Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 February 1893 — THE FRAGRANT CLOVE. [ARTICLE]

THE FRAGRANT CLOVE.

Its Culture the Chief Occupation of Arab Planters in Zanzibar. Sultan Seyed Said bin Sultan in 1830 introduced the clove tree into Zanzibar, since which time its cultivation has formed the chief occupation of the Arab planter in that part of the world, especially those residing on the island of Pemba. Every portion of the tree is aromatic, says the Detroit Free Press, but it is the bud which forms the clove of commerce. The choicest are of a darlj-brown hue, free from moisture, and with full, perfect heads. The cultivation of this important article of domestic economy is very interesting. The seeds are planted in long trenches and kept well supplied with water for forty days, when the sprouts appear above the surface. These are carefully watered for two years, at the end of which time they usually attain a height of three feet. Then transplanting takes place, the shoots being set out at distances of thirty feet apart and watered until well rooted. After this occurs the trees require little attention, but are kept free from weeds and the earth about them is worked over from time to time. They do not bear until five or six years old, when the buds are fully formed into clusters and assume a dull reddish hue. The harvesting now begins and continues at intervals for six months, as’ the buds do not all mature at the same time. As the limbs of the trees are very brittle they wiil not bear the weight of a man, and the cloves on . the upper branches are gathered by means of very peculiar looking four-sided ladders. Immediately upon being taken from the trees the buds are laid out in the sun, where in a short time they assume a brownish color, when they are placed in storehouses and are ready for shipment. The usual yield of a 10-year-old plantation is twenty pounds per tree, while in one twice that age they often produce 100 pounds each. The stems also form an article of commerce, possessing about the same percentage of strength as the buds, but commanding not more than one-fifth their price. They are usually reduced to powder and enormous quantities are sold, being preferred by many to the whole buds. Pemba produces three-fourths of the entire crop of cloves, but those raised on the island of Zanzibar, on account of being more carefully cultivated, are considered superior to all others in the market