Cloves are the unexpanded flowers, or flower-buds, of the clove tree,
which are first obtained when the tree is six years old; they are
gathered in October and November before they open, and when they are
still green; and are dried in the sun, after having been exposed to
smoke at a heat of 120°, till they assume a brown hue. It is a curious
fact that the flowers when fully developed are quite inodorous, and that
the real fruit is not in the least aromatic. QUALITIES. _Form_, that of
a nail, consisting of a globular head, formed of the four petals of the
corolla, and four leaves of the calyx not yet expanded; and a germen
situated below nearly cylindrical, and scarcely an inch in length.
_Odour_, strong, fragrant, and aromatic. _Taste_, acrid, aromatic and
permanent. Benzoic acid has lately been discovered in them.
SOLUBILITY. Water extracts their odour, but little of their taste;
alcohol and ether take up both completely. MEDICINAL USES. They are more
stimulant than any of the other aromatics; they are sometimes given
alone, but more generally as a corrigent to other medicines. OFFICINAL
PREPARATIONS. _Infusum Caryophyllorum._ L. _Spir. Lavand. co._ D. (=B=)
FRAUDS. The Dutch frequently mix the best cloves with those from which
the oil has been drawn.
CARYOPHYLLORUM OLEUM. This essential oil, in consequence of the resinous
matter which it holds in solution, has a specific gravity of 1·020, and
consequently sinks in water. When the oil has a hot fiery taste, and a
great depth of colour, it is adulterated. It is imported from the spice
islands. On account of its stimulant properties, it is added to griping
extracts, or used as a local application in the tooth-ache. Vauquelin
obtained from the leaves of the _Agathophyllum ravensara_ an essential
oil, in every respect similar to that of cloves; and I am informed by
Dr. Davy that an oil exactly resembling in smell the oil of Cloves is
procured in Ceylon from the leaf of the Cinnamon tree; but very little,
if any, has ever been exported.