292 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS AND PLANTS 



equaling a half inch in diameter, but in cultivation they some- 

 times attain the size of the wrist, with high flavor. 



To these might be added such garden crops as spinach, a 

 native of Persia, and cultivated from ancient times ; New Zea- 

 land spinach {Tetragonia expansa), which is our only contribution 

 from that far-off country, brought to Europe by Captain Cook ; 

 chicory, which is wild over most of Europe and in western and 

 northern Asia, and, in both the cultivated and wild state, used as 

 a substitute for coffee ; and many others, mere mention of which 

 would too greatly extend our space. 



Plants cultivated for Beverage 



Coffee (Coffea arabica). This favorite of the Anglo-Saxon race, 

 and of western races generally, grows wild in Abyssinia, where 

 it has been used from time immemorial. This does not mean, 

 however, that it has been long under cultivation, but rather that, 

 like ginseng, it was hunted wild and reduced to cultivation only 

 when the native supply failed. The name indicates Arabian 

 origin, but while a fine quality is produced in that country,^ 

 it has never been found truly wild. A larger and stronger-grow- 

 ing coffee is the Liberian coffee {Coffea libericd), native in that 

 country and subjected to the same uses. 



Tea {Thca sinensis). Whether green or black, the species is 

 the same. Its use is of very ancient date in China, being men- 

 tioned as early as 2700 b.c. It is used- both wild and cultivated 

 in Cochin China, and the best of authorities believe it to be 

 a native of the " mountainous region which separates the plains 

 of India from those of China." ^ 



Mate {Hex paraguayensis). This plant (pronounced ma! to) is a 

 native of southeastern South America, where it has long been 



1 This is the true Mocha, a small-grained, very fine-flavored variety. The 

 common Mocha of commerce grows, however, on the same tree with other 

 coffee. It is simply the small round bean growing alone at the end of the twig, 

 whereas most of the berries grow as twins, with the flat surfaces together, 

 forming a kind of bean. Even this Mocha is superior to other berries on the 

 same tree. 2 '< Origin of Cultivated Plants," p. 119. 



