Distillation of this oil takes place principally in the clove-growing areas of north-eastern Madagascar, but the Seychelles have also exported this oil and production now also takes place in commenced production around 1911, supplies averaging 68 tonnes per annum between 1926 and 1930, 257 tonnes per annum between 1936 and 1940, and by the 1950s in the region of 650 tonnes per annum.

The price for this oil in July 1974 was reported to be about 3.32 per kilogramme and falling slowly but steadily. There have been times during which Indonesian prices were higher than Madagascan prices owing to exceptionally high local rates of inflation in Indonesia, and this was true during the initial stages of the mid-1970s price increases.

The clove leaf oil market is an open one conducted under conditions of private enterprise, and the price has naturally varied a great deal. Madagascan material remained relatively stable in price between 1961 and 1966, ranging from 0.64 to 0.83 per kilogramme. Then during 1967, as clove supplies became more uncertain, the price gradually began to climb, reaching 1.13 per kilogramme in that year. This upward trend continued into 1969 and a peak of 1.55 per kilogramme was reached, but prices then eased and in 1971 stood at 1.31 per kilogramme. In 1972 Madagascan clove leaf oil was offered at 1.25 per kilogramme and by February 1973 its price had fallen to 0.95.

There occurred a very sharp rise of well over 200 per cent in the first quarter of 1969, followed by another rise in the second quarter to 1.82 per kilogramme.

After further temporary rises it appeared as if the price would stabilize at around the 1.70-1.80 per kilogramme mark and the trade widely expected a down-turn, but at the beginning of 1974 yet another sharp rise occurred which was maintained through 1975. After stabilizing at 3.30 during the first three quarters of 1976, a further rise brought the price to over 4.00 per kilogramme in 1977. It should be appreciated, however, that pressure on sterling at the end of 1976 will have caused some distortion to the latter part of the price series.

At present the main intermediary between producer or shipper and user is the broker or agent who works on a commission basis, charging maybe 1 -12 per cent for his services. There are still some dealers who buy and sell on a speculative basis, but they are now relatively uncommon in the clove trade.

The Portuguese retained the monopoly of cloves and nutmegs for about a century, until they were ousted from the Moluccas by the Dutch during the period 1605-21.

The Dutch, using repugnant, oppressive and often bloody measures, were to retain the monopoly for nearly another 200 years. By 1651 the Dutch had instituted a scheme limiting the cultivation of cloves to the island of Amboina, insisting on the uprooting of cloves on the other islands. The penalty for the possession, selling and cultivation of cloves except on Amboina was death.

The orders were particularly cruel, as it was the custom in the Moluccas for the indigenous people to plant a clove tree for the birth of each child, which helped to keep a record of the child’s age; if the tree was subsequently destroyed it portended doom for the child. The Dutch aimed to create an artificial scarcity and maintained prices by destroying surplus cloves which came onto the market. They made Batavia (Djakarta) the entrepot for cloves. Rutnphius (1626-1702) gives a very accurate account of the clove tree and method of production in his Herbarium Amboinense.

Cloves thrive best in insular maritime climates at low altitudes in the tropics. They are seldom grown above 200-300 in above sea level, but Yegna Narayan Aiyer (1960) records them at over 900 m in India, and Sheffield (1950) at 600 in in the Seychelles. In their original home in Banda in the Moluccas, which is practically on the Equator and where the trees are semi-wild, the rainfall varies from 2 210-3 607 mm per annum, with no pronounced dry period, and temperatures ranging from 24 to 30 C in the south-east monsoon and from 27 to 33 C in the north-west monsoon. Some drier weather is desirable for harvesting and drying of the crop. The continuously humid climate of Singapore was not as successful for cloves as was Penang.

The average rainfalls for Zanzibar, 6 S, Pemba, 5 S, and the clove-growing areas in the Malagasy Republic on the small island of Sainte Marie at 17 S and at Tamatave on the east coast of the mainland at 18 S. Many of the clove-growing areas of Zanzibar Island have a higher rainfall than Zanzibar Town and often have 1 800 mm per annum or over, while some areas of Pemba may reach 2 000 mm per annum. The higher rainfall of Pemba, as well as the soils and configuration, are better suited to cloves than Zanzibar. The heaviest rainfall of Zanzibar, the masika season, falls during the months of March to May, during which the crop is usually planted.

If we accept the separation, the correct scientific name for the clove is Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. & Perry. The most common synonyms are Catyophyllus arotnatica L., Eugenia aromatica Kuntze, E. caryophyllata Thunb., and E. caryophyllus (Sprengel) Bullock & Harrison.

The genus Syzygium, with about 500 species, belongs to the family Myrtaceae, which has some 75 genera and 3 000 species of trees and shrubs, with their chief centres of distribution in the American and Asian tropics and in Australia. The large genus Eucalyptus L’Herit. with some 500 species is almost entirely confined to Australia. Several species of Syzygium are grown for their rather insipid fruits, of which the commonest are: the jambolan, S. cumini (L.)

When the Sultan, a man of great courage, energy and foresight, realized the potential economic value of the crop, he forced plantation owners in Zanzibar to plant cloves under the threat of confiscation of their land if they did not do so. Large areas were planted in both the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba, helped no doubt by the availability of the large number of slaves, the abolition of which did not take place in the Protectorate until 1897

In areas where there is adequate rainfall, leguminous cover crops can be planted. Tropical kudzu, Pueraria phaseoloides (Roxb.) Benth., is very vigorous and recommended in some areas. Pereira and Hosegood (1962), working in Zanzibar, where the rainfall is on the low side, found that this cover crop when planted in cloves, used up more moisture at the three-feet depth (about 1 m) than did weeds.

A bumper crop can only be expected about once every 4 years, with one bad and two medium crops in intervening years. This is influenced by the weather and the previous crop. It is rare for two large crops to occur in successive years, due to the physical shock of picking., especially where branch breaking has been severe. A good rainy season will assist recovery, which would be delayed by a long dry season.

A strong picker can reap as much as 55 kg of green cloves in a good day. Experienced and able supervision is usually required at all stages of harvesting. The day after harvesting, the process of drying the cloves is initiated. This operation is described in the ‘Processing and manufacture’ section. Dry cloves weigh one-third the weight of green, freshly harvested cloves.

Pimento oleoresin is prepared exclusively in the Western European and North American consuming centres, and on a very small scale. The tendency for oleoresins to supersede ground spices in food manufacture has not been as evident in the case of pimento as with other spices such as pepper, ginger and nutmeg.

Bagworm caterpillars of the species Oeceticus abbottii will feed on the leaves of pimento, sometimes denuding small plants. It can be controlled by a stomach poison.

Fiddler beetles, adult weevils of Prepodes and Pachnaeus spp., feed on the leaves of the plants, while the grubs girdle the roots. Trees with badly damaged roots usually become unthri fly and may die during dry weather. They can be controlled by clieldrin.

It is used alongside the ground spice in meat products and it is also valued in fruit flavouring, where it enhances certain of the more popular flavours used in jams and other fruit-based products. It is also used in perfumery in the manufacture of men’s spice-based cosmetic preparations such as after-shave lotions and colognes, and very small quantities indeed are used in pharmacy, mainly in preparations for the relief of indigestion and related ailments.

Clove stem oil is produced in Zanzibar from the dried peduncles or stems of the clove buds, which are separated from the cloves in the preparation of the spice. The stems were exported from Zanzibar in the past, but due to the fact that many of them were used in the adulteration of the more expensive clove bud oil, the trade has been prohibited for the past 50 years or more, and clove stem oil has been prepared commercially exclusively in Zanzibar, at the Zanzibar Government’s distillery at the Port of Malindi, a part of the Zanzibar Town.

The yield and organoleptic properties of clove bud oil are dependent on the origin and quality of the cloves themselves and on the method of its preparation, whether it is distilled from whole buds or from corn- minuted material, and on the type of distillation procedure employed, i.e., water or steam distillation.

The eugenol content of the oil is dependent upon the time taken to distil the charge. A rapid distillation provides an oil with a high eugenol content, and Belcher (1965) recommends this procedure if the oil is to be used purely as a source of eugenol.

Although called “killer bees,” humans are very rarely killed by African Honey Bees. They were first identified in Florida in 2002. Since that time they have become well established in South Florida, West Central Florida, and several other areas around the state. The key to public safety is learning to co-exist with Africanized bees. Some knowledge of the habits and characteristics of these bees and some common sense can help protect everyone.

African bees are known for being extremely protective of their nests. Killer bees are more easily provoked than European honeybees. They defend a larger area around their nest. Africanized bees swarm to the defense in much greater numbers, and they chase perceived intruders much greater distances. This combination of traits can easily surprise unwary people and animals with deadly results.

African honeybees look extremely similar to regular bees. They have bodies covered with fuzz , and an abdomen ringed with black stripes. Africanized honey bees are slightly smaller than European bees, otherwise they look so similar that even scientists and beekeepers cannot tell the difference. Aside from genetic analysis, comparison of as many as twenty different body measurements is the only way to know for certain which bees are killer bees. The best, and safest, advice is to simply avoid all bees.

Although many beginning gardeners choose the ficus tree for their home, many do not realize that there are actually hundreds of different Ficus tree species. The Ficus tree is a very popular house plant, especially for indoor gardeners who are new to gardening. The Ficus benjamina is also known as the weeping fig tree. A beautiful decorative plant, you can train it using bonsai-like methods to get it to grow exactly how you want it to. Ficus trees require constant care if you want them to thrive.

The ficus tree is quite sensitive, and it will not flourish without adequate care. Changes in the amount of light or water, or even simply moving it across the room, can cause it to drop its leaves. Make sure that you place your Ficus tree in an area where it will not need to be moved, because moving it risks making it shed its leaves. Also ensure that you regularly water your ficus tree, and do not subject it to either prolongued sunlight or darkness.