remove all mucilaginous matter, after 

 which they are carefully dried, and the 

 parchment-like covering of the seeds 

 removed by means of a mill and a winnow- 

 ing machine. In Brazil, however, the 

 berries as gathered are simply dried in the 

 sun, and afterwards passed through a mill 

 which crushes the shells and allows the 

 separation of the seeds. 



Before being used for the preparation of 

 the well-known beverage, coffee under- 

 goes the process of roasting. By this 

 means it gains nearly one half in bulk, 

 and loses about a fifth in weight ; besides 

 which its essential qualities are greatly 

 changed.rheheat causing the developement 

 of the volatile oil and peculiar acid to 

 which the aroma and flavour are due. 

 Coffee acts upon the brain as a stimulant, 

 inciting it to increased activity, and pro- 

 ducing sleeplessness ; hence it is of great 

 value as an antidote to narcotic poisons. 

 It is also said to exert a soothing action 

 upon the vascular system, preventing the 

 too rapid waste in the tissues of the 

 body, and by that means enabling it to 

 support life upon a smaller quantity of 

 food than would be otherwise required. 

 These effects are due to the volatile oil, 

 and also to the presence of a peculiar 

 crystallisable nitrogenous principle termed 

 caffeine ; and it is not a little remarkable 

 that closely allied, if not identical, prin- 

 ciples exist in many similar beverages used 

 by mankind, such for instance as tea, 

 cocoa, Paraguay tea, and others. The leaves 

 of the Coffee shrub likewise contain caf- 

 feine, and in the island of Sumatra the 

 natives prefer an infusion of them to that 

 of the berries. A patent has been taken 

 out for the introduction of Coffee-tea into 

 this country, but it has not been success- 

 ful. A Javanese Coffee-plantation is shown 

 in Plate 3. [A. SJ 



COFFEE. Coffea arabica, the roasted 

 seeds of which form the Coffee of the 

 shops. — , SWEDISH. The seeds of As- 

 tragalus baiticus. 



COFFEE-BEAN TREE. Gymnocladus 

 canadensis. 



COGWOOD. Ceanothus Cliloroxylon. —, 

 JAMAICA. Hemandia i 



COHESION. The union or superficial 

 incorporation of one organ with another. 



COHNIA. An obscure genus of orchids, 

 related to Oncidium, whose terete-leaved 

 species it resembles in habit. The only 

 knowledge of it is derived from a solitary 

 specimen from Guatemala in the Vienna 

 Herbarium, and from Reichenbach's des- 

 cription and figure in his Xenia Orchidacea. 



COHOSH. An American name for Actcea 

 and Leontice. — , BLUE. Leontice thalic- 

 troides. 



COHTJNE OIL. An oil obtained from 

 the fruit of Attalea Cohune. 



COIGNASSIER. (Fr.) Cjdonia vulga- 

 ris. 



COIGNASSIER DU JAPON. (Fr.) Cy- 

 donia japonica. 



COILOSTIGMA. A genus of Cape Eri- \ 

 cacecp., containing several heath-like shrubs, 

 with ternate verticillate leaves, and flowers 

 clustered at the end of the branches. The ! 

 calyx has four divisions, generally equal, 

 though sometimes with one larger than 

 the others ; the persistent corolla is small 

 and ovate ; the four stamens are inserted 

 below the hypogynous disc, and have hairy j 

 anthers; the ovary has from two to four 

 cells with a single ovule in each, and a 

 cyathiform stigma. The members of this ' 

 genus have the habit of Simoclieilus. They < 

 are separated from the allied genus Codon- i 

 anthemum by the shape of the stigma, and 

 from Codonostigma by the several-celled 

 ovary. [W. C] 



COIR. Cocoa-nut fibre. 



COIX. A genus of grasses belonging to • 

 the tribe Phalaridece, The flowers are mo- 

 noecious. The males grow in lax spikes ; 

 glumes two, membranaceous ; pales two ; 

 stamens three. The females grow in two- 

 flowered spikelets, the inferior flower be- 

 ing neuter with one pale, while the per- 

 fect flower has two fleshy pales, of which 

 the superior is two-nerved. The best 

 known species is C. Lacliryma, common- 

 ly called Job's Tears, a native of the East 

 Indies and Japan. This is frequently cul- 

 tivated, but requires the shelter of a con- 

 servatory. The large round shining fruit 

 have, when young, some resemblance to 

 heavy drops of tears, hence the fanciful 

 specific name. Its medicinal qualities are 

 said to be strengthening and diuretic, and 

 for these qualities it is sometimes used in 

 the countries where it grows. [D. M.] 



COLA. A genus of Sterculiacece, con- 

 sisting of two species only. They are I 

 middle-sized trees, with smooth entire I 

 leaves, and inhabit western tropical Africa, j 

 Their flowers are destitute of a corolla, i 

 but have a coloured five-cut calyx with ! 

 the segments spreading like the spokes of a ] 

 wheel ; the stamens are united into a very j 

 short column, which bears the anthers in a 

 single row, the cells of the anthers spread- 

 ing apart (in allied genera they are par- 

 allel). The ovaries are five in number and 

 cohere together, each having a slender 

 stigma, but no style. The fruit consists 

 of two (sometimes more) separate pods 

 (follicles), which split open on the inner , 

 side, and contain several seeds about the 

 size of horse chestnuts. 



C. acuminata grows about forty feet 

 high, and bears pale yellow flowers spotted 

 with purple; its leaves are about six or 

 eight inches long, and pointed at both 

 ends. Under the name of Cola, or Kolla, 

 or Goora nuts, the seeds of this tree are 

 extensively used as a sort of condiment by 

 the natives of western and central tropical 

 Africa ; and likewise by the negroes in the 

 "West Indies and Brazil, by whom the tree 

 has been introduced into those countries. 

 In Western Africa the trees grow mostly 

 in the vicinity of the coast, and an exten- 



