[Illustration: McCormick’s Bee Brand Ground Cloves]
Cloves are the dry flower-buds of an evergreen (_Caryophyllus_,
_Aromaticus_ or _Eugenia caryophyllata_) belonging to the Myrtle family,
averaging in height twenty to forty feet. The Clove-tree is cultivated
in Ceylon, India, Mauritius, the West Indies and Zanzibar. The different
varieties derive their names from the district of origin or the city of
exportation. Cloves from Amboyna, Penang and Zanzibar are perhaps best
known and are in greatest demand.
The flowers grow in clusters. The green buds change to a reddish hue, at
which stage they are removed from the tree, spread in the sun and
allowed to dry. When allowed to fully fruit, the bud develops into a
hard seed an inch long, with a pulpy cover. This is called Mother of
Cloves.
The tree yields only one crop a year, the yield under normal conditions
being about 300 pounds to the acre. The average consumption is estimated
at 11,000,000 pounds per year.
There are a number of varieties of Cloves resembling each other in
appearance, but vastly different in pungency and flavoring value.
The slender stems bearing the closed buds have, to a limited degree, the
aromatic clove flavor, and as they sell for a very small fraction of the
cost of Cloves, are frequently powdered and used for reducing the cost
of Powdered Cloves, at the expense of quality and of common honesty.
McCormick & Company do not import, buy or sell Clove stems. Their Bee
and Banquet Brands Cloves, whole or ground, are carefully selected for
superior quality.
PRATT INSTITUTE
BROOKLYN, N.Y.
SCHOOL OF HOUSEHOLD SCIENCE AND ARTS
Isabel Ely Lord, _Director_
May 22, 1913.