256 Th2 Plant World. 



or-,' 



13. ' 



provision for additional facilities for ^ ork in j lant \ h siolo 

 a half dozen others are considering pros; ects for i samilar de- 

 velopment. Meanv. hile the beginner, like those now engaged on 

 the subject in America, must get his experience by hook and 

 crook in the great majority of institutions. — D. T. M. 



During my residence in Miami, Florida, in charge of the 

 Subtropical Laboratory and Garden, I oljser\ed frequently 

 the common l-ubiaceous shrubs of the hammocks and was 

 much impressed with their similiarity to the cof.ee plants \. hich 

 v.ere growing at the Subtropical Garden. This similiarity v, as 

 so great that I collected a c uantit}' of the 1 errics of the commons, 

 est of these plants, Psychotria utidata, separated the seeds from 

 the pulp and made the follov> ing experiment. '1 he seeds v. ere 

 heated in an open test tube over a Bunsen burner, stirring 

 them constantly in order that the bro\^ni^g might be 

 carried on evenly. During this process a delightful aroma as 

 of coffee was given off. On the completion of the brovning 

 process the seeds were ground up in a mortar and put into boil- 

 ing water and kept at the boiling point for some time (perhaps 

 two or three minutes). The odor and color of the resulting 

 solution were those of weak coffee. Unforluiiateb' my experi- 

 ence in coffee making was so slight that the amount of v atcr 

 used in this experiment was far more than shou'.d ha\e been 

 used had it really been coffee that I was using. In spite, hov. - 

 ever, of its diluiton several people who were given the oppor- 

 tunity to taste the concoction all agreed with the writer that the 

 taste was that of weak coffee. 



The writer's permanent removal from Florida soon after 

 prevented the matter being followed up further, as it should be. 

 Analyses should be made of the seeds to determne whether 

 we have in the country a real coffee plant even though it belongs 

 to a closely allied genus instead of to the true Cofjea. * — Ernest 

 A. Bessey. 



♦Read before the Michigan Academy of Sciences at the meeting April, 1911. 



