312 ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



liquors, for per&mery, and in medicine. They are also 

 used for food. 



308. The Peanut, Arachis hypogasa (family Legitmi- 

 noscB), is supposed to be a native of South America ; it has 

 been cultivated for a long time in all warm countries. It 

 is an annual plant, with clover-like leaves, and yellowish 

 axillary flowers on erect peduncles. After fertilization 

 these bend downwards, and the ovary is thrust into the 

 ground, Avhere the pod ripens ; this is an indehiscent 

 legume, coriaceous, veiny, and tough. The seeds have an 

 oily taste ; analysis shows that they contain forty -three to 

 fifty per cent, of fat, twenty-seven or twenty-eight per cent, 

 of albuminoids, thirteen per cent, of starch and cellulose, 

 and some gum and sugar. The oil when cold-pressed is 

 colorless, of a pleasant odor and taste, and thinner than 

 olive-oil ; when warm-pressed it is yellowish, and has an 

 unpleasant odor and taste. The plant is cultivated for the 

 fruit, which is consumed in large quantities as food. The 

 oil which is manufactured from the seeds is used for food, 

 also for illumination, and in the manufacture of soap. 



309. The Coffee-plant, Coffea Arabiea (family Ruhi- 

 acece), is indigenous to Abyssinia, where it is called Cofia, and 

 within a few hundred years has come into cultivation in 

 many other countries. It is an evergreen tree, eighteen to 

 twenty feet high ; it has white, papery bark, and slender, hori- 

 zontal branches. The leaves are oblong-ovate, acuminate, 

 smooth and shining, six inches long, and nearly one-half as 

 wide. The evanescent flowers are in axillary clusters ; they 

 are pure white, and have a rich, fragrant odor. The fruit is a 

 cherry-like berry, becoming of a dark-red color as it ripens ; 

 the pulp within is yellow, and encloses two plano-convex 

 seeds, the Coffee of commerce. The constituents of ccfico 



