BEVERAGES. 55 



were distributed from Kew to most of the coffee-growing 

 countries, including the following : — Jamaica, Bahamas, 

 Barbados, Bermuda, Dominica, Montserrat, New Grenada, 

 E,io de Janeiro, Mauritius, Natal, Ceylon, Bangalore, 

 Calcutta, Madras, and Java, from all of which subsequent 

 reports were obtained of the entire suitability of the plant 

 for cultivation, and recording its rapid growth and estab- 

 lishment. Liberian coffee, however, has not by any means 

 displaced the older Goffea arabica. 



Under the name of Fedegosa, Negro Coffee, or Caf]<; 

 DU Soudan, the seeds of Cassia occidentalis have been 

 brought to notice as a substitute for coffee. The plant, 

 which belongs to the Leguminosse, yields its small seeds in 

 great abundance, and these, when roasted, are used in the 

 West Indies and Central America, as well as in Tropical 

 Africa, where the plant has become naturalised, in the 

 preparation of a beverage very similar to coffee. It is said, 

 indeed, that after being roasted and ground they are often 

 mixed with coffee as an adulterant. The seeds are further 

 said to have tonic and febrifugal properties. Tliey were 

 introduced in 1876, but are now only occasionally seen in 

 the European market. 



Paraguay Tea or Yeeba de Mat^i. — Under these names 

 the leaves of Ilex paraguariensis are extensively used in 

 Paraguay and Brazil in the preparation of a beverage. Up- 

 wards of five millions of pounds are said to be exported 

 annually from Paraguay alone. To prepare the tea for 

 market, the leaves and twigs are simply gathered and dried 

 in the sun or open air, after which they are broken or 

 coarsely ground, from which an infusion is made. The tea 

 contains caffein, and has been recommended at different 

 times for use in this country. About four or five years 

 since it was much advertised as a nervine tea, but it has 

 since dropped out. 



A very important non-intoxicating beverage, but of a 



