network of mace, and within the shell is the nutmeg itself.
All this is perfect enough, but, alas, the grand desideratum is
wanting--it has no flavor or aroma whatever.

It is a gross imposition on the part of Nature; a most stingy trick
upon the public, and a regular do. The mace has no taste whatever, and
the nutmeg has simply a highly acrid and pungent taste, without any
spicy flavor, but merely abounding in a rank and disagreeable oil. The
latter is so plentiful that I am astonished it has not been
experimented upon, especially by the natives, who are great adepts in
expressing oils from many substances.

Those most common in Ceylon are the cocoa-nut and gingerly oils. The
former is one of the grand staple commodities of the island; the latter
is the produce of a small grain, grown exclusively by the natives.

But, in addition to these, there are various other oils manufactured by
the Cingalese. These are the cinnamon oil, castor oil, margosse oil,
mee oil, kenar oil, meeheeria oil; and both clove and lemon-grass oil
are prepared by Europeans.

The first, which is the cinnamon oil, is more properly a kind of
vegetable wax, being of the consistence of stearine. This is prepared
from the berries of the cinnamon shrubs which are boiled in water until
the catty substance or so-called oil, floats upon the surface; this is
then skimmed off and, when a sufficient quantity is collected, it is
boiled down until all watery particles are evaporated, and the melted
fat is turned out into a shallow vessel to cool. It has a pleasant,
though, perhaps, a rather faint aromatic smell, and is very delicious
as an adjunct in the culinary art. In addition to this it possesses
gentle aperient properties, which render it particularly wholesome.

Castor oil is also obtained by the natives by boiling, and it is
accordingly excessively rank after long keeping. The castor-oil plant
is a perfect weed throughout Ceylon, being one of the few useful shrubs
that will flourish in such poor soil without cultivation.

Margosse oil is extracted from the fruit of a tree of that name. It has
an extremely fetid and disagreeable smell, which will effectually
prevent the contact of flies or any other insect. On this account it
is a valuable preventive to the attacks of flies upon open wounds, in
addition to which it possesses powerful healing properties.

Mee oil is obtained from the fruit of the mee tree. This fruit is
about the size of an