The planter having his tree arrived at the agreeable point of producing, has but slight trouble in preparing his produce for market.  As the fruit is brought in by the gatherers, the mace is carefully removed, pressed together and flattened on a board, exposed to the sun for three or four days, it is then dry enough to be put by in the spice-house until required for exportation, when it is to be screwed into boxes, and becomes the mace of commerce.  The average proportion of mace yielded in Singapore is one pound for every 433 nuts.

The nutmeg itself requires more care in its curing, it being necessary to have it well and carefully dried ere the outer black shell be broken.  For this purpose the usual practice is to subject it for a couple of months to the smoke of slow fires kept up underneath, whilst the nuts are spread on a grating about eight or ten feet above.  The model of a perfect drying-house is easily to be obtained.  Care should be taken not to dry the nuts by too great a heat, as they shrivel and lose their full and marketable appearance.  It is therefore desirable to keep the nuts, when first collected, for eight or ten days out of the drying-house, exposing them at first for an hour or so to the morning sun, and increasing the exposure daily until they shake in the shell.  The nuts ought never to be cracked until required for exportation, or they will be attacked and destroyed by a small weasel-like insect, the larvae of which is deposited in the ovule, and, becoming the perfect insect, eats its way out, leaving the nut bored through and through, and worth less as a marketable commodity.  Liming the nuts prevents this to a certain extent, but limed nuts are not those best liked in the English market, whereas they are preferred in that state in the United States.  When the nuts are to be limed, it is simply necessary to have them well rubbed over between the hands with powdered lime.  By the Dutch mode of preparation, they are steeped in a mixture of lime and water for several weeks.  This no doubt will preserve them, but it must also have a prejudicial effect on the flavor of the spice.

After the nuts are thoroughly dried, which requires from six weeks to two months smoking, they cannot be too soon sent to market.  But it is otherwise with the mace; that commodity, when fresh, not being in esteem in the London market, seeing that they desire it of a golden color, which it only assumes after a few months, whereas at first when fresh it is blood red; now red blades are looked upon with suspicion, and are highly injurious to the sale of the article.

This is one of those peculiar prejudices of John Bull, which somewhat impugns his wisdom; but it must be attended to, as John is very ready to pay for his caprice; therefore those who provide for him have no right to complain, although they may smile.