SEEDS AND FBUITS. 



313 



are as follows: Caffein, eight per cent. ; fat, ten to thirteen 

 per cent. ; cellulose, thirty-four per cent. ; water, twelve per 

 cent. ; trace of oil and ash, 6.7 per cent. The use of coffee 

 was prohibited by the Koran, it being regarded as an intoxi- 

 cant. Coffee-houses were opened in Constantinople in the 

 sixteenth century, and were met with violent hostility on 

 the part of ecclesiastics. The first coffee-shop was opened 

 in London in 1652 ; the use of coffee met with opposition 

 here also. At about the same time cocoa and tea were 

 introduced. Coffee is now used in immense quantities. 

 Statistics show that the approximate amount used annually 

 per inhabitant in France is 2.73 pounds ; in Belgium, 

 18-48 pounds ; in Holland, 21 pounds ; in Italy, 1 pound ; 

 in Denmark, 13.89 pounds; in Russia, .19 poundss; in 

 Switzerland, 7.03 pounds, and in the United States, 7.61 

 pounds. 



310. The Gastor-oil Plant (Fig. 351), Bidnua communis 

 (family Euphorbiacece), sup- 

 posed to be a native of 

 India, is now cultivated in 

 the East Indies, Africa, 

 North America, and some 

 other countries. Many "va- 

 rieties" have arisen under 

 cultivation. In cold coun- 

 tries it is an annual; in 

 warm countries it becomes 

 perennial, woody, and ar- 



. boreseent. The stem is glau- 351 



cous, bearing very large leaves, with serrated lobes; 



the flowers are apetalous and monoecious in terminal 



Fig. 351. The Castor-oil Plant {Ricinus communis). 



