THE NUTMEG THEE.
803
spirit * v
SumQi^ ® an ^ s ^ an collection, is marked the long nutmeg from
slit o V ^ ACE - —Mace, as met with in the shops, is a flat, irregularlyy e jj 0w 0ot *h slightly flexible or brittle membrane, of a pale cinnamon-Co ; c °l°ur, ancl an odour and taste analogous to those of nutmegs.p tW ‘ lM KRc E .—Nutmegs and mace are imported from the Indian Archi-ll,,]^ 0 eit her directly, or indirectly by the Cape of Good Hope orof n U t ' 1838, the duty of 2s. (id. per lb. was paid on 114,093 lbs.
q and on 19,297 lbs. of mace (Trade List).
Af a f —Nutmegs were analyzed, in 1804, by Schrader (Pfaff,
t. i x lid. iv. S. 210); and, in 1823, byBouastre ( Journ. de Pharm.P' 2 ®1)- In 1824 an analysis of mace was made by N. E. Henryde Pharm. t. x. p. 281).
' Bader's Analysis
d *tto ....wf 't on d ’ reddish '
Nutmeg.
2-60
052
«s m “ y cxtr act.25-00
re .34-38
6-25
100-00
Bonastre’s Analysis.
Volatile oil.6 0
Liquid fat. 7-6
Solid fat .24 0
Acid (?). 0 8
Starch . 2-4
Gum . 1-2
Ligneous fibre.54 0
Loss . 4-0
1000
Mace.
N. E. Henry's Analysis.Volatile oil.
Red fat oil soluble in alcohol.Yellow ditto insoluble in ditto.Alcoholic extractive.
Ligneous fibre with lime.
Mace.
I ' *
''ah wa^^f °f Nutmegs (Oleum Nucis Moschatai). —Procured by submitting nutmegsu 0tieg s “ distillation. It is colourless or pale yellow, has the odour and taste- f
^Khterti a v ' sc ’ d consistence. By agitation " ; ‘ l -- --- :
!lle (wi/rio- 1 - 6 °d* e r heavier than water. By ke
" d boil- !c * ne h which are fusible at 212° F.,
Slh. ,V°uina- <■_ .e. i:_. -j ’•
a V ' SC ' d consistence. By agitation with water, it separates into two oils,er than water. By keeping, it deposits crystals of stearop-^ in boili, ! ^ ne )’ vvhich are fusible at 212° F., volatile, soluble in alcohol, in ether,s die liquid p W j ater: f rom die latter liquid myristicine separates in a crystalline form
Mace ( Oleum Macidis). —It is colourless or pale yellow, lighter thanAt ' aS ,j e -° dlmr an< i flavour of mace.
.W* Oil of Nutmegs (Expressed Oil of Mace, offic.; Butter of Nutmeg ;a, '"closed^-*’ ^ d -)—It is prepared by beating the nutmegs to a paste, which is(1<,' SS '"K by h ln ? * )a ”’ and tlicn exposed to the vapour of water, and afterwards ex-d ,,l0 U8 leave Cated pEtes. It is imported in oblong cakes (covered by some monocotyle-<><1 ' v l‘ose > commonly called flag leaves), which have the shape of common bricks,e ,'l u i- frao ' Ze ‘ s somewhat smaller. Its colour is orange, its consistence firm, itsVeil -fiite oily’ *^ e *l* at °f the seeds from which it is obtained. It is composed ofa > and v 1 ’ .y e ^? w °U and volatile oil J. Cold alcohol and ether dissolve theT. ■* a . oils- Boiling alcohol dissolves all three oils (Thomson’s Org. Chem.>s said to he often adulterated.
_
eristics. —The presence of starch in both nutmegs
atl d m^ IICAL Charact:
u , may be detected by a solution of iodine, which gives them atio n 7* [iodide of starch). Both of these substances yield, by distilla-both y- i ' VaAer J a volatile oil, characterized by its peculiar odour, anPn\. ’ expression, a fixed, butyraceous oil.
( Hen i Sl0LOG1CAL Effects.— The activity of both nutmegs and mace<mwr ° n the volatile oil which they contain. Swallowed m moderateIn l Ur tes > fbey produce the before-described effects of the spices (p. -)•U e doses they prove narcotic, and cause giddiness, delirium, prai