3t6 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, [November 2, 1885. 



distribution of plants — the reason why onelsintl grows in 

 America, and a second in South Africa, and a third iu 

 Australia— is connected with the repeated physical 

 changes which the surface of our old planet has been 

 uuderi^oing ever since vegetable life began. Hence we 

 see liow plants of high antiquity may become extinct in 

 one place, so that the only evidence we have that they 

 ever lived and grew .there at all is from their being 

 found in the fossil state. 



Have we the pepper-tree in Ceylon? Is the Schinus 

 moUe the tree which grows on the border of the 

 bay of Naples lining the Chiaga? The following 

 is the reference in the Tieasunj of liotamj: — 



ScHINos. — Thi Greek name for the mastic-tree, 

 Fistiuii Lciitisciti, bu;. now appUed toa genus of Aiiifar- 

 rf(«(Y'«', consisting of trees and shrubs, nitivesof tropic il 

 Aineric.i, &c. The leaves are unerpiiily pinii ite, the ter- 

 mmal lead 3t very loiig. Theflowers are small white, iu 

 terminal or axillary panicles, diteclous; cilyx five-parted, 

 persistent ; stamjus ten, inserted beneath a wavy fleshy 

 disk; ovary solitary; styles three or four, terminal, very 

 short; fruit succulent round, the stone one-celled one- 

 seeded, il,s outer surf ice traver.sed by six longitudinal 

 channels filled with oih 



' I'he leaves of sime of tho species are so filled with a 

 resinous tluid, that the least degree of unusual repletion 

 of the tissue causes it to be discharged; thus some of them 

 fill the air with fragrance after rain ; and .S'. .Voile and 

 some others expel their resin with such violence when 

 immersed in water as to have the appearance of spontan- 

 eous mjtion, iu cousequeuee of tlie recoil.' — liotctnicai 

 Mcgtstir, t. 15S0. 



S. Areirn is said to cause swellings in those ^rho sleep 

 under its shade. The tre.sh juicy bark of this shrub is 

 used in Brazil tor rubbing newly-made ropes, which it 

 covers with a bright dark-brown varnish. The juice of 

 this plant is used iu diseases of the eyes. Tbe root of 

 S. MoHc is used medicinally in Peru, while the resin that 

 exudes from the tree iscnployed to aslringe the gums. 

 From the fruits is prep,ared a kind of wine in Chili. The 

 small twigs serve for toothpicks. Tbe specific name 

 31o!le or Jliil/i is an adoptatiou of the Peruvian name for 

 the shrub. [M. T. M.] 



" QUAKEKS " IN COFFEE. 

 (From the A)nerican Grocer.) 



We present below, from the pen of the leading 

 broker in mild colfee, the first of an article in relation 

 to " quakers," or the white beans that are frequently 

 found in roasted cotfee, together with some comments 

 upon trade peculiarities. We are not prepared to en- 

 dorse ad he says, especially in re^Nrd to manipulated 

 coffee. We do, however, unqualifiedly agree with him 

 in his denunciation of tbe frauds practiced by placing 

 "milled" or "sweated" cotfee in other than the 

 original bags. Tuere is at least one compauy that 

 steadily refuses to rcsack manipulated coffee in other than 

 original coverings. That is a Iraud too frequently pract- 

 iced, and itis only by exposure it can be checked. In 

 referring to these various matters, " B.oker " says : 



The common grades of any given variety of coffee 

 will, as a rule, roast freer from white beans th.an the 

 higher grades. Genuine Mocha, the highest-priced cotfee 

 on the list, has the greatest proportion of white beans. 



Java, the next highest-priced unwashed cotfee, the 

 brst varieties of which come from Humatra, contains 

 many " quakers," and jet it is justly a univer.sal favor- 

 ite all over Europe and in the older settled portions 

 of the United States. Next in order we have a cotfee 

 almost entirely consumed in the XTuited States viz., 

 Maracaibo. Tbe highest grade is called Uucuta and is 

 to a great extent used iu place of .Java cotfee, which it 

 so closely resembles in flavor that it would be safe to say 

 that no "conmiittee" of coffee experts could pick out 

 from a dozen cups of an infusion made from the two sorts, 

 the six which were made from Padang.T:iva and the six 

 from Cucuta. This favorite Marac:iibo almost inv.iri- 

 ably roasts, showing many '■ quaker-s." When a seller 

 shows a sample of it roasted that is entirely free of 

 white beans, I would consider it a point in favor of 



doubting if it was genuine Oucuta. I believe the bulk 

 of the real Cu3uta is retailed as Old Government .Java, 

 aiid that much of the Mar-icaibo so'd consists of the 

 common grades, which are generally bejter roasters 

 than the higher gi-a les, or some one of the numerous 

 substitutes palmsd off by dishunest dealers as the gen- 

 nine article. For this purpose any quantity of inferior 

 CDffee, such as Santos, etc., is used provided it is cheap 

 enough to make the fraud pay. The imposition is facilit- 

 ated by the buyet', who insists on having milled instead 

 of " natural " cotfee. These imitations frequently roast 

 much better than the genuine, but the flavor does not 

 seem to be taken into account. This milling business 

 is a comparatively new tiling, the advantage gained 

 being a smoother-looking roast. No one, however, has 

 as yet claimed that it improves the drinking qualities, 

 J'ochas or Javas are not milled by any one, and tiiey 

 certainly roast rough enough. The practice has 

 opened the door to fraud wider than ever. As an in- 

 stance, we might mention the importation of Mara- 

 caibo coffee, which can be roughly set down as 230,000 

 bags, yet perhaps 500,000 are solii. It is said some 

 people buy little or none and sell much, having .an 

 unlimited supply, at short notice, of any favorite mark. 

 Now, how is it done ? The seller takes a Santos, worth 

 say 9 cents, has it milled, and sells it frr say 9| cents, 

 h iving had it resacked in Maracaibo bags and then 

 sold as a straight Maracaibo coffee milled. If it looks 

 well and roasts well the buyer, who, ten to one does 

 not care how it drinks, takes it and does not want 

 to inquire too closely into its pedigree, so that he 

 can sell it with a clear conscience for what he knows 

 it caunot be, as he did not pay price enough to get a 

 straight article. He tacitly aids and abets the decep- 

 tion. A large percentage of tbe buyers, however, 

 certainly w.oit straight goods whatever grade the^' ask 

 for, and they pay enough for their goods to entitle 

 tliem to an honest delivery. Yet, iu tbe face of facts, 

 these buyers insist on "milled" coffee, often being 

 shown a sample roast free from white beans, the latter 

 result being obtained by a breed of nimble-fiugered 

 and rubber-conscienced salesmen who pick out tho 

 quakers. Milled coffee should ho bought only when 

 milled by some reliable concern that will not put colfee 

 in bags dift'erent in kind from that in which it was 

 when imported. It should not be difficult to find or 

 create such a concern, as it would soon have all the 

 honest business. 



In all coffee consuming and producing countries, ex- 

 cepting the United States, the test of desirability is 

 the cup quality. They buy for the palate and not 

 for the eye. Many a lot of coffee that looks poor 

 green is, when roasted, excellent in the cup. Tlie 

 drinking quality is the true test, and no one should 

 buy an article, such as tea, coffee, chocolate, etc., 

 that comes to our table in an entirely changed form 

 except for its agreeableuess and purity. The coti'ee most 

 pleasing to the eye is frequently sold roasted for a 

 higher price than one showing " quakers," yet really 

 of greater intrinsic value. 



An enormous quantity of " quakers " might make a 

 coffee driuk as if made from peanuts. It is also quite 

 .s.afe to s.ay that no one, no matter how 'cute he 

 thinks he is, couKl pick out drawings made from coffee 

 with an average quantity of '* quakers " than if made 

 from others entirely free from them. This "i|uaker" 

 business must appear ridiculous to outsiders, and so it 

 is ; but it has a'-sunied such enormous proportions that 

 it has become a great evil iu the coffee business. It 

 is based on the rankest nonsense. What a tiouble it 

 is people will nuderstaml when they are informed that 

 large buyers roast samples of almost every 50bag lot 

 of mild coffee before purchasing. Sometimes five or 

 six jobbers do this on one invoice of cotfee in succes- 

 sion, exhaust the samples and they do not buy " because 

 it is quakery." If coffee was roasted sutiiciently high 

 instead of merely having it toasted, ami then consumers 

 knew how to properly prepare it. wddcb is the princip-il 

 secret of obtaining a good cup of colfee. we would bear 

 less about white beans. Some can make a fair cup of colfee 

 from most any kind, and some could not get a good 

 cup out of the finest. 



