CAFFEOXE. 383 



the bark is of a reddish tint, and is furnished with a number of 

 straight, closely packed, raised lines, which give it a striated 

 appearance, the inner surface of the cascarilla being smooth. The 

 taste is not aromatic but astringent, and almost without bitterness. 

 The colour of the bark is also of a more reddish tint than that of 

 cascarilla. From the general appearance and microscopic structure 

 of the bark it seems probable that it may belong to a plant of the 

 same genus as the cascarilla, probably Croton lucidiim, Liu., 

 which is said to be used by the negroes of Xew Providence to 

 mix with the bark of the true cascarilla, under the idea that it 

 improves the curative powers of the latter, and is known by the 

 name of " false sweet-wood bark," sweet-wood being the name 

 applied by them to the true cascarilla. Hence this l)ark may 

 have been mixed with the cascarilla, by those who collected it, for 

 the above-mentioned purpose ; but from the fact of its only 

 occurring in one seron, it is more probaltle that it was an in- 

 tentional adulteration. The infusion and tincture of this false 

 bark are darker in colour than those of cascarilla : the tincture of 

 galls gives a scarcely preceptible cloudiness, and tincture of 

 perchloride of iron turns the tincture almost black, while the 

 infusion is only slightly deepened in colour by it, and acetate of 

 lead gives an abundant precipitate with both tinctures. The 

 tincture of true cascarilla is not altered in appearance either by 

 tincture of perchloride of iron or tincture of galls. 



Caffeone. — The process of coffee roasting is in reality a process 

 of destructive distillation at a low temperature, stopped at a certain 

 point. When coffee berries are properly roasted they should not 

 have lost more than 18 per cent, in weight. If the loss exceeds 

 20 per cent, the flavour suffers in proportion. The empyreumatic 

 oil produced varies, according to the source and condition of the 

 berries, from 8 to 13 per cent. ; of tliis, at least one-half is lost 

 by the escape of its vapour, the other half remaining in the 

 berries. The actual bodies given off' from the berries during the 

 operation are Caffeone, C^ H^^ Oo ; Caffeine, CgHjo^^Oo; fatty 

 acids, chiefly palmitic ; acetic acid ; carbon dioxide, and small 

 quantities of pyrrol, methylamine and quinol (this last derived 

 probably from the quinic acid contained in the raw beans). 



Caffeone, the aromatic principle of coffee, may be isolated by 

 clistillincj 5 or 6 lbs. of roasted coffee with water, aoitatincj the 



