Allied Products.
Cassia Twigs—The branches of the cassia trees, alluded to at page 529, would appear to be collected from the same trees which yield the cassia lignea. Garnier (l.c. at [p. 528]) says that the youngest branches are made into fagots, adding that they have the odour of bugs.
Cassia twigs are not as yet exported to Europe, but they constitute a very important article of the trade of the interior of China. In 1872 no less than 456,533 lb. of this Wood of Cassia or Cassia Twigs were shipped from Canton, for the most part to other Chinese ports.—The imports of Hankow, in 1874, of these twigs were 1925 peculs (259,667 lb.) valued at 5677 taels (1 tael about equal to 5s. 11d.).[1971]
In the Paris Exhibition of 1878 we had the opportunity of examining some bundles of cassia twigs from western Kwangtung. The branches were as much as 2 feet in length and of the thickness of a finger. We found their bark to possess the usual flavour of cassia lignea.
Cassia Buds, Flores Cassiæ—These are the immature fruits of the tree yielding Chinese cassia lignea, and have been used in Europe since the middle ages. In the journal of expenses (a.d. 1359-60) of John, king of France, when a prisoner at Somerton Castle in England, there are several entries for the spice under the name of Flor de Canelle; it was very expensive, costing from 8s. to 13s. per lb., or more than double the price of mace or cloves. On one occasion two pounds of it had to be obtained for the king’s use from Bruges.[1972] From the Form of Cury[1973] written in 1390, it appears that cassia buds (“Flō de queynel”) were used in preparing the spiced wine called Hippocras.
Cassia buds are shipped from Canton, but the exports have much declined. Rondot, writing in 1848,[1974] estimated them as averaging 400 peculs (53,333 lb.) a year. In 1866 there were shipped from Canton only 233 peculs (31,066 lb.); in 1867, 165 peculs (22,000 lb.)[1975] The quantity of cassia buds imported into the United Kingdom in 1870 was 29,321 lb.;[1976] the spice is sold chiefly by grocers. The great market for this drug is Hamburg, where in 1876, according to the official statistics, 1324 cwt. of cassia buds were imported.
In Southern India, the more mature fruits of one of the varieties of Cinnamomum iners Reinw. are collected for use, but are very inferior to the Chinese cassia buds.
Folia Malabathri or Folia Indi—is the name given to the dried, aromatic leaves of certain Indian species of Cinnamomum, formerly employed[1977] in European medicine, but now obsolete. Under the name Taj-pat, the leaves are still used in India; they are collected in Mysore from wild trees.
Ishpingo—This is the designation in Quito of the calyx of a tree of the laurel tribe, used in Ecuador and Peru in the place of cinnamon. Though but little known in Europe, it has a remarkable history.
The existence of a spice-yielding region in South America, having come to the ears of the Spanish conquerors, was regarded as a matter of interest. It would appear that cinnamon was enumerated in the earliest accounts among the precious products of the New World.[1978] Such high importance was attached to it that in Ecuador an expedition was fitted out. The direction of the enterprise was confided to Gonzalo Pizarro, who with 340 soldiers, and more than 4000 Indians, laden with supplies, quitted the city of Quito on Christmas Day, 1539. The expedition, which lasted two years, resulted in the most lamentable failure, only 130 Spaniards surviving the hardships of the journey. In the account of it given by Garcilasso de la Vega, the cinnamon tree is described as having large leaves like those of a laurel, with fruits resembling acorns growing in clusters.[1979] Fernandez de Oviedo[1980] has also given some particulars regarding the spice, together with a figure fairly representing its remarkable form; and the subject has been noticed by several other Spanish writers, including Monardes.[1981]