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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[AraiL I, 1884, 



COFFEE AND COFFEE " EXTRACT." 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE "CHEMIST AND DRUGGIST." 



Sir, — Last moath you alluded to a letter which 

 appeared in tbe Times, from Mr. H. S. Carpenter, 

 bearing the above title. We venture to ask the favour 

 of space for this coinmunication, on the plea tbat, as 

 manufacturera of essence of coifee for now fully forty 

 years, we may not unjustly lay claim to a "vested in- 

 terest" in the subject. 



Not being makers of coffee "extract," if Mr. Car- 

 penter's aspersions had been confined thereto, we would 

 not have felt called upon to notice his communication. 

 To an.'Joue, but undoubtedly to an analyst, the .addition 

 "to his cup" of "a colourless liquid," on the plea 

 that, it was the substantial ingredient in the beverage 

 which he bad called for, that beverage being coffee, 

 would not unnaturally suggest "juggling"; and, follow- 

 ing up his own suggestion, the restaurant in question 

 would appear to us to aflVird an excelleijt field for the 

 exercise of Mr. Carpenter's professional atainments for 

 "proceedings under the Adulteration Act." 



When, however, Mr. Carpenter goes on to add that 

 " the fact simply is thi° — coffee possesses stimulating 

 properties, and these imitations do not, and I am of 

 opinion that their substi ution is distinctly a fraud," we 

 feel oursslves called upon to notice a public statement 

 which, if allowed to pass unnoticed, not only directly 

 discredits, and is calculated most gravely to damage 

 our trade, but which also impugns our character. 



We hereby, therefore, challenge Mr. Carpenter to 

 prove that our essence of coffee — 



1. C»n be classed with "imitations," or with such 

 preparations aa "contain no coffee," and that its sub- 

 stitution is "distinctly a fraud." 



2. 'I'hat it "does not possess sf;imulating properties," 

 nor such "stimulating properties" as are derivable 

 from absolutely undulterated coffee. 



For these purposes Mr. Carpenter is at liberty to 

 procure in the open market anywhere, for his guidance 

 ^and for the exclusion of the faintest suggestion of 

 collusion, say, from Messrs. Crosse & B. :<kwell — an 

 unopened, authentic bottle of our " esseucf ' in ques- 

 tion, we stipulating that, in pi-esence of Dr. Atttield, 

 chemist to the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, 

 Bloomshury Square, he open the fame, and that he 

 retain the one-half of the contents, the other to be 

 immediately sealed up in Dr. Attfield's presence and 

 to be preserved by Dr. Attfield. 



It Mr. Carpenter prove our contentions to b^ untrue, 

 to Dr. Attfield's satisfaction, we hereby undertake, 

 not only t'l discliarge Mr. Carpenter's fee, but also 

 to place, sir, in your hands the sum of 50^ to be 

 by you handed to any London eharitahle inst'tu ion 

 that you may select. Failing, however, Mr. Carpenter's 

 ability thus to substantiate his snid allegations — in 

 which case we shall be liable in no expense whatever 

 — we call upon him, as an honourable geutleman, so 

 far as our firm is concerned, equally publicly to with- 

 draw them. — We are, &c., T. & H. Simth & Co., Edin- 

 burgh, and 12, Worship Street, London, February 6. 



The vapour of tobacco juice has been tested iu France 

 as an insecticide in greenhouses with great success. 

 Instead of burning or smokiug the tubacco, which is 

 a viry offensive process to some persons, the tobacco 

 is made into an extract by soaking or boiliug ; and 

 the juice is then placed over a cha6ng-dish, a fire, or 

 the flame of an ordinary lamp, and deposited in the 

 green-house or conservatory. Delicate plants which are 

 very sensitive to smoke are not injured by this vapour, 

 and it leaves no offensive atmosphere, while it effectu- 

 ally disposes of thrips, lice, scale insects, and slugs. 

 One quaitof tobaoco-juice vaporised in a house cou- 

 taiuiug 350o.ibio feet is au ample Simoant.~Queeii«lander. 



Damjier and Piney. — At the instance of Sir 

 Joseph Hooker, the Governor of Madras was requested 

 by the Secretary of State to order compliance with 

 a reque.st made as follows: — "I am desired by Sir 

 Joseph Hooker to inform you that he is anxious to 

 procure for the Indian Ecnnomico-Botanical cillections 

 at Kew, samples of the dried fruits and also of the 

 kernels of the white Dammer tree of Malabar nnd 

 Canara ( Valeria il alaharica). 2. He also wishes 

 to obtain an authentic eanple of Piney tallow 

 said to be procured from the fruit as well as of the 

 candles made from Piney gum-resin on the Malabar 

 coast." 



The Eamie oe Ehea Plant, which yields one of 

 the most valuable of fibres, requires for its cultiv- 

 ation good soil, moisture and manure. It will not, like 

 aloes, grow any where. Mr. Morris of Jamaica writes : — 

 The Piamie plant requires a rich, deep soil, plentifully 

 supplied with water ; and to produce good fibre it shoidd 

 be kept under careful cultivation and in a continuous and 

 active state of growth. As shown in the treatment of 

 the Kamie by the Chinese, it can be prop.agated either 

 by seed or off-shoots. Where seed is used, nursery beds 

 carefully prepared, suppHed with rich soil, and regularly 

 watered are essential. Care .should be taken to mix the 

 fine small seeds of the Kamie with soil, and sow on the 

 surface of the groimd. If the seeds are covered with 

 soil they will probably not germinate. The plants raised 

 in these beds may afterwards be transplanted and put out at 

 distances varying from IJ to 2 feet apart, according to the 

 uatm-e of the soil. The better the soil, the further apart 

 the plants; and, conversely, the poorer tho soil the closer 

 the plants. "Where oft'-shoots or suckers can be obtained 

 t they are to be preferred to seeds, as being more exped- 

 tious, and yielding better results, especially within the 

 first year after planting. Where off-shoots or suckers 

 cannot be obtained in sufficient numbers, young plants 

 may be obtained Ijy "layering" the taller stems, that isbeud-i 

 iug them down (without breaking) close to the ground 

 and covering the joints with soil. Prom every ripe joint 

 pl.ants will be produced. The bur<len of the treatment of 

 Kamie, in all its stages, by the Chinese, is the plentiful 

 use of manure and water. Unless the soil is rich and moist, 

 the cultivators of Kamie must be prepared to supply their 

 plants largely with manure, and keep them in a " moist, 

 vigorous, perpetual state of growth." As regards the time 

 when the stems should be cut, and the subsequent treat- 

 ment, it may be mentioned, as noticed by Major Hannay, 

 that the Kamie is fit for cutting ichen tile stems become of 

 a hrown cohvr for about 6 inches upwards from tite root. 

 Care should be taken in cutting the ripe stems not to in- 

 jure the young shoots springing from the root-stalk which 

 arc to form the succeeding crop of sterns. It is beneficial 

 to the roots after each crop is reaped to manure them 

 heavily a.i well as to supply abundant moisture. When 

 once the Kamie plants are established the stems aie pro- 

 duced more abundantly with age and also grow much faster. 

 AA'here too thick they should be carefully thinned so as 

 to promote the growth of larg e healthy stems. The dur- 

 ation of lite of a root of Ramie depeuds (as on the dur- 

 ation and A iuld of bananas and other similar plants) en 

 the strength and character of the soil, tho relative quautity 

 of mauuif. supplied, and the amount of moisture present, 

 as well on the general cultural treament received by it. 

 There i> no reason to doubt that where these favourable 

 conditii'.is exist, a plantation of Kamie will last for maiiy 

 years ^um or twelve at leiist) and prove vei'y productive. 

 The 1 urtions of the plant which yield fibre are cortical 

 layers of the stem. The Chiuese divide these layers as 

 follows; — The outer green layer is generally coarse and 

 hard, and only good for making common materials. 

 The second is a little more supple and fine ; while the 

 third, which is the best, is used for making extremely fine 

 light articles. — Planters' Gazette. 



" ROUGH ON RATS. " 

 Clears out rats, mice, roaches, tlies. ants, bed-bugs, 

 beetles, insects, skunks, chipmunks, gophers. Druggists, 

 B. S. Madou & Co., Bomb.ay, General Agent*. 



