April 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. 



THE PALAIS DE L'lNDUSTRIE, PARIS. 401 



thatof Ficustinctoria, of Tahiti; Inocarpus edulis,a, plant of theSapotaceae, 

 containing a glutinous dyeing substance ; the dye lichens and mosses of 

 the west coast of Africa, and the seeds of Bixa Orellana. The rich 

 indigo plantations of Pondioherry, Senegal, Karikal, Guiana, &c, cannot 

 he too highly appreciated. The fruits of Aleurites triloba, Euphorbiaceae, 

 furnish an excellent oil for painting, and the bark of Casuariua 

 equisetifolia is very caustic, aid a substitute for a great many astrin- 

 gent substances. We find also the gamboge of the Stalagmites gambo- 

 goides, its brilliant yellow colour is known by everyone. Amongst the 

 plants whose astringent properties make them important in tanning, I 

 shall only mention a few- — first of all the Areca palm or betel nut 

 (Areca Catechu), the nuts of which eontain much tannin ; Acacia Adan- 

 sonii, having similar but superior properties to our gall nuts, and 

 the bark of Rhizophora mangle, which, by chemical processes, assumes 

 different colours. 



The only species of coffee of commercial value is Coffea arabica, 

 from Arabia. A Dutchman named J. Home brought it in 1690 to 

 Batavia, and from thence in 1710 to Amsterdam. A few years after, in 

 1713, the Dutch government made a present of a plant to Louis XIX. 

 It was cultivated in one of the stoves of the " Jardin des Plantes," in 

 Paris, then called " Jardin du Eoi," and a short time after it flowered 

 and gave a little crop of seeds. Captain Declieux took in 1715 one 

 small plant, raised in the garden above-mentioned, to the Antilles. 

 During the sea voyage, the crew suffered much from want of water, and 

 Captain Declieux was obliged to share his daily ration of water with 

 his little coffee protegee to protect it from drought. Authentic reports 

 assure us that from this small and weakly plant has sprung all the 

 coffee plantations we now meet with in Martinique, the Antilles, 

 Guadeloupe, Cayenne, St. Domingo, and the neighbouring islands. To 

 the islands of Bourbon and France (Mauritius), the coffee plant was 

 transplanted in a direct way from Arabia. These colonies soon pro- 

 duced such large quantities of coffee as not only to satisfy the require- 

 ments of France, but to leave a considerable exportation to foreign 

 lands. The loss of St. Domingo in 1789, which island alone produced 

 more than 80 millions of pounds of coffee, the neglect of the cultiva- 

 tion in Martinique and Guadaloupe, and the enormous increase in the 

 consumption, are the principal reasons why France at the present day 

 has become tributary to other countries for a supply. 



The best variety of coffee is undoubtedly the Mocha ; that of the 

 Island of Bourbon is perhaps the next in value. Of the coffees of the 

 West that of Cayenne enjoys a high reputation. On the Island of 

 Bourbon people distinguish four kinds : — 1. The Moclia, which is very 

 delicate ; the plants degenerate and often perish alter a good crop. 

 2. The Levoy, much hardier than the Mocha, but vastly inferior in 

 quality. 3. The Myrthe, a variety of the Mocha, which deserves to be 

 recommended as it is very hardy and yields abundant crops. 4. The 

 Marrou, or wild coffee, with narcotic and bitter properties, so that 



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