The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Part 57

1840 329,310 1841 1,261,648 1842 1,312,804 1843 2,470,502 1844 1,278,413

40,000 lbs. were received from India in 1848; and 3,795 arrobas of ca.s.sia were exported from Manila in 1847. In 1852, 2,806 cwts. of ca.s.sia were received at Singapore from China, and 1,380 cwts. exported from that settlement to the Continent, against 903 cwts. shipped in the previous year.

What the Ceylon spice-grower wants, is an extended field of operation--a larger cla.s.s of consumers to take off his cinnamon, and this can only be obtained by bringing it within the means of the great ma.s.s of ca.s.sia buyers.

Look at the quant.i.ty of cinnamon exported by the Dutch in the middle of the eighteenth century. Eight or nine thousand bales a year were exported, and now, after a lapse of a hundred years, Ceylon hardly sends away half that quant.i.ty. Yet the consumption of spice must have kept pace with the increased population of countries using it, and so it has. But the difference is made up, and more than made up, by ca.s.sia from China, Java, Sumatra, Malabar Coast, &c., and though the new article is not equal to the cinnamon of Ceylon, yet the vast difference in the price obtains for it the preference. Now what the Ceylon planter wants, is to be allowed to produce a spice on equal terms, and of a superior quality to ca.s.sia, which might be done under an _ad valorem_ export duty of 5 per cent. Spice of this description of course could not afford the high cultivation bestowed on the fine qualities, neither would it be required. In fact little or no cultivation need be given it. At present anything inferior to the third sort is not worth producing, because it cannot stand the shilling export duty. But under a more enlightened system of things, with a low duty such as I suggest, myriads of bushes would spring up on those low, sandy, and at present unprofitable wastes that skirt the sea-coast of the western province, around Negombo and Chilaw.

The difference of duty would be more than made up by the diffusion of capital in planting, the employment of vast numbers of laborers, the purchase from Government of many thousand acres of now valueless flats, and all the attendant benefits arising out of the development of a new field of operation for the colonial industrial resources.[50]

The ca.s.sia tree grows naturally to the height of 50 or 60 feet, with large, spreading, horizontal branches. The peelers take off the two barks together, and separating the rough outer one, which is of no value, they lay the inner bark to dry, which rolls up and becomes the _Ca.s.sia lignea_ of commerce. It resembles cinnamon in taste, smell and appearance. The best is imported from China, either direct from Canton, or through Singapore, in small tubes or quills, sometimes the thickness of the ordinary pipes of cinnamon and of the same length; but usually they are shorter and thicker, and the bark itself coa.r.s.er.

It is of a tolerably smooth surface and brownish color, with some cast of red, but much less so than cinnamon. The exports from China are said to be about five million pounds annually; price about 32s. per cwt. In 1850, 6,509 piculs of ca.s.sia lignea (nearly one million pounds), valued at 87,850 dollars, were shipped from the single port of Canton. Ca.s.sia bark is of a less fibrous texture, and more brittle, and it is also distinguished from cinnamon by a want of pungency, and by being of a mucilaginous or gelatinous quality.

Ca.s.sIA BUDS are the dried flower buds (perianth and ovary) of the ca.s.sia tree, and are mostly brought from China. They bear some resemblance to a clove, but are smaller, and when fresh have a rich cinnamon flavor. They should be chosen round, fresh, and free from stalk and dirt. They are used chiefly in confectionery, and have the flavor and pungency of ca.s.sia. The exports from Canton in 1844 were 21,500 lbs.; in 1850, 44,140 lbs., valued at 7,400 dollars. The average quant.i.ty of ca.s.sia buds imported into the United Kingdom, in each of the thirteen years ending with 1842, was 40,231 lbs.; the average quant.i.ty entered for home consumption in these years was 6,610 lbs., and the average annual amount of duty received was 312.

Ca.s.sia bark yields a yellow volatile oil, called oil of ca.s.sia, the finer kind of which differs but little in its properties from that of cinnamon, for which it is generally subst.i.tuted; it has a specific gravity of 1071. The best is manufactured in China, where the wood, bark, leaves and oil are all in request. The ca.s.sia oil is rated at 150 dollars per picul, and the trade in this article reaches about 250,000 dollars.

CANELLA ALBA, or wild cinnamon, is a valuable and ornamental tree, growing about fifteen feet high, which is cultivated in South America and the West Indies for its pungent bark, which is shipped to this country in bales or cases, in long quills and flat pieces, something like cinnamon. Large old cuttings root readily in the sand. It is grown chiefly in the Bahama Islands, from whence we derive our supplies.

By the Caribs, the ancient natives of the West Indies, and the negroes, it was first employed as a condiment. In this country it is chiefly used as an aromatic stimulant and tonic, ranking between cinnamon and cloves. The bark possesses, however, no other quality than its hot spicy flavor and strong aromatic odor when exposed to the action of heat.

CASCARILLA BARK is obtained chiefly from the _Croton cascarilla_, a small shrub growing at St. Domingo, the Bahama Islands, and the Antilles. The chief portion comes from Eleuthera. In Hayti a pleasant kind of tea is made from the leaves. Other species of the family supply some of the bark of commerce.

From its strong and aromatic properties it has been found very efficacious in all febrile diseases, and vies with the Jesuits' bark; as a tonic it has very wholesome qualities, a pleasant and strong bitterness, and was for some time held in considerable repute among the faculty.

About twenty years ago, large shipments were made from the Bahamas.

It was found, upon adulteration with hops, to reduce the cost of that article, and for the encouragement of the hop grower a prohibitory impost was laid upon it by the Home Government, consequently it became an unsaleable product.

The sea-side balsam, or sweet wood (_Croton Eleuteria_), from which some cascarilla bark is obtained, grows in the Bahama Islands and Jamaica, but almost all the bark imported comes from Na.s.sau, New Providence. In 1840, 15,000 lbs. were imported for home consumption.

This bark produces the combined effect of an aromatic and of a moderately powerful tonic; but it does not possess any astringency. It has been employed as a subst.i.tute for cinchona. When burned it gives out a musky odor, and is often used in pastiles.

The value of this bark ranges, according to quality, from 17s. 6d. to 43 s. per cwt.

CLOVES.

The cloves of commerce are obtained from the flower buds of _Caryophyllus aromaticus (Eugenia caryophyllata_), which was originally a native of the Moluccas, but is now cultivated in several parts of the East and West Indies. They have the form of a nail, and when examined are seen to consist of the tubular calyx with a roundish projection, formed by the unopened petals. It is a very handsome tree, growing to the height of about twenty feet. The trunk is straight, and rises four or five feet before it throws out branches. The bark is smooth, thin, of a grey color, and the wood of the trunk too hard for ordinary cabinet work.

The leaves are opposite, smooth, narrow, pointed, of a rupous color above, and green on the under side. They have a very aromatic odor when bruised between the fingers. The flowers produced in branched peduncles, at the extremity of the bough, are of a delicate peach color. The elongated calyx, forming the seed vessel, first changes to yellow, and, when ripe, red, which is from October to December, and in this state it is fit to gather. If left for a few weeks longer on the trees, they expand, and become what are termed "mother cloves," fit only for seed or for candying. The ground under the tree is first swept clean, or else a mat or cloth is spread. The nearest cl.u.s.ters are taken off with the hand, and the more distant by the aid of crooked sticks. Great care should be taken not to injure the tree, as it would prevent future bearing.

The cloves are then prepared for shipment by smoking them on hurdles near a slow wood fire, to give them a brown color, after which they are further dried in the sun. They may then be cut off from the flower branches with the nails, and will be found to be purple colored within, and fit to be baled for the European market. In some places they are scalded in hot water before being smoked, but this is not common. The tree may be propagated either from layers or seed. Layers will root in five or six months if kept moist.

A strong dark loam, a gravelly, sandy, or clayey soil, but one not retentive of moisture, seems that best suited for its successful culture.

It does not thrive well near the sea, nor in the higher mountains, the spray of the sea and the cold being found injurious. The plants at first require the shade of other trees, such as the mango, coco-nut, &c. Although generally a hardy plant, it suffers from excessive drought. They should be planted about twenty feet apart. In its native country the tree begins to yield fruit in the sixth year, but a crop can seldom be looked for in other quarters under eight years. It is very long lived, sometimes attaining the age of 130 years.

There appears, according to Mr. Crawfurd, to be five varieties of the clove, viz.--the ordinary cultivated clove; a kind called the female clove by the natives, which has a pale stem; the kiri or loory clove; the royal clove, which is very scarce, and the wild clove. The three first are equally valuable as spices, the female clove being considered fittest for the distillation of essential oil. The wild clove, having scarcely any aromatic flavor, is valueless.

The produce which may be expected from the tree seems to be uncertain; it may, however, be averaged at five or six pounds. A clove tree, well weeded and taken care of, will produce from five to twenty pounds. On the other hand, a tree that is neglected will not give above two or three pounds. At intervals of from three to six years they usually produce one extraordinary crop, but then a year now and then intervenes, when they yield none at all; in others they will afford a double harvest.

The clove tree was originally confined to the five princ.i.p.al Molucca islands, and chiefly to Machean. From these it was conveyed to Amboyna, a very short time only before the arrival of the Portuguese.

By them the cultivation was strictly restricted to Amboyna, every effort being made to extirpate the plant elsewhere.

It has now, however, spread to Java, Singapore, and the Straits'

Settlements, Ceylon, the Mauritius and Seych.e.l.les, Bourbon, Zanzibar, Cayenne, Dominica, Martinique, St. Kitts, St. Vincent, and Trinidad.

Cloves contain a volatile oil, a.s.sociated with resinous, gummy, and astringent matter, which is yielded in larger proportion than by any other plant. Neuman obtained by distillation two ounces and two drachms from sixteen ounces of cloves. On an average cloves yield from 17 to 22 per cent. of oil, including the heavy and light oils. The oil is aromatic and acrid, and has been used as a condiment and a stimulant carminative. It is also extensively used by distillers and soap makers.

It is said that the clove does not thrive well on the soil of Java, the plantations of which trial had been made not having succeeded to the extent expected, although they were directed by skilled persons from Amboyna; the places they made choice of did not differ materially as to soil and climate from those of the Moluccas.

M. Teysman, Director of the Botanical Gardens at Batavia, seems to have bestowed much attention on the subject. The exports however from the island have been considerable. In 1830, there were 803 piculs shipped; in 1835, 4,566; in 1839, 2,334; in 1843, 2,027 piculs of 133 lbs.

M. Buee, who introduced the culture of the clove in the island of Dominica, about 1789, thus describes the results of his experience, which may be useful to other experimental cultivators. He obtained a few plants from Cayenne, and raised 1,600 trees from seed, which, in a year from the first sowing, were transplanted. The seeds were sown at about six inches apart from each other, in beds; over these beds small frames were erected about three feet from the ground, and plantain leaves were spread on the top, in order to shelter the young plants from the sun. The leaves were allowed gradually to decay, and at the end of nine months the young plants, which by that time were strong, were permitted to receive the benefit of the sun; but if not protected from it when very young, they were found to droop and die.

When transplanted, the trees were placed at sixteen feet apart from each other. They grew very luxuriantly, and at the end of fifteen months after their removal, attained the height of from three to four feet. The ground wherein they were planted had been a coffee plantation during forty years. The coffee trees had decayed, and an attempt had been made to replace them; but they refused to grow; whereas the clove plants flourished as if on congenial soil, and a crop was gathered on some of them when they were not more than six years old, which period is two or three years earlier than the usual time for gathering.

The cloves sent from St. Vincent to England in 1800, were obtained from trees eight feet high, having a stem only two inches in diameter.

Trial was made in that island of the relative growth of the plant on different soils; it grew sickly on land which was not manured, but on land which had received this preparation it flourished.

In Singapore, about ten years ago, there were then about 15,000 clove trees planted out, a few of which only had come in bearing. If these plantations had proved equally productive with those of the sister settlement of Pinang, it would have been able to export 60,000 lbs. of cloves, its own produce; but this expectation, it will be seen, has not been realised. In the season of 1841-42, there was 1000 piculs of cloves shipped from Pinang, but none were exported in the two previous years.

The quant.i.ty of land under cultivation with cloves there, in 1843, was 463 orlongs in Prince of Wales Island, and 517 in Province Wellesley.

The number of trees planted out in the former island was 72,779; in the latter province 7,639. There were in the island 25,161 plants in nursery.

The trees in bearing were--In Prince of Wales Island, 28,739; not bearing, 44,040; produce in 1843, 87 piculs, 50 catties; gross value, 3,399 dollars; estimated produce of cloves for 1844, 469 piculs. In Province Wellesley--Trees in bearing, 1,073; not bearing, 6,566; produce in 1843, 1 picul, 13 catties; gross value 45 dollars.

The export of cloves from Pinang was, in 1849, 24,000 lbs.; in 1850, 52,400; in 1851, 27,866; in 1852, 45,087.

From tabular statements drawn up in 1844, by Mr. F.S. Brown, Chairman of the Pinang Chamber of Commerce, it appears that there were, in 1843, in that island and Province Wellesley adjoining, 96 clove plantations, containing 80,418 clove trees; besides many young trees in nurseries ready to be planted out. The produce of cloves there, in 1842, was 11,813 lbs., and this was a very short crop, it having that year proved a complete failure; the average crop for some years previous had been 46,666 lbs. Pinang only began to export this spice in 1832. Of the clove trees in Pinang there were then only 29,812 in bearing, leaving 75,767 in that settlement alone to come to maturity; estimated to yield about 300,000 lbs.

No success has attended repeated trials of cloves in Singapore. Until the trees reach the age of bearing, they grow and look extremely well; but any expectation of a crop that may have been raised by their hitherto fine condition, ends in disappointment, for just then the trees a.s.sume the appearance of sudden blight, as if lightning-stricken, and then die. 125 clove plants and 350 seedlings were sent to Singapore from Bencoolen, by Sir T. Raffles, in the close of 1819; but although every care was paid them--while the nutmegs which accompanied them throve amazingly well--little or no progress has been made with clove culture. Two or three hundred-weight were shipped in 1845, but since then hardly any mention is made of the spice.

In a pet.i.tion presented by the spice planters of Pinang and Province Wellesley, to the authorities at home, in 1844, praying that the duty on British Colonial nutmegs, mace, and cloves might be reduced to 1s.

9d., 1s. 3d., and 3d. respectively, on importation into England, in order to compete with foreign produce, it was stated that a few years hence Prince of Wales Island might be expected to produce 600,000 lbs.

of nutmegs, 200,000 lbs. of mace, and 300,000 lbs. of cloves; whilst Singapore, if equally successful in the culture of the same, would yield yearly 137,000 lbs. of nutmegs, 45,000 lbs. of mace, and 60,000 lbs. of cloves. In short, the planters needed only encouragement to produce in the course of a few years a full supply of those valuable spices for the whole consumption of Great Britain.

Dr. Ruschenberger, who visited Zanzibar in 1835, thus speaks of the clove plantations there:--"As far as the eye could reach over a beautifully undulated land, nothing was to be seen but clove trees of different ages, varying in height from five to twenty feet. The form of the tree is conical, the branches grow at nearly right angles with the trunk, and they begin to shoot a few inches above the ground. The plantation contains nearly four thousand trees, and each tree yields on an average six pounds of cloves a year; they are carefully picked by hand, and then dried in the shade; we saw numbers of slaves standing on ladders gathering the spice, while others were at work clearing the ground of dead leaves. The whole is in the finest order, presenting a picture of industry and of admirable neatness and beauty.

They were introduced into Zanzibar in 1818, from Mauritius, and are found to thrive so well that almost everybody in the island is now clearing away the cocoa nut to make way for them. The clove bears in five or six years from the seed; of course time enough has not yet elapsed for the value and quant.i.ty of Zanzibar cloves to be generally known; they are worth, however, in the Bombay market, about 30s. the Surat maund of 39 lbs.; the price for Molucca cloves in the Eastern market is from 28 to 30 dollars per picul of 133 lbs.; for those of Mauritius, 20 to 24 dollars per picul."

The average annual consumption of cloves in the United Kingdom, in the four years ending 1841, was 49,000 lbs. The largest quant.i.ty of cloves imported during the past twenty-five years was 1,041,171 lbs., in 1847. The quant.i.ties imported and entered for home consumption in the last five years have been as follows:--

Imports. Home consumption.

lbs. lbs.

1848 117,433 126,691 1849 274,713 133,713 1850 749,646 159,934 1851 253,439 138,132 1852 313,949 175,287

In 1848 we received 60,000 lbs. of cloves from British India.

THE NUTMEG.