7. Spices
As we have seen many of our most valuable food plants are natives of and are now cultivated in temperate regions, but “sugar and spice and all things nice” mostly come from the tropics. What we usually know as spices such as nutmeg, vanilla, ginger, mace, cloves, allspice, and cinnamon are practically all confined to the tropical regions in or near the East Indies, only vanilla being of American origin. The trade in these spices has been for hundreds of years a practical monopoly in the hands of Dutch and British traders, and for hundreds of years before that the caravans from the Far East came laden with precious freight from the then mysterious country beyond the Mediterranean.
VANILLA
The long pods of two climbing orchids native in Central America and the West Indies furnished for many years our only supplies of this flavoring extract. But in 1891 a process of making vanilline chemically from sugar was perfected so that the vanilla trade is not what it was years ago. Vanilla planters, however, have been able to keep up the price of the plant product because of its unquestionable superiority over the manufactured article. But the latter has enormously increased the general use of vanilla, while the total plant output scarcely exceeds four hundred tons a year. Nearly all this is grown in the Old World tropics, as tropical America, where the plant is common enough as a forest orchid, has not greatly developed its culture.
In both species, known as Vanilla pompona and Vanilla planifolia, the orchid has flat leaves and a fleshy climbing stem that hugs tree trunks or other supports, always in the dense shade of the tropical forests. It needs a hot moist climate, but if there be too much rain as the pods are ripening they drop off, so that only certain localities are suited to its cultivation. Various islands are apparently better suited to the plant than the mainland, Tahiti producing alone nearly half the world’s supply. The species most cultivated is Vanilla planifolia, which came originally from southern Mexico, where considerable plantations are still maintained. The pods are about as thick as a thumb or finger and from five to seven inches long, and yellow when ripe. The ripening process takes several months and when completed the pod is still without the delicious fragrance for which it is famous. Curing by dipping in boiling water or by fermentation, a very delicate process requiring long experience, brings out the flavor. In some regions the pods are plunged into ashes and left there until they begin to shrivel when they are cleaned off, rubbed with olive oil, and tied at their lower end to prevent splitting. Still another process demanding that the pods be plunged in rum is followed, but only in limited degree, owing to the expense. In all of them the result is the same—that of inducing chemical changes in the pod which are responsible for its subsequent flavor.
NUTMEG
A native of southeastern tropical Asia. The fruit, somewhat enlarged here, consists of an inner part, the nutmeg. Around this is a “splendid crimson network” which is removed by hand and forms the mace of commerce.
A small tree of the tropical regions of eastern Asia, known as Myristica fragrans, or perhaps better as Myristica moschata, is the source of both nutmeg and mace which come from different parts of the same plant. The genus contains over one hundred species, belongs to the Myristicaceæ, and is scattered all over the Malayan region. Almost none of its relatives, however, have the fragrance of the nutmeg and none is used as a spice. Both nutmeg and mace have been known in Europe only from about 1195 A.D., when in a poem about the entry of the Emperor Henry VI into Rome, the streets were described as being perfumed by the burning of nutmegs and other fragrant plants. It was not until the rise of the Dutch, who burned large stores of it at Amsterdam in 1790 in order to keep up a falling price, that nutmegs came into general use. The trees are now chiefly cultivated in the Dutch East Indies, a small fraction of the supply coming from the West Indies, which is alleged to be an inferior product.
The trees produce male and female flowers, usually on different plants, but sometimes on the same one, yellow in color and aromatic. From the females are developed the fruit which is a drupe about two inches long with a thick fleshy husk which splits upon ripening. The seed inside is the nutmeg, but from its base is an outgrowth which covers the nut with a “splendid crimson network.” This covering or network is removed by hand and forms the mace of commerce.
CLOVES
In the family Myrtaceæ, which contains hundreds of plants from all over the world, mostly all shrubs and trees of tropical regions, however, there is a large genus, Eugenia. From the unopened flower buds of Eugenia caryophyllata, a small tree native only on a few islands in the Moluccas, the widely used spice known as cloves is derived. It appears to have been known to the Chinese at least two hundred years before Christ, and was regularly imported into Europe from the eighth century by caravans. Not until the Dutch began to import it by ship did it become cheap enough to have general use, but in 1609 a Dutch vessel reached England with over a hundred thousand pounds on board.
While the tree is of very local distribution, it has been introduced on a considerable scale into Penang, Zanzibar, and even to the West Indies. Trees are set out thirty feet apart each way, and in from four to eight years, depending on the locality, they begin to flower. After the full bearing stage is reached, a tree will produce from five to seven pounds of dried cloves, an average crop being about 375 pounds to an acre. The flowers are produced in small clusters not over an inch and a half long, so that hand picking is the only method of collection. As the buds become blood red they are usually in a fit state for picking, after which they are either sun dried or, more rarely, by artificial heat. Nothing further is done to them before shipment. Zanzibar and Pemba now produce more cloves than nearly all the rest of the world put together. Oil of cloves, largely used in perfumery, is pressed out of the dried cloves.
CINNAMON
One of the commonest trees in the lowland parts of Ceylon is Cinnamomum zeylanicum, a tree of the family Lauraceæ, which also contains our native sassafras. From the bark of this tree is derived cinnamon, and from a related Japanese tree, Cinnamomum Camphora, camphor is taken. Practically all the Lauraceæ are aromatic shrubs or trees, most of them tropical. Ceylon was occupied by the Portuguese in 1536 for the cinnamon then growing on it, which they forced the native king to supply them. Later the Dutch completely controlled the cinnamon, often burning it in Holland to keep up the price. The British, who took Ceylon in 1796, made a government monopoly of cinnamon, but subsequently turned the plantations over to private interests. The tree is now grown on an extensive scale, not only in Ceylon, but in Java and India. Ceylon still controls the cinnamon market, however.
While the wild cinnamon trees reach considerable heights, the cultivated plants are cut so regularly that they almost always throw up a lot of young shoots from the roots, and it is the bark of these that furnishes the spice. When the bark is fit for peeling, the natives cut off the shoots, and strip the bark from them by hand, but with a specially constructed knife. After removal the bark is kept moist and in a day or two the outer skin is scraped off and the bark stretched over a stick, to form the familiar pipes or quills of cinnamon. These are graded, cut to uniform length, and after drying are ready for shipment. All of this is as yet hand work.
Other spice plants and condiments are of wide use, but can scarcely be mentioned in detail here. A few of the more important are the following:
| Name | Derived from the | Native |
| Allspice or pimento | Unripe fruits of Pimenta officinalis Pimenta officinalis | West Indies. |
| Cassia bark | Bark of Cinnamomum Cassia | Eastern Asia. |
| Black pepper | Fruit of Piper nigrum | Tropical Asia. |
| Cardamoms | Fruit of Elettaria Cardamomum | Malabar. |
| Capsicum or Cayenne pepper | Fruits of species of Capsicum | Tropical Asia. |
| Coriander | Fruits of Coriandrum sativum | Europe. |
| Cumin | Fruits of Cuminum Cyminum | Mediterranean region. |
| Dill | Fruits of Peucedanum graveolens | Europe and northern Africa. |
| Ginger | Rootstock of Zingiber officinalis | (?) |
| Turmeric | Rootstock of Curcuma longa | Tropical Asia. |
| Mustard | Seed of Brassica nigra and alba | Old World. |
| Thyme | Foliage of Thymus vulgaris | Southern Europe. |
| Caraway | Fruit of Carum Carui | Europe. |
| Caper | Seeds of Capparis spinosa | Southern Europe and Asia. |
This brief review of what the plant world provides us with in the shape of foods, beverages, fibers, drugs, rubber, spices, and tobacco, does not begin to tell us what man’s debt to plants really is. Thousands of plants, used by natives all over the world, may well provide future generations with unsuspected sources of plant products. No mention has been made of timbers nor all the forest products, except paper, which in the aggregate total an enormous sum. Perhaps no better idea of the tremendous value of plants, of the absorbing interest their utilization has always had for man, can be gained than to refer the reader to incomparably the best book on the subject, so far as tropical plants are concerned. Sir George Watt, in his “Dictionary of the Economic Products of India,” a book of several volumes, most of which deals with plants, has left an imperishable record of man’s struggles to tame the wild plants of the forest to his needs.
A few more economic plants not yet noted are listed below, and with this our account of plants as they are used by man must close:
| Plant Product | Derived from the | Native of |
| Absinthe | Foliage of Artemisia absinthium | Europe. |
| Brazil nut | Seeds of Bertholletia excelsa | Tropical S. America. |
| Camomile | Flowers of Anthemis nobilis | Europe. |
| Cassava | Roots of species of Manihot | Tropical America. |
| Water chestnuts | Fruits of Trapa natans | Southern Europe. |
| Cohune nut | Fruits of Attalea Cohune | Central America. |
| Cork | Bark of Quercus Suber | Southern Europe and northern Africa. |
| Gamboge resin | Stems of species of Garcinia | Southeastern Asia. |
| Gum arabic | Exudation of species of Acacia | Tropical Asia and Africa. |
| Hops | Female flowers of Humulus Lupulus | Eastern Europe. |
| Indigo | Whole plant of Indigofera tinctoria | India. |
| Mushroom | Whole plant of Agaricus campestris | Temperate regions. |
| Teak | Wood of Tectona grandis | Southeastern Asia. |
| Japanese varnish or lacquer | Sap of Rhus vernicifera | China. |
CHAPTER VI
GARDEN PLANTS
NOT only does the plant world furnish us with all the multitudinous products that we have already noticed, but it makes possible the beautifying of our homes and parks. For with plant materials, anyone with the knowledge and taste necessary for work of this kind may paint living landscape pictures that grow in beauty as their individual units reach maturity.
It lies outside the scope of this book to tell you the principles of design upon which such landscape pictures must be based to be really effective—that is the function of the landscape architect. But every one of us knows when a house looks and is bare of vegetation about it, and consequently has the earmarks of being merely a house, but not a home. A walk through any suburb of a large city or through most of our American villages would convince the lover of gardening that we are still miles behind England and many other countries in the love and appreciation of that kind of beauty in our home surroundings which plant life alone can furnish. How unnecessary this is anyone can see by visiting certain distinguished exceptions to the general indifference to plant life about our homes. Such suburbs as Brookline near Boston, Garden City and Morristown near New York, Guilford at Baltimore, Germantown near Philadelphia and many places on the Pacific Coast show what can be done to transform an otherwise indifferent landscape into a beauty spot. While these are on the whole the homes of the wealthy, money is not what has made them, for thousands of cottage gardens in England are just as beautiful and have been made by people who live a busy industrial life, but whose desire for beautiful surroundings makes them spend their brief leisure in tending their flowers.
While large garden schemes demand somewhat expert advice as to their planning and arrangement, it is perfectly simple for anyone to begin planting his own home grounds if he has in his mind’s eye the ultimate picture which he wishes his house and garden to become. But the habits of plants, their growth requirements, their stature, and particularly their colors are so various that, with the best will in the world, a garden enthusiast without some knowledge of these things will get a wholly disappointing result. Certain plants will grow in some sections of the country, but fail in others; some flower in the south, but will not do so in the north, and a few set seeds in certain places, but never do in less favored regions. In the different sections of this chapter a few good garden plants will be noted according to the regions to which they are suited, but it must not be forgotten that some are suited also to other regions than the one in which they are listed.
Those who have read the earlier chapters already know the difference between annuals, biennials, and perennials which comprise all the herbaceous plants upon which we depend mostly for cut flowers and in large measure for giving color to the garden. The woody plants are the ones upon which most garden pictures depend for their permanent value—trees, shrubs and vines of infinite shape and foliage character. In the case of trees, there are two major classes, those that drop their leaves in fall and are therefore deciduous, and of value chiefly during the growing season; and the evergreens, which retain their foliage all the year and make winter landscapes of great beauty. The garden enthusiast will very soon learn that evergreen plantings, while in many ways the most beautiful, are much the most expensive and are never suited to regions near big cities, for they will not stand smoke and other fumes as many deciduous trees will do. Nor will they stand violent winds, small rainfall, and great summer heat such as characterize the central parts of the country. Their best development is therefore found east of the Mississippi and west of the Rockies, and generally speaking, their use in the garden should be confined to this region.
Plant Materials for the Garden
TREES
So much of what makes landscapes permanently beautiful depends upon trees that first place must always be given to them in any scheme of planting. The location and ultimate spread of these trees will infallibly make or mar any garden picture so that great care should be used in selecting and planting them. The actual planting details such as preparation of the soil and all the after care of plants cannot be dealt with here, but many nursery catalogues give accurate directions and there are hosts of books on the practice of gardening which give the necessary information. In listing the different trees, symbols will be put before the names, indicating in which region they are likely to grow best, as follows:
* Suited to the region east of the Mississippi and north of the frostless region of the Gulf States, but not all hardy in the northern part of United States and adjacent Canada.
** Suited to the same general region, but most at home in the northern part of the area.
Those that have no symbol before the name are understood to be, generally speaking, hardy throughout the country, with, of course, exceptions such as the desert and alkali regions of the country.