The usual method of gathering in the Straits is to collect the ripe nuts that have fallen on the ground. In the Banda islands, the fruits are gathered in small, neatly-made, oval bamboo baskets--holding about 3 fruit--at the end of a long bamboo stick, which prevents bruising, the baskets being opened for about half their length on one side, and furnished with two small prongs projecting from the top, by which the fruit stalk is broken, the fruit falling into the basket. After the pulp--which is about ½-in. thick, whitish in color, and tough like candied peel--has been removed the mace is stripped off by hand. The shell of the fruit is very hard and cannot be broken without injury to the kernel. To overcome this they are put into receptacles with fine mesh bottoms, and dried over a slow fire--being turned from time to time--until the kernel rattles freely in the shell, a process which takes about 6 or 8 weeks. This also kills any weevil which may be at work in them. They are then carefully cracked by placing them on a sort of drumhead made of raw-hide and striking them with a board or mallet, when the shells fly off into pieces. Great caution is needed in shelling, for if too hard a blow be struck it makes a black spot on the nutmeg, which affects its value considerably. After being steeped in salt water several times and again dried they are sorted according to size and soundness--130 to 140 to the pound are the lowest priced, 75 to 80 the highest, and larger nuts are sold at special prices. The sorting is done by hand, and nothing but sound, perfect nuts are supposed to be shipped. The broken and wormy ones are used in manufacturing “nutmeg butter,” or, as it is commonly but erroneously called, “mace oil.” They are now limed. There are two methods of liming in vogue--the dry and the wet. In the dry process, the nuts have dry lime powder rubbed over them, either by hand or shaking in barrels. In the wet process, the nuts are put into newly-slacked lime and then spread out to dry, or they are dipped into a kind of lime-pickle, thick as syrup, made of calcined-shells and salt water. After being covered with this mixture they are dried. The process of liming originated with the Dutch, with a view to preventing the germinating of the seeds, for which purpose they were formerly immersed for three months in milk of lime. Again it is claimed that liming preserves the nuts against the attacks of maggots and a particular kind or beetle by stopping up their breathing and chewing apparatus. A preference is still manifested for limed nutmegs.