282 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



rocky surface of the country. The roasted seed has been used 

 from time immemorial. In Persia as early as A. D. 875. In 

 Arabia, in the beginning of the fifteenth century, and a contury 

 later we find it in general use in Constantinople. The first 

 coffee-house in London was opened in 1652, by a Greek named 

 Pasqua, and twenty years later it found its way to France. 

 There, and in other countries, it is now the daily and almost 

 necessary drink of hundreds of millions of people. Of the increase 

 of the cultivation and export of coffee, we may judge from the- 

 fact that the European consumption a few years ago amounted 

 to 168 millions of pounds — while it takes 600 millions of pounds 

 to supply the coffee-drinking world, at the present time. 



A remark or two on the coffee tree may not be uninteresting. 

 It delights in a dry soil and a warm situation, attains in differ- 

 ent countries the height of eight, ten, and sometimes tAventy feet, 

 bears a dark and shining foliage, and (under favorable circum- 

 stances) yields its fruit for twenty years. If used and not abused, 

 it may be considered one of " Heaven's best gifts" to man. 



It exhilerates — strengthens — allays hunger, and imparts to the 

 weary traveler both comfort and repose. The genuine berry 

 contains three valuable ingredients, viz : a volatile oil, (developed 

 in the roasting,) tannic acid, and the substance called " theine" or 

 " caffeine" (which is common to both coffee and tea.) In this (as its 

 original state) it is probably cheaper than any of its substitutes, 

 which (wanting those elements) are riot coffee at all; but alas! it 

 is seldom allowed to stand on its own merits. The desire to 

 avoid the " tax," (which makes coffee an expensive indulgence,) 

 aided by that " love of money" which is the " root of many 

 evils," prompts to " tricks of the trade," beginning with those 

 *' who cheat a little to make an honest living," and ending with 

 those who cheat without visitings of conscience. From the _^r.?^, 

 ?rho advertise " pure coffee at 20 cts. per lb.,") you may break- 

 fast on a beverage made from five pounds of coffee and two 

 pounds of " chickory." From the last, you maybe thankful if 

 the peas and beans burnt and ground for your morning draught 

 were not discolored and spoiled before you bought them as " a 

 genuine arficle.'^ 



Frauds to an increasing extent are practiced on those who buy 

 " ground spices." The " mustard," so nicely " boxed" and label- 

 led, is not mustard at all. In most cases it is the meal of yelloAV 

 kiln-dried corn, ground fine and flavored with cayenne pepper. 



