Mace is harvested at the same time as the nutmegs and sometimes it is removed from the nutmeg by scraping with a knife, but removing it by hand is considered the better way. This is done by commencing at the base of the nut, for the reason that there the interlacing or lining becomes more expanded and at the same time flattened. In this condition it is placed on mats or trays to dry in the sunshine. The modern drier, however, is now largely used and is preferable, even when the weather is clear for a sufficient time to cure the mace, as sunshine seems to absorb some of its substantial qualities. The modern drier also prevents it from drying too rapidly. Mace, in drying, is first crimson, then blood red, but in process of drying it loses this tinge, and after a few months, when properly cured, it is of a yellowish or golden-brown color, preferred by the dealers. It is then firmly packed in bags (called by the Germans in the Straits Settlements, _sok kols_). The Banda mace is usually packed in one-half piculs of sixty-five pounds and in barrels or casks containing about 280 pounds each, the pressure being about equal to the weight of the mace. When driers are not used and the weather is wet, mace is dried by being smoked, care being taken not to blacken it. Sometimes the base of the mace is cut off and it is dried in double layers—a process which many think has a tendency to keep worms from working into it, but this is not true, as it, instead, furnishes a place in which they can hide. True mace is the product of the true nutmeg, which is round and covered with single and double blades of flat and somewhat irregular smooth slits. These are slightly flexible or brittle membrane of a golden-yellow color, and, in the odor and taste, analogous to the odor and taste of the nutmeg. They are rich in fixed and essential oils and in aroma. While each is a part of the same fruit, the nutmeg and mace are entirely different in outward appearance and are separated for commercial purposes, as well as for their separate uses. The Penang mace is most esteemed because it is flaxy and spreads. Penang exported 1,143 piculs, valued at $105,032, in 1904. The Dutch or Batavian is more fleshy and cheaper. The Singapore is inferior to both the Penang and the Dutch, while the wild or false mace from the long nutmegs is dark red and has a coarse, strong flavor, which is very different from that of the true mace.