18 THE Microscope. 
dangers which have been discovered, and, it is to be hoped, 
materially diminished, by the action of the New York City 
Health Department during the past few months. 
As to coffee: Two forms of treatment have been applied to 
raw coffee in order to affect the color and general appearance of 
the bean—* sweating,” as it is cometimes termed, and revolving 
in cylinders. The latter process is termed “ polishing” when 
powdered soapstone of nothing whatever is mixed with the cof- 
fee, and “ painting ” when mineral pigments are added to change 
the color. The coffee is usually moistened to soften the exter- 
ior; sometimes a little gum arabic is dissolved in the water 
used. 
When coffee was brought here by sailing vessels, requiring 
a long time for the voyage, the coffee underwent a change in the 
hold analogous to the sweating process in curing tobacco, or 
that used in the preparation of some kinds of tea. It is worthy 
of remark that a decided improvement in flavor is imparted by 
such a process to articles of the kind. The effect on the coffee 
was not only to improve the flavor, but to alter somewhat the 
form of the bean, while the color was changed from a brownish 
green to a more decided brown. When steamers began to carry 
coffee, the time of the voyage was too short to permit this 
sweating process to produce such an effect, and a method of 
treating the coffee with moist heat (140° to 150° Fahrenheit) 
was devised, which imitated in some respects the conditions 
produced in the hold of a sailing vessel. With some coffees 
this treatment produced a perceptible increase in the size of 
the bean, as well as the alteration in flavor and tint, and in this 
way, except in point of color, some South American coffees 
could be made to imitate the more popular ‘‘ Java.” 
“Polishing” was originally practiced, without the addition 
of any mineral substances, to improve the general appearance 
of the raw coffee; but it was accidentally discovered that the 
addition of small amounts of pulverized soapstone effects a 
much more decided improvement. This led to the use of min- 
eral substances and pigments to affect the color, until now cof- 
fee can be “ painted” any desired shade by those skilled in this 
branch, just as one can get from a dyer any desired shade on 
woven frabrics. <A list of the substances used in this “ paint- 
