AMBOINA HERBAL Book II. Chap. VI.

EXPLANATION

Of the Fourth Plate,

Showing a branch of the Nutmeg original: Nucis Myristicae or Moschatae tree, called Pala by the inhabitants.
A. The fruit in its perfect state.
B. The Nutmeg at its proper size and maturity, as it bursts open, revealing the red Mace original: Macis (Latin) or Foely (Dutch), the lacy red covering of the seed.
C. The Nut removed and still wrapped in the Mace.
D. The Nut enclosed within its shell.
E. The Nut alone, removed from the shell.
F. The so-called Thieves' Nut, or Pala Pentsjoeri The Malay word pencuri means thief; these are often small or aborted fruits.
G. Pala Bacambar, or the Twin Nut.
H. Pala Radja, or the Royal Nut.

OBSERVATION.

This Nut-bearing tree was first named by Caspar Bauhin in his Pinax, where it is called the Round-fruited Nutmeg; it is shown under this name by Plukenet in Almagestum page 265 and Phytographia Plate 209 Figure 1, as well as by Breynius in the second edition of his Prodromus page 88. It is called the Female Aromatic Nut by Jean Bauhin in part 1, page 265, and by Willem Piso in Aromatic Matters page 173. It is also the Nutmeg of Mattioli, regarding which see Valentyn’s Reformed History of Simples, book 2, Section V, chapter VI, page 199 and following, and the letters in the same volume, number XXV, page 452. See also John Ray’s History of Plants, volume 3, appendix page 58, and Pomet’s General History of Drugs, chapter XII, page 201, who also in chapter X, page 199, shows and describes Cloves. Other references include Worm in his Museum page 164 and 210; Clusius in Exotics, book 1, chapters 15 and 16; the General History of Lyon, appendix page 5; Blackwell’s Herbal, Plate 353; Amman’s Handbook of Materia Medica, chapter 8, section 23, page 112; Samuel Dale’s Pharmacology in quarto, page 331; Paul Hermann’s Materia Medica, part 1, chapter 5, pages 96 and 97; Valentyn’s Description of Amboina, page 201, Number XXXIII; and Linschoten’s Travels, chapter 66, page 90, etc.

CHAPTER SIX

The Harvest and Cultivation of the Nutmeg.

The tree bearing the Nutmeg is laden with fruit throughout the entire year, whether they be newly budding, half-grown, or fully mature. However, this is not true of every individual tree. Properly speaking, three seasons are observed in any given year during which the mature fruits are harvested. The greatest Harvest occurs in the middle of the rainy months, specifically toward the end of July or in August; at that time, the trees are most heavily laden with fruit, though the mace is thinner than in the smaller crops, such as the one in November, which is called the Mette-kay-aroe crop and serves as a supplement to the first.
The third Harvest time, or collection of fruit, occurs in the month of March or the beginning of April, called the Oele-Monsoon original: Mousson-Oele. It is named after certain green worms of Amboina called Wau and Mulatte likely Palolo worms, which swarm in the sea according to lunar cycles, which are seen floating in the sea around the reefs and from which a good Atchar original: Aatjar, a type of savory pickle or condiment is prepared. This season of the year yields the best Nuts and the thickest mace, because the trees are not so overcrowded with fruit at that time, nor does so much rain fall. By contrast, in the months of July and August, there are often massive downpours mixed with wind, which frequently causes many fruits to be knocked from the tree or to fall while immature. These are nonetheless diligently gathered—an act the Dutch call raapen meaning "to scavenge" or "pick up". Their mace is indeed sold, though it is of lower quality than the rest; the nuts are smaller, lumpy, distorted, and wrinkled, which is why they are called rompen literally "shrivels" or "carcasses". The proper collection of the nuts is done as follows: once the nuts are ripe—the sign of which is when the outer husk takes on the light reddish color of a ripe peach and begins to split here and there while hanging from the tree—the inhabitants climb the trees. They use long hooks to pull the nuts down with a quick tug. This is done with less damage to the tree and less danger than the harvest of the Clove tree in Amboina, for this Nut-bearing tree has thicker branches.

EXPLANATION

Of the fourth Plate,

Depicting a branch of a Nutmeg Tree, named Pala by the Inlanders.
A. The complete fruit.
B. The Nutmeg in its proper size, as it bursts open when ripe, revealing the red Mace.
C. Its Nut removed, and enveloped by the Mace.
D. The Nut in its shell.
E. The peeled Nut alone.
F. Thieves' Nut, or Pala Pentsjoeri.
G. Pala Bacambar, or twin.
H. Pala Radja, or King's Nut.

OBSERVATION.

This Nut-bearing tree was first named by C. Bauhin in his Pinax as the Round-fruited Nutmeg. Under this name it was also presented by Plukenet in Almagestum page 265 and Phytographia Plate 209 Figure 1, as well as in the second edition of Breynius's Prodromus page 88. It was called Female Aromatic Nut by J. Bauhin in his first volume page 265 and Nutmeg by Mattioli and Piso in Aromatic Matters page 173. For more on this, see Valentyn in his Reformed History of Simples, book V, chapter VI, page 199 and following, and therein the 25th letter, page 452 and following, Plate 3, from the 5th to the 10th figure; and Ray in the History of Plants, volume 3, appendix page 58. Pomet in History of Drugs chapter XII, page 201, who also in Chapter X, page 199 depicted and described Cloves; as well as Worm in his Museum page 164 and page 210; and Clusius in Exotics, first book, chapters 15 and 16; and in the General History of Lyon, appendix page 5; as well as Blackwell’s Herbal, Plate 353; and Amman’s Handbook of Materia Medica, chapter 8, section 23, page 112; and Samuel Dale's Pharmacology in 4to, page 331; as well as Paul Hermann in his Materia Medica, part 1, chapter 5, pages 96 and 97. Furthermore, it is described by Valentyn in the Description of Amboina, page 201, and Number XXXIII (poorly illustrated), as well as in Linschoten’s Travel Description, chapter 66, page 90, etc.

CHAPTER VI.

Harvest, and Cultivation of the Nutmegs.

The Nut-tree is not without fruit throughout the whole year, whether with those just coming out, half-grown, or complete, although this does not happen to all trees. However, it properly has three Seasons in each year in which one plucks the ripe fruits: the largest harvest happens in the middle of the rainy Monsoon, namely at the end of July or August, and then the trees hang full of fruits, but the Mace is somewhat thinner than in the small crops, namely in November, which one calls the Mette-kay-aroe Monsoon, and is only a tail-end of the preceding harvest.
The third Monsoon, or in-gathering, falls in the month of March, or in the beginning of April, named Oele-Monsoon, after certain green worms called Wau and Mulatte by the Ambonese, which one finds floating in the Sea near the reefs at that time, and from which one makes good Atchar. And this Monsoon yields surely the best Nuts and the thickest Mace, because the trees do not hang so full of fruit then, and also not as much rain falls. On the contrary, in July and August, very strong rain showers and hard winds fall, through which it happens that many fruits are knocked off the trees, or fall off too early, which are nevertheless diligently gathered, and which one calls raapen, for the Mace is accepted, but is nonetheless poorer than the others, and the Nuts are somewhat smaller, lumpy, crooked, and wrinkled, and are therefore named rompen. The proper in-gathering happens thus: when the Nuts are ripe (the sign of which is when the outermost shell shows the light-reddish color of a ripe Peach, and one sees the same bursting here and there on the tree), then the inhabitants climb into the trees and fetch the Nuts from the branches with long hooks and short tugs, which happens with less danger than from the Clove trees in Amboina. For the Nut-tree has thicker...