broad, which smell strong of cloves, when rubbed
between the fingers. The cloves grow out at the tips of the branches,
ten, twelve, or fourteen in a cluster, being white at first, then green,
and lastly of a dark copper colour, in which state they are ripe and fit
for gathering. At this period, they spread cloths or sheets on the
ground round the bottom of the tree to a good distance, and shake the
tree, when all the ripe cloves fall down. This is repeated every six or
seven days for four or five times, till all the cloves have ripened and
are shaken off. The usual time of gathering is October and February,
those got in October, which is the end of their winter, being called
_winter cloves_, and are not accounted so strong and good as the others.
These are commonly preserved in small jars of about a quart each, of
which great quantities are sent to various parts of the world. Those
gathered in February are termed summer cloves, being better and stronger
than the others, as ripening in the best part of the summer; whereas the
former have not above a month of fair weather, all the rest of their
winter season, which is our summer, being rainy and cloudy, so that the
cloves want sun to ripen them. It is a common opinion, but extremely
erroneous, that cloves, nutmegs, and mace grow all on one tree. One
clove-tree commonly produces sixty, seventy, or eighty pounds of cloves
in one season; and every sixth year they are sure to have a double crop.

There are a vast number of clove-trees on this island, which are
carefully looked after, and a register of them is kept in the books of
the company, being all numbered once every year, and they are not
allowed to increase beyond a certain limited number, for fear of
lessening the price, all beyond being cut down. All these trees belong
to the Company, or the free burgesses, every burgess having only a fixed
number; and if any one is found to have more than his allowance, he is
severely fined, and all his trees forfeited to the company. Besides, the
burgesses are bound to deliver the whole produce of their trees to the
company at six-pence the pound. If any freeman or other is convicted of
having sold or conveyed cloves from the island, to the value of ten
pounds, his whole property is forfeited to the company, and he becomes a
slave for life. The inhabitants used formerly to cheat the Dutch in the
sale of their cloves, in the following manner. They hung up their cloves
in a large she