122 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



coffee, but in this country it is used as an addition, partly because some people prefer 

 the mixture, partly because it makes a cheaper beverage. The roots are carefully 

 dried, then roasted and ground into powder. During the war the value of chicory 

 as a coffee substitute was so well recognised that in Germany and Austria the 

 whole crop was reserved for this purpose, its use for feeding animals being 

 prohibited. Another good substitute is prepared from hawthorn berries, and the 

 coffee thus obtained has been reserved for German workmen engaged on heavy 

 work, while in order to increase the supply people have been recommended not 

 to clip their hawthorn hedges. In parts of the same country the fruit of dogwood 

 {Cornus sanguined) was used for a similar purpose long before the war. Other 

 substitutes have been made from the rhizomes of couch-grass {Agropyrum repens) 

 and bracken, the roots of salsify ( Tragopogon pratensis), sowthistle, dandelion, and 

 reeds, from acorns, beechnuts, horse-chestnuts, and broom seeds, a specially 

 recommended mixture being one part of ground couch-grass rhizomes to three 

 parts of dandelion root, which is said to have a pleasant aroma. 1 In Sweden the 

 horny fruits of goose-grass {Galium aparine) have been dried, slightly roasted, and 

 ground. 2 



An almost bewildering variety of plants have been laid under contribution as 

 tea substitutes, leaves and flowers being the parts usually used. For many years 

 the Russians have mixed the leaves of the narrow-leaved willow-herb {Epilobium 

 angustijoliuni) with ordinary tea, and local use has often been made of aromatic 

 parts of plants, as flowers of cowslip and primrose, leaves of sweet vernal grass 

 {Anthoxanthum odoratum), agrimony {Agrimonia eupatoria), meadow-sweet 

 (Spiraa ulmarid), and ground-ivy {Glechoma hederaced). German war substitutes 

 have included the leaves of willow, birch, rowan-tree, willow-herb, bilberry, and 

 cranberry, and the fruit of hips, the aroma being given by peppermint, walnut- 

 leaves and lime-flowers. Tea mixtures sold in Germany also include leaves of 

 lime-tree and hemp-nettle, fruits of agrimony, flowering heads of yarrow, hawkweed, 

 and daisy, leaves of walnut, blackberry, borage, and plantain, flowers of primrose 

 and marjoram, roots cf mallow and red sandalwood. 3 Heather blossoms have 

 also been strongly recommended as a tea substitute. They are gathered when 

 the blooms can be separated from the stems by drawing through the fingers, and 

 are dried by the sun or artificial heat, and are then sieved to separate them from 

 stalks and dust. The flowers so prepared can be kept for years without losing 

 their agreeable narcotic smell. 



In Austria a substitute for chocolate has been prepared from dogwood berries, 

 though this may possibly be the same thing as the coffee substitute mentioned 

 above. The preparation is nutritive, and is said to have a vanilla-like taste and 

 smell resembling that of chocolate. 



Ground-ivy or alehoof {Glechoma hederaced) was much used in the manufacture 

 of beer and other liquors until the introduction of hops, as the leaves clarify :he 

 liquor and give it a characteristic flavour. 4 About the time of Henry VIII hops 

 were substituted for this purpose and ground-ivy fell into disuse, though it is 

 sometimes dried by village herbalists and used instead of tea. 



1 Other coffee substitutes, not derived from wild plants, however, have been 

 prepared from hyacinth bulbs, grape pips, asparagus seeds, and lupine seeds, tte 

 last named being called " Peasant's Coffee " in the Tyrol. 



2 Johnson, C P., Useful Plants of Great Britain, 1861-2. 



3 The most satisfactory tea substitutes, however, are said to have been prepared 

 from the leaves of strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. 



4 Hogg, R., and Johnson, G. W., ibid. 



