Vol. XVII. Xo. 421. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



191 



principle, and impart a brownisli yellow colour to water. 

 One of the most largely u.sed coftee julis'itutes i.s the roasted 

 and ground root of chicory (C/c/zi/r/i/m ///(\/'us), which was 

 largely produced before the war in Belgium lud the north of 

 France. Some persons use n mixture of coffee and chicory 

 as a matter of taste, but still more probably u.^e it involun- 

 tarily in some of the ground coffee sold id packages. 



Another widely used C"ttee substitute is barley malt, 

 which when roasted has a pronounced aroma resembling 

 coffee, hence its extensive use as a non sumulating t^nic, and 

 digestive beverage. The non-germinated grains of barley, 

 oats, wheat, rye, and maize, roasted over a slow fire, and then 

 ground in a mill, are al.so frequently mixed with coffee. 



The seeds of three European leguminous plat-ts are u^ed 

 in some parts of Europe as coffee substitutes: they are the 

 narrow- leaved lupine (Lupi/nis aiigi/stifoli/is); ih^ chick pea 

 (Ciccr arietiniiin)\ and the Spanish astragalus {Astnxgalus 

 bacticiis). The seeds of tliese p'ants are roasted and ground, 

 and the infusion made from the resulting powder, is said not 

 to be unpleasant. 



The long pod.s of the carob or locust tree (Ciratunia 

 silidiiii) reduced to a pulp, and subjected to a roasting pro- 

 cess, form the basis of an imitation coffee largely consumed 

 by the native.s of Algeria. 



About fifty years ago the use of fig coffee began in 

 Austria-Hungary. Thence it spread to Germany and the 

 Balkan States. It has been used in France for the last ten 

 years, especially during the war, and is found in stock in 

 many groceries there. The success of fig coffee in France is 

 a result of the war, many per.sons having substituted the 

 roasted figs for chicory, which has become scarce owing \,f 

 the occupation of Belgium and Northern France by the 

 enemy. Fig coffee is said to resemble the real article 

 amazingly. Used alone, it yields a sweet infusion of agree- 

 able flavour. Mixed with coffee in the proportion of one-third, 

 it colours the infusion deeply, and modifies its bitterness: it 

 sweetens and makes it nutritious. The use of fig coffee 

 makes it possible to give children a nutritious cup of cafe 

 ait htif, the taste of which pleases them, and which con- 

 tains no unwholesome sub.stance. 



There is a saying in Austria that there is no good coffee 

 without figs. Although this may be going somewhat too tar, 

 it maybe affirmed that the numerous good nualities of fig 

 coffee place it in the first rank of this group of products which 

 consists of what we have de.signated as imitation coffees. It 

 possesses one drawback, however, in the fact that unless kept 

 in tightly closed receptacles it quickly deteriorates, as it .so 

 easily absorbs atmospheric moisture 



The okra (Alv/mi>s(/iiis isci/knfiis), well known in the 

 West Indies, is said to form an excellent imitation coffee. 

 The dry seeds are carefully roasted, and when cooled are 

 ground. The infusion suggests coffee, but with a special 

 iiavour which is agreeable to many people. 



Another West Indian plant which grows, in the tropics of 

 both the East and the West, is the small shrub, Cassia 

 occidentalis. Its seeds, roasted and ciushed, furnish the 

 so-called black coffee of Senegal. They are also used for 

 the same purpose by the labourers in several of the West 

 Indian islands. The aroma of the infusion recalls that of 

 coffee, but it possesses no stimulating properties. 



Lastly, according to Rcvnc Agricvk de rile de la 

 Hciinhiii, December 1917, it has been discovered that the 

 seeds of the widespread wild tamarind {Litcae/ni i/lauui), 

 roasted and ground, yield a reddish brown powder having 

 the colour and the smell of coil'ee, the infusion of which 

 possesses an even stronger arun, i than genuine coffee itself. 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



DRUGS AND SPICES ON THE LONDON 



MARKET. 



Mr. J. R. Jackson, A.L.S., has forwarded the fol- 

 lowing report on the London drug and spice markets 

 for the month of April 191H: — 



The general tone of the Produce Markets during the 

 month of April has shown little or no change since that of 

 March, either in bulk of produce brought forward, the 

 quantities that have changed hinds, or in prices demanded or 

 obtained. The intervention of the Easier holidays also has 

 had an adverse effect on business generally. The following 

 are the principal details affecting West Indian products. 



GINGEK. 



At the first auction on April 3, ginger was in good 

 supply: 1,164 bags were offered and disposed of, washed 

 rough Cochin fetching from 90.f. to 9h-., and fair to good 

 rough Calicut 8Gs. to 88.f. A fortnight later the offerings 

 were 30 cases cf small cut Cochin, and 133 bags of limed 

 Japanese. The former were all bought in at I20s. per cwt., 

 and the latter at 85s. At auction on the 3rd of the 

 month some 40 odd cases of Bombay mace were offered; 

 ordinary dull to fair reddish fetched 3s. Id. to 3,f. 6(/. per BE)., 

 being an advance of from \d- to Id. per Bb. on previous rates. 

 These advanced rates were maintained a fortnight later when 

 .some 68 packages of West Indian were disposed of. Nutmegs 

 also have been in good demand; some 1-50 packages of West 

 Indian found buyers at auction on the 18th of the 

 month at an advance of from id. to 3(/. per lb. on previous 

 rates. There has been a steady demand for Pimento 

 throughout the month at from o\d. to 5\d. per lb. 



SAESAPARILLA. 



At auction on the 11th of the month the offerings 

 of sarsaparilla were as follows: grey Jamaica, 19 bales; native 

 Jamaica, 13 bales; and Honduras, 3 bales. All the grey 

 .Jamaica was disposed of at 4.c. 3d. per ft., consisting of 

 a mixture of fair grey, and some partly mouldy and rough. 

 The whole of the native Jamaica also found buyers at from 

 3s. 4(f. to •2j-. \\d. per lb. for good red, yellow, and red 

 mixed, and common grey and yellow. The 3 bales of Hon- 

 duras remained unsold. 



CITEIC ACID, KOLA, ARROWROOT, AND (JASSIA FISTULA. 



In the early part of the month citric acid was steady 

 at ?>s. '2d per Bb., but later it advanced to 3s. 3d., at which 

 price it stood at the close. Kola has been in good supply 

 as well as in good demand. At auction on the 11th of the 

 month 7.5 packages of West Indian were offered, and 74 dis- 

 posed of at rates from 10(/. to Whl. per ft. for good bright 

 halves and whole nuts. For good manufacturing St. Vincent 

 arrowroot 1j. id. per Jb. has been asked throughout the 

 month. Cassia Fistula is at the time of writing reported to 

 be so scarce that one holder has been asking as much as 

 £,0 for a small and indefinite nuantity. 



During November 1917, to which the latest returns 

 refer, there were actually being worked 146 oil wells of the 

 36 !i which have been sunk in Trinidad, and the quantity of 

 crude oil produced amounted to upward of 4,500,000 Imperial 

 gallons. {The I'i'irital iif Ihi; Royal .Society of A/ts, April 

 19, 1918; 



