May i, 1882.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
917 
COFFEE ADULTERATION. 
With my last there was enclosed the extract of a 
letter from the Globe relative to coffee adulteration, 
Its publication was followed almost immediately by 
an article in the same paper on the 11th in comment 
upon it, of which the text is subjoined : — 
"Chicory and Coffee." 
A correspondent recently complained grievously of the 
compound now so gonorally sold instead of coffee. The 
pure article, lie affirmed, is being driven out of this country, 
and certainly recent statistics appear to bear out thestaie- 
ment. The Board of Trade returns for the first ten months 
of the year 1879 are now before us, and they 
show that home consumption of genuine coffee 
was 20b,0S3 cwt. For the same period in 1880 the 
amount was 2-13,277 cwt. and last year tho first ten months 
showed only 240,369 cwt. During tho same period* the 
home consumption of chicory rose from 87,217 cwt. to 
93,101 cwt. and than to 94,95°- cwt This show clear that 
while we are drinking every year more " coffee," our im- 
port is declining and our consumption of chicory is increas- 
ing. The real facts are probably much more serious than 
those (inures show, because the Board of Trade, we believe, 
take cognizance only of foreign chicory, the " home con- 
sumption " being arrived at by deducting exporis from im- 
ports. It is well known, however, that while all our coffee 
is imported and can be accounted for to a pound, only apart 
of our chicory comes from abroad. Large quantities are 
grown in this country. Indeed, if we are rightly informed, 
the best of our chicory is liome-grovvn ami usually fetches 
a shilling or so a hundredweight more than iho foreign. It 
grows wild in almost all par.s of Europe, but iho north 
of England appeais to suit it admirably, and it is grown 
in Yorkshire very extensively. All authorities, we believe, 
agree that a decoction of the root is harmless enough, and 
that it affords a good deal of nutriment in the shape of 
sugar. They are equally agreed, however, that it has none 
of that invigorating oharacter which alone makes coffee 
worth drinkhg. The Lest that can be said for it is that it 
is harmless. Yet we are assured on good authority that 
admixture of chicory and colfoe " contains not more than 
one part of cotfee, good bad, or indifferent, to sovon parts 
of chicory. 
It was new to me to learn by this article that so 
much chicory is grown in England, and that the home 
production is considered so superior to that of 
foreign importation. The figures quoted in the Globe 
from the Board of Trade returns show conclusively 
how extensive the evil is, and the necessity that some 
steps should betaken to check the increasing practice. 
Ou the 15th, the Globe, published a second letter hav- 
ing reference to the points raised in this article of 
the 11th, a copy of which is as follows: — 
ADULTERATED COFFEE. 
TO THE EDITOR OF THE "GLOBE." 
SlB, May I ask the favour of some small space for 
an extension of my former remarks under the above head- 
ing which your article of February 11th renders desirable 
in the interests for which consideration is sought? As 
regards a certain admixture of chicory with cotfee, it 
suits so many people's taste that it will probably al- 
ways be practised to some extent. The present system 
of allowing the mixture to be sold without any guaran- 
tee as to the proportion of the ingredients, b ads, how- 
ever, to that excessive adulteration to which your article 
referred. I!ut. even supposing such guarantee given, what 
ordinary purchaser, can test its genuineness'!' And if 
Dtud be discovered, what obstacle is a fiue of forty 
shillings, as recently imposed, to flu- dishonest trailer 
who can make l<x) per cent. 011 every transaction? 
Hut the evils of adulteration go far beyond the 0 para- 
tive innocent chicory. From abroad cone' all sorts of 
preparations winch the best authorities in the trade state 
to be composed of root-, fruit stones, turnips, carrots, 
acorns, and cabbage stalks. Freely advertised under high* 
sounding names, and exhibited in temptingly -oolonred packet* 
this worthless stuff is palmed otl ou the Knglish working 
man us the cotfee which ho is told on all sides is the 
best stay for labour, and the right substitute for that 
beer against the use of which he is so constantly warned. 
It is to the extension of a system so detrimental to our 
people that the recent Treasury Minute referred to in my 
former letter lends the further aid and countenance of the 
Government. — I am, sir, faithfully yours, 
Arthur Folkard. 
Thatched House Club, St. James's, S. W., February 14. — 
Globe, Feb. 15. 
The more the subject can be ventilated by the lead- 
ing journals of the home press, the greater the 
chancn will be that members of tho House of Com- 
mons may be disposed to advocate some legislative 
restriction upon the disgraceful proceedings which 
are now so common. In a conversation held with a 
gentleman, who disputes that there is any hardship 
in permitting what he calls " freetrading " in these 
mixtures, I learned the views entertained by what 
may be termed the opposition party, which is mainly 
composed, it may be suspected, of those who have 
some direct or indirect interests to serve by the main- 
tenance of the existing scandalous state of things. 
He considered that cotfee is really better than the 
substitute offered for it, — it must in the end triumph — 
and that any limitation placed upon the sale of 
mixtures will be an interference with the liberty of the 
subject. Precisely : the liberty to pay for stuff, which 
cannot be considered innoxious, and certainly can 
possess no nutriment, a price which, in the long run, 
is dear, as compared to that of the real article. By 
such means, the use of coffee is discouraged, for 
people buy and drink most of these mixtures under 
the belief that they are drinking "coffee," and find- 
ing none of the benefits expected, but rather a sicken- 
ing result, will turn from its use altogether. No 
sane or disinterested man can, it must surely be believed, 
fail to see how great an evil it is that the food sup- 
plies of the nation are not what they profess to be. 
Apropos of this matter, it is to be noted that that 
horrible date coffee is again the subject of litigation. 
An application has been made this week to wind up the 
"German Date Coffee Company.'' Wiser than our own 
authorities, the Government of Gerinauy has declined 
to grant a patent for the manufacture of this, to me, 
nauseous mixture, and does all it can to discourage the 
sale of similar impostures. The Judge's remarks w hen 
granting the winding-up order are worthy of preserva- 
tion. As he then pointed out, how coultl the Date 
Coffee Company sell a right to manufacture such a 
mixture iu Germany ? There was and is nothing what- 
ever to prevent anyone grinding any rubbish they like 
and calling it coffee in that country, and yet — ii scarcely 
seems possible— this German Date Coffee Company 
had agreed to pay the English Date Coffee Company no 
less a sum than £50,000 for this presumed right. 
No wonder, as the judge observed, that the sharehold- 
ers in the former Company objected to such a pay- 
ment, and that the application to close the affair was 
before him ! This fact shews pretty conclusively 
how the dividends declared by the English Date Cof- 
fee Company have been eari.ed, for many other such 
branch Companies are said to have paid heavily for 
similar illusory rights. At the same time, it is "with 
great regret to be notic.-d that this nasty compound 
sells here with a freedom that its merits certainly do 
not warrant ; but the laet affords strong evidence of the 
ncc ssity of legislative restrictions. — Loudon Cor. 
REVIEW OF TIIK OOFFEJE MARKET. 
With reference 1 to the Brazil crop of 1882*83 sever*] 
Brazil til ins estimate the 
Rio crop at a minimum of 4,000,000 bags 
And the Saulos crop at •J.IHM 1,000 ,, 
Together ("..000,000 bags 
But Messrs. E. Wur.-iteu A Co. estimate the total 
