24 l'E.\.NSVLVAMA COLLEGE. 



taste tl,ae flavor was quite as agreeable as that of the Cliinese tea. It is 

 said, especially if taken cold, to relieve hunger and thirst. In Ciiili and 

 Peru the people believe they could not exist without it and pray per- 

 sons take it every hour of the day, debauching with it as the Turks do 

 Avith opium. Indians who have been laboring all day at the oar, feel 

 immediately refreshed by a cup of the herb mixed simply with river 

 ■water. The Jesuits attempted to cultivate this shrub but only partially 

 succeeded. It grows spontaneously in the regions of Coritiba and Par- 

 anagua and flourishes best when suflfered to propagate itself. 



The following description of the Cocoa will not, we suppose, be de- 

 nied of interest to the readers of the Journal. It is the staple vegetable, 

 and although many of the uses to which it may be applied are unknown 

 or unpractised here, yet it literally furnishes the people with meat, drink, 

 fuel, houses and commerce. Besides the sale of the raw nut, the pulp 

 is converted into oil, the shell into dippers, and the fibrous husk into 

 cordage ; while the water is valuable as a beverage. At the same time 

 the leaf gives materials for the construction of an entire habitation. It 

 is wrought into baskets, it makes fences, and when dried may be used 

 for writing, while its ashes yield potash. The terminal bud is a delicate 

 article of food; the juice of the stem and flower contains sugar and 

 may be fermented into wine or distilled into spirits ; and finally the case 

 of the trunk or stem is converted into drums or used in the construction 

 of buildings, while the lower extremity is so hard as to take a beautiful 

 polish, after which it resembles agate. Persons mounting the trees to 

 pluck the fruit, carry afoucc or hedging bill with a short handle to cut 

 the stems. It is twisted into the girdle of the bearer, who if expert, places 

 .simply his hand and feet against the side of the tree and loalks up, if 

 not with the agility of a monkey, certainly with incomparable self-com- 

 posure ; this is done on the tallest and straightest trees. 



But our limits will not allow us to follow Mr. K. any further, and 

 we must refer our readers to the book itself, assuring them that it will 

 repay the time spent in its perusal. 



PEMXSYLVANIA COLLEGE. 



The Winter Session of Pennsylvania College commenced on the 23d 

 of October. The accession of new students in the first half of the term 

 has been unusually large, and there are now about one hundred and 

 fifty students in attendance in all the departments of the Institution, 

 which has never been in a more prosperous condition. The Medical 

 department in Philadelphia has also opened with a large accession of 

 new students. 



