, thinks it for its interest that they should be rooted out and destroyed. The Dutch, whose unwearied patience can surmount the greatest obstructions, have appropriated to themselves the crop of nutmeg, as well as that of cloves and cinnamon, growing in the islands of Ternate, Ceylon, &c. either by right of conquest or by paying subsidies to the islanders, who find these much more profitable than the former produce of their trees. It is nevertheless true, that they have prevailed upon or compelled the inhabitants of the Moluccas to cut down and root out all the clove-trees, which they have preserved only in the islands of Ambona and Ternate, which are in a great measure subject to them. We know for certain, that the Dutch pay 18,000 rixdollars yearly to the king of Ternate, by way of tribute or gift, in order to recompense him for the loss of his clove-trees in the other Molucca islands; and that they are moreover bound by treaty to take at 3½d. a pound, all the cloves brought by the natives of Ambona to their magazines. They have likewise succeeded to destroy the cinnamon everywhere except in the island of Ceylon, which is in their possession. The same is the case with white pepper, &c. So that the trade of the whole of Europe, and of great part of Asia in this species of commodity, passes through their hands.
The Dutch have immense and very rich magazines of these precious aromatics, both in India and Europe. They have actually by them the produce of 16 years, and never supply their neighbours with the last, but always with the oldest crop: in 1760 they sold what was laid up in 1744. It is commonly said, that when the Dutch have too great a quantity of cloves, nutmeg, &c. in their magazines, they throw them into the sea; but the fact is, that they get rid of their superfluous aromatics by burning them. On the Myrmeco. the 10th of June 1763, M. Beaumare saw at Amsterdam, near the Admiralty, a fire, the fuel of which was valued at 8,000,000 of livres; and as much was to be burnt on the day following. The feet of the spectators were bathed in the essential oil of these substances; but no person was allowed to gather any of it, much less to take any of the spices which were in the fire. Some years before, upon a similar occasion, and at the same place, a poor man who had taken up some nutmegs which had rolled out of the fire, was, as M. Beaumare was informed, seized and condemned to immediate execution. We will only add, that notwithstanding the jealousy of the Dutch, and the pains they take to preserve the sale of cloves wholly to themselves, they have never been able to prevent their own officers in several parts of India from embezzling and selling considerable quantities of them. M. de Jaucourt informs us, that in order to defraud the company, they sell them to the vessels of other nations which they meet at sea, and moisten the remainder with water, that they may still have the number of quintals of which their cargo consisted. The quantity sold may amount to 10 quintals in 100 before it can be perceived by the clerks of the magazines at Batavia, where they are received.
We are informed by M. Romé de Lisle, who has lately arrived from India, that the English draw a great deal of cinnamon, pepper, and cloves, from the island of Sumatra. The staple for this commodity, which gives great offence to the Dutch, is at the factory of Bengoolen. We have likewise seen a specimen of pretty good cinnamon raised at Martinico — The French, to prevent the exportation of spice for these aromatic and exotic productions, have attempted to introduce the culture of them into some of their colonies. A great many plants of the clove and nutmeg-tree have been procured, and planted in the Isle of France, the island of Bourbon, and also at Cayenne, where they have a very promising appearance.