Coffee-tea. 13 



which contains medicinal virtue. I am informed 

 that an infusion made of the leaves, has, in the 

 absence of more powerful tonics, been found very 

 beneficial. This is the less to be wondered at 

 when we remember that the plant is allied to the 

 family of the Cinchonacete, which yields us the 

 invaluable specific antidote to fever, quinine. 



It seems to be an unfailing rule of Nature, 

 guided as she is by an all-wise and bountiful 

 Providence, to allow no evil to exist within her 

 realm, without providing a remedy near at hand ; 

 and doubtless the further we become acquainted 

 with her ways, or, in other words, with SCIENCE, 

 the more invariable this arrangement will be 

 found ; in support of this theory, it has been 

 observed that coffee flourishes best in malarious 

 localities, and where, consequently, fevers are 

 prevalent. 



The decoction from the leaves, the latter being 

 previously dried in the same manner as those of 

 the tea plant, yields a not unpleasant beverage, 

 and one for which a taste might soon be acquired 

 under favourable circumstances. The difficulty in 

 preparing the leaves for use appears to consist 

 in the necessity for preserving their greenish hue 

 when dry, a secret said not in the meantime to be 

 in the possession of Europeans ; though a Dr. 

 Gardner exhibited specimens of the leaves dried 



