THE PLANT. 15 



this succulent covering, but without much success. 

 The cHemislry of waste products has yet an in- 

 exhaustible field before it, and our cherry covering 

 is an instance. 



As manure, we shall mention it again. It is 

 in this form of moderate value, like any other 

 vegetable refuse, but contains too large a portion 

 of water in the crude state to recommend it highly 

 to the economical planter. Spirit is occasionally 

 distilled from it, but not in India ; and abroad, 

 dried and pounded, it has been tried as a substitute 

 for Coffee with but very poor results. 



It is, however, with ^he__s^ed^ot_covers we have 

 most interest. This, in its barest form, cannot 

 fail to be familiar to everyone who has looked into 

 the shops of towns or cities and observed large 

 stores of " Ceylon Plantation," " Mocha," " Native 

 Ceylon," or " Rio " Coffee piled up in heaps and 

 ready for sale. In that condition it is chocolate- 

 colour roasted ; and unroasted, of a greenish-grey 

 tint, varying slightly with the nature and growth 

 of the species. These pale green "beans!! for 

 that is their technical name (derived from the 

 Arabic word bunn, an authority tells us, and thus 

 from the same root as the humble cake) are con- 

 vex on one surface _and_ flat uEon_Jbhe__gther. In 

 the centre of the rij^Jruj^ 



together (smooth surface to smooth surface), each 

 covered first by a very fine jmd._delicate garment, 

 termed " the silvery skin ;" nextly, each has a some- \ 



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