January i, i88y ] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
437 
OUR BREAK KAST-TAELE AND ITS 
ADULTERATIONS * 
By A. AV. Stokks, F.O.S., F.I.C., Public Analyst to 
l'addington, Bethna] Green, and St. Luke's. 
Tea next engaged tlie attention of the audience- 
Its method of growth and preparation were illustrated 
by some beautiful Chineso paintings made on rice 
paper by nativo nrtists. The properties of ils con- 
stituents, including the alkaloid theine (found also in 
eolfee, and known there as caffeine), were enlarged 
upon. Ml". Stokes pointed out tin; facing of the green 
leaves, to give them a hotter appearance, with Prussian 
blue and silicate of magnesia , and the microscopical 
method of detecting this. The characters of foreign 
leaves and of exhausted tea leaves, as well as those 
of " Lil tea" (containing iron-sand) wero described. 
Experiments to detect the presence of tannin or of 
iron were performed. Inci lentally it was notioed 
that tea in the seventeenth century was sold in Eng- 
land for from Til. to 10/. per lb., and that Parliament 
levied a duty of Is. M. per gallon upon its infusion, 
which tax was afterwards changed to a duty of Ba. 
per lb. upon the dry tea. No regret was expressed 
at the failure to obtaiu a demand for the compound 
of tea and spirits known as "Robur" brought out a 
fow years ago. Tea-making and tea-tasting wero 
noticed. One tea-taster said that in the late busy tea 
season ho had tasted as mauyasS.'SO samples in ono 
day. 
In regard to Ooffee its constitution was referred 
to, as well as its growth and preparation. It has a 
variety of adulterants, such as chicory, dates, figs, 
acorns, roots of daudolion, turnip, wurzel, &c., all 
of these being first roasted and then ground. Chicory 
is, however, tho most frequently found adulterant ; 
samples advertised as •< French coffee, prepared by a 
patent process, whereby the aroma, &c, are preserved,' 
arc usually heavily adulterated, the " patent process " 
being the addition of 00 to 70 percent, of chicory, 
The lecturer described how a customer might be 
deceived even when he saw his coffee ground in the 
Bhop before his owu eyes, either by some chicory 
being already in the mill or by chicory moulded 
into the shape of coffee-berries being mixed with the 
ungruund eolfee. The simple test of coffee floating on 
anil not colouring water, while chicory sank iu tho 
water and coloured it, was exhibited, aud tho scientific 
methods of discovering tho amounts of the various 
adulterations were duly expatiated en. 
Cocoa, as the only really nourishing beverage, 
except milk, met with a description of its source aud 
preparation. It was shown to contain half its weight of 
i peculiar fat of high melting-point, known as cocoa- 
bu'tcr. This fat is very useful because, unlike other 
fats, it docs not get rancid on keeping. It is largely us d 
as a constituent of tho cream of chocolate-creams, for 
pessaries and for pharmaceutical preparations. Like 
tea and coffee, eocoa possesses an alkaloid (theobro- 
mine), similarly, too, it contains a quantity of a 
tannin compound. Strange to say, almost nil of the 
favourite beven gos taken- to by men are of an 
astringent ( tanuin-coutainiug) character. The large 
proportion of I'.it present in c.eo i prevent - its use by 
many people; hence samples from which most of 
the fat has been extracted, liud a ready sale. In 
other Mses not only is most of the fat taken away, 
but arrowroot or sago and sugar aro added iu large 
quantity Such samples form a pasty nms-i when boiled 
with water, in fact " thicken in the cup." They aro 
frequently known an houncopathio cocoa, and a'imo 
of them possess so little cor. .a :.s to form merely a 
ifeeoitt of gruel. Luokily, tho microscope, tho pro- 
portions of fat and of phosphate* are mnus whereby 
tho adulterations can he estimated — ( ^hernial and 
Druagi*/. 
" Abstract of lecture givou November tf, ltMW, to the 
Chemists' Asuitauta' Association. 
TOBACCO PLANTING IN BORNEO. 
From various widely-scattered sources, we have 
recently culled and publised a number of facts bearing 
on tobacco-planting in Borneo; and the announce- 
ment of a British protectorate over a large portion of 
that country affords a convenient opportunity for 
considering the subject as a whole. The decadence 
of Deli appears to be merely a qucstiou of time. 
The price of that famous tobacco is falling not on 
account of over-production, but because the quality of 
the product is deteriorating, the result of the culti- 
vation of inferior soils. For fine leaf the demand 
is keener than ever, and tho prospects of North 
Borneo plantations may be said to hinge on tho 
quality of tho tobacco they may produce; if it can 
bo employed for " coverings," these estates will soon 
be placed in a very enviable position. There is of 
course no longer any doubt that tobacco will grow 
in North Borneo, aud the question of quality seems 
to be in a fair way to be definitely settled. A Uutch 
contemporary says of Borneo tobacco: " It is used 
as coverings for cigars, the large size, and extreme 
softness and silkiness of the leaf admirably hitting 
it for this purpose." This favourable opinion of 
Borneo leaf has been confirmed by a number of 
experts. As a matter of fact, the last sale of Borneo 
tobacco in Ilollaud was that of the crop grown on 
the Ranow Estate by the Count de Celoes. This 
shipment realised fl.1.20, or less than was expected 
by some ; but if wo are rightly informed a serious 
accident happened to the drying sheds while full of 
tobacco, and the quality suffered greatly in couse- 
quenco. Still fl.1.20 is a very good and remunera- 
tive rate; and the managers of many Deli estates 
would be well pleased if their crops would sell at 
tho same price. 
With one exception, the plantations are all the 
property of fereigners, the majority of these beiug 
Dutchmen, who find that British Borneo offers them 
greater inducements than either Sumatra or Java. 
Indeed North Borneo is " British " more in name 
than in substance, the only purely English establish- 
ment in the country worth mentioning being the 
Planting and Trading Compauy. Even in the shipping 
trade, which wo are apt to look upon as beiug peculiar- 
ly our own, tho foreign element enters largely in the 
competiug steamship lines. So far as tobacco planting 
is concerned, this is hardly to be regretted, and it 
is very encouraging to find experienced planters 
leaving Deli and Java lor North Borneo. They ki.ow 
thoroughly well what they are about, aud are til; 
best judges of soil, climato, and the other cuuditions 
relating to the successful cultivation of tobacco. The 
present keen demand for land, however, has naturally 
resulted iu a certain number of ''jobs" beiug put 
through by persons who take out provisional leases 
which, as a general rulo, aro promptly dubbed con- 
cessions. The concessions aro theu sold at a profit, 
before the land is selected or surveyed, or a stroke of 
work dono upon it. This easy way of making money 
is profitable solely to thoso to whom " lease " ami 
"concession" aro convertible terms, and is not of 
much benefit to tho country iu which they operate. 
Land which is actually known to exist, and upon 
which some measure of work has been done, certainly 
offers the greatest degree of security to intending 
investors. It must bo remembered by the general 
public that all laud is not tobacco laud, and that it 
is as easy to tlont "Wild-cat" tobacco companies as 
miuing veuturos of the same breed. Of course it 
is a matter of notoriety that many of the Deli estates 
have paid dividends of over 100 per cent, per annum 
for several years running aud, since such is tho case, 
Borneo tobacco companies appear to offer a lair 
opportunity for men who canntford to take tho con- 
siderable risk which necessarily atteuds all forms of 
planting. 
The general conditions of tobacco planting iu North 
Borneo aro undoubtedly excellent. The Government 
of the country, though sadly weak and in» Qiciciit iu 
many ways, adopts a liberal aud wise policy iu reaped 
