312 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



sweetish-bittei' taste. To many the addition of a little 

 of this bitter liquid to the infusion of genuine coffee 

 appears an improvement— a remarkable illustration of 

 the creation of a corrupt taste by an adulteration, 

 which taste demands afterwards the continuance to 

 satisfy its own craving. The bitter substance itself, 

 however, is not considered unwholesome. Very 

 many bitter substances of this kind possess a tonic 

 property, and it is not unlikely that the bitter of 

 chicory may be among the number. " But the use of 

 chicory," adds the Professor, " appears to have 

 originated from other causes than the discovery, or even 

 the supposed presence of a tonic property in its bitter 

 ingredient. A little of the roasted chicory gives as dark 

 a colour to the water, and as bitter a taste, as a great 

 deal of coffee, and hence it was originally introduced 

 into the coffee-houses for a purpose akin to that which 

 takes cocculus indicus into the premises of the fraudu- 

 lent brewer— it gave colour and taste to the beverage 

 of the drinker, and at the same time saved the expen- 

 sive coffee of the seller. The public taste gradually 

 accommodated itself to the fraudulent mixture : it be- 

 came by-and-by even grateful to the accustomed 

 palate, and finally a kind of favourite necessity to the 

 lovers of hitter coffee." 



Tracing down the fiscal charges on chicory, we find 

 that a quarter of a century ago the duty on the raw or 

 kiln-dried root was £\ per cwt., and on roasted or 

 ground £'2 16s. per cwt. under the 6th and 7th Will. 

 IV. c. 60. By an excise order, dated Aug. 31, 1840, 

 it was ordered that no objection be made on the part 

 of the reveniie to dealers in and sellers of coffee mix- 

 ing chicory with coffee, or to their having the same so 

 mixed in their possession. Considerable quantities 

 then began to be imported, and the consumption be- 

 came extensive, on account of the comparatively high 



price of coffee. The Government then placed a duty 

 on importation of £20 per ton on the root, and £56 

 per ton on the roasted or ground. On the 10th Oct., 

 1854, the duty was taken off; and now a duty of £6 

 per ton is proposed to be levied next year, both on 

 foreign and British grown. 



It is a strange fact that the consumption of coffee 

 has not increased in this country, even with the reduc- 

 tion of duty. We consumed no more coffee last year 

 than we did in 1 849, and three million pounds less 

 than in 1846, yet with a lower rate of duty and an in- 

 creased population of about three millions. Whether the 

 public taste does not ruu on coffee, or adulteration has 

 any influence in checking consumption, we cannot de- 

 finitively say. Certainly the number of coffee houses 

 has largely increased; but tea must, we presume, be 

 the favourite beverage ; for we find that the consump- 

 tion has risen in the same period of ten years from 50 

 millions to nearly 76^ million pounds. And yet the 

 relative prices of the two dietetic substances are ma- 

 terially different. Belgium, with a population of about 

 five millions, consumes as much coffee as we do, and 

 the United States and North American Provinces six 

 times as much. The production in the world is now 

 in excess of the consumption, and the produce of 

 Ceylon has to seek a foreign market, in consequence 

 of the diminished demand in Great Britain. 



The admixture of chicory has certainly not extended 

 the sale of coffee, and it has been attended with no 

 benefit to tlie poorer consumers, who pay nearly as 

 much for chicory, or the mixture, as they would for 

 low-priced coffees, which are infinitely superior in nou- 

 rishment, and in their general effect upon the con- 

 stitution. It may do for the Continent to artificially 

 protect the chicory grower ; but we, who have extensive 

 coffee-producing colonies, need no such bounty. 



VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL PAPERS. 



It is surprising to see the indifference manifested by farmers 

 generally in regard to the success of agricultural papers. One 

 would naturally suppose that every individual wlio cuUivat- s 

 the soil, would be deeply interested in everything calculated 

 to increase his knowledge in that calling by which he lives ; 

 but, strange to say, so far from this being the case, the majority 

 of farmers do not even subscribe to an agricultural paper. 



I atn sure that this indifference arises mainly from a want of 

 appreciating the benefits to be derived therefrom, and the very 

 erroneous, but I am sorry to say, generally prevailing opinion, 

 that " almost any man ought to know how to farm." If we 

 talk to a doctor, a lawyer, or a merchant, on any agricultural 

 subject, he will discourse with the greatest assurance, and ten 

 to one if he does not set up his opinions in opposition to ours, 

 and even offer his advice on some matters of importance ; but 

 let the farmer dispute the opinions of any of these worthies, 

 and offer to advise Aim in his calling, and he will be filled with 

 indignant surprise that a mere clod-hopper should pretend to 

 know anything about a profession which he had never learned. 

 Now I confess I can see no difference between one man offer- 

 ing his advice about selecting a stock, studying a brief, or 

 making-up a prescription, without having learned how ; and 

 another man holding forth on the best method of fattening 

 stock, or renovating old pastures, without having learned how 

 either. 



Now I think the main aim of an agricultural paper should 

 be, to disseminate knowledge concerning the art, and to give 

 the farmer a more exalted opinion of his own calling, for com- 

 paratively few men will take the trouble to acquire knowledge 

 unless they think it will be of advantage to them. Let the 

 farmer continue in the belief that he does not need book- 

 learning — that his father got on very well without it, and why 

 not he, and he will benefit very little by an agricultural paper, 

 even if lie takes one. But let liim awake to the fact that his 

 profession la the noblest in the world— one in which the 



brightest genius and most profound research may find ample 

 scope, and he will be impelled to read and think, and will 

 eagerly seek after and profit by anything that will throw light 

 on his practice. This is the main advantage of an agricultural 

 paper, first to awakeu a spirit of inquiry, and then to feed it. 



Surely no one will deny that more useful information can be 

 obtained from a good agricultural monthly or weekly, than in 

 any other way at the same cost and troulJle, embracing as it 

 does all subjects of interest to the farmer, and constituting a 

 medium through which farmers may communicate their 

 thoughts and experience to each other. Have we a valuable 

 horse or cow that seems in an unthrifty condition, and we 

 are at a loss to know the cause — or have we a piece of ground 

 that we wish to prepare in the best possible way for the next 

 year's crop, or a piece of waste land that we wish to reclaim — 

 do we want information in regard to any operation we wish to 

 perform, how eagerly do we seek the opinions of those who 

 may have had experience in the matter, and sometimes put 

 ourselves to considerable trouble and expense to obtain advice 

 on the subject — while for 50 cents, a year we can get a monthly 

 paper, or for 2 dols. a weekly, affording the opinions and prac- 

 tice of the ablest and most successful men in the country on 

 all these subjects. 



In view of these facts, let me request every man who aspires 

 to be a tiller of the soil, to lend a helping hand to promote 

 the common good by encouraging those who are labouring 

 to elevate his calling. There are many good agricultural 

 papers published, and at a surprisingly cheap rate. Now is 

 the time to subscribe. At the commencement of the year 

 lose no time, but subscribe without delay to at least one good 

 paper devoted to your interest ; and he must be either 

 supremely wise, or hopelessly stupid, if he does not find it the 

 best and most profitable investment he has made during the 

 year, Geo, Esson, Canada West, 



