212 SUBSTITUTES AND ADULTERANTS. 



coffee, being very rich in caffeine and possessing nutri- 

 tious properties, while recently a substitute for coffee has 

 been introduced to England and the continent of Europe 

 under the name of " Mochara," which is simply a prep- 

 aration made from ripe figs, roasted and pulverized, which 

 is sold at about half the price of coffee. Another illus- 

 tration of the modern craze for replacing every genuine 

 article by an inferior substitute is to be found in the 

 announcement of a company to work a recent patent for 

 making coffee out of dates. In New Zealand the berries 

 of the Coprosma have been proposed as a coffee substi- 

 tute, while the seeds of the Cassia have been lately im- 

 ported into England from the river Gambia and sold 

 there under the name of " Negro Coffee." But although 

 such substitutes and admixture are demanded, yet it 

 appears to be impossible to replace coffee altogether, 

 all the elaborate attempts made by the French chemists 

 during the wars in the early part of this century being 

 unsuccessful in providing any approximate substitute for 

 coffee. 



Kola-nut Coffee. The diminishing production of 

 coffee in Java, Ceylon, and other countries of East 

 Indies has given rise to the suggestion that the culti- 

 vation of the Kola-nut as as substitute for coffee should 

 be undertaken, which not only as a stimulant, but as an 

 article of food, possesses the essential properties of coffee, 

 and is even said to be richer in the active principle, 

 caffeine. Heretofore this product has been raised chiefly 

 for medicinal purposes only, but its acceptability as a 

 stimulating and nutritious beverage is rapidly growing, 

 possessing as it does a high value, because of its power 

 of enabling men to sustain great effort as well as to 

 endure long fasting. It is fast finding a place in com- 

 merce in the same order as that held by coffee, the 



