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of the large military hospitals, and noticed several barrels 

 of dried coffee grounds, the purpose whereof excited his 

 curiosity. The polite commissary informed him that they 

 received twelve dollars a barrel for the grounds. ' But what 

 is it purchased for ?' he asked. ' Well,' said the commissary, 

 hesitatingly, ' it is re-aromatised by the transforming hand 

 of modern chemistry, and put up in pound papers, which are 

 decorated with attractive labels and high-sounding names.' " 



About ten years ago, when the question of coffee adultera 

 tion was much agitated, I published a little treatise, entitled, 

 " Coffee, as it is and as it ought to be," in which, among other 

 particulars, I pointed out the various sophistications prac- 

 tised. A compositor who was engaged in printing the work 

 furnished me with a remarkable statement in confirmation 

 of reports which I had previously heard. 



He stated that in various parts of the metropolis, but more 

 especially in the east, are to be found liver bakers. These 

 men take the livers of oxen and horses, bake them, and grind 

 them into a powder, which they sell to the low-priced coffee- 

 shop keepers, at from 4d. to 6d. per pound ; horse -liver coffee 

 bearing the highest price. This adulterant may be known 

 by allowing the coffee to stand until cold, when a thick 

 pellicle or skin will be found on the top. It goes farther 

 than coffee, and is generally mixed with chicory and other 

 vegetable imitations of coffee. 



According to the investigations of Dr. Hassall (" Eood and 

 its Adulterations"), the several adulterations of coffee maybe 

 distinguished by the following characters : 



Chicory, by the size, form, and ready separation of the 

 component cells of the root, as well as by the presence of an 

 abundance of spiral vessels of the dotted form. 



Roasted corn, by the size, form, and other characters of 

 the starch granules, of which the grains are principally com- 

 posed. Beans, also, by the form, &c., of the constituent 

 granules of starch. Potato, by the large size, rounded form, 



