AGRICULTURIST. 
MEW AND PROMISING COFFEES ; AND 
THE " LADY -BIRDS " FOR OLD COFFEE. 
We are indebted to Mr. Munton of Kandy for 
the following very Luterestin»» notes on coffee 
w ritten in answer to our enquiry : — 
" The name 'Maragogipe' is that of a town in Brazil, 
in the Province of Bahia and given in Keith John- 
ston's Dictionary of Geography as being 25 mil3s 
south-west of Cachoeira with a population of 8,000. 
'• In the London letter of 21st September 1SS3 
appearing in the local " Times" of loth October 18S3 
there is the following : — 
'■ ' Mr. Von. Olehn just returned from Rio says that 
on many plantations old trees 80 to -10 feet high arc 
being cut down in order to make room for plants 
of this wonderful ' Maragogipe coffee' said to be 
indigenous to South America, and discovered a few 
years ago in the Province of Bahia &c.' 
" I cannot write to you more about this coffee yet. 
It has got distributed in small quantities experimen- 
tally in K-3galle, Kidugauawa, Dolosbage, Matale 
notably Sellegairima (the Caledonian Tea Plantations 
Limited!, Palagamma and Doornbera and we must 
aw ut results. 
" The Hybrid Coffee. — Arabian tree with Liberian 
blo3»>om appears to have partly (only) set its crop, 
and I am looking for something to say about it in 
a fow months time. It is a curious and interest- 
ing specimon. I enclose a dried blossom of it to 
compare with the Arabian blossom ; both of course 
are shrivelled up but the comparison holds good. 
The number of petals in the Hybrid are 6, whereas 
Arabian is I think always 5. and the Liberian 
7 to 9." 
The blossoms enclosed certainly present a great 
contrast in the large healthy six-petalled hybrid 
Variety, as compared with the puny withered 
Hve-petalled blossom of the Arabian coffee. We 
hope to hear of steady success with both new 
varieties of coffee ; and with Mr. E. E. Green 
determined to persevere in his importation of the 
huly-bird enemy of green bug from California, 
we trust there are also brighter days in store 
for such old coffee as remains in L'va. Mr, Green 
leaves for Lome this week ; but Mr. C. H. 
Bagot lias kindly consented to receive the consign- 
ment of beetles and to deal, witli them according to 
instructions. Should this consignment fail, Mr. 
Green will order another and, being in England, 
can the better secure attention and superintend 
transmission. 
TEA AND SCANDAL. 
Your Tropical Affrtcullitrist is such a repertory of 
all that concerns Tea, Coffes, and all other things 
that cheer and preserve our physical life, that it ia 
difficult to find anything new to send you. But as 
far as I know the following items have not yet ap- 
peared in your pages. The first extract I make is 
from a book called "An Account of the wonderful 
cure3 porform'd by the Cold B.itlis, <vc." by Joseph 
Brown, 1707. 
Preface — The continual use of Coffee, Tea, Choco- 
late nnd the hot spices in their Hagoues. Frigasios, 
Ax., have quite spoil'd their taste (/. •■. Effeminate 
Luxurious Mem and relish of the true Comforts of 
Life, which consist in t lie cool refreshing Simples of 
Spring Water, Sydor, .Mead. Lemnaons, Cucumbers, 
>vc, which are to be prefer'd far before the hot 
Regimen above-named. 
J.fter to Sir Johtl Floyer; So that, undoubtedly, 
the disuse of (.'old Baths came from the dis- 
credit of their Saints of later times, together with 
the Luxury and tho Delicacy of the present Age, 
which may bo attributed in a great measure, to the 
modorn use of tho hot Regimen, which as you have 
justly observ'd, has increas'd with the Interest of 
Foreign Trade, which baa introdue'd Tobacco, Tea 
and Colfoc, with all tho Brandy, Spirits and Spicca, 
And the causes of all our Rheumatisms, Defluxions, 
Intermitting-Fevers, &c, are chiefly owing to the late 
Practice of Drinking hot Liquors, and the pernicious 
use of Flannel and VVollen Shirts next to the Skin, 
which always keeps the Pores too open for the Climate 
we live in. 
The next mixture I take from - The Treasury of 
Drugs unlosk'd " by Jo. Jacob Berlu, 1(590. 
Anacoudia is the Fruit of an Indian Tree, like a 
Bird's Heart, with Juice like Blood: it is by some 
called the Elephant's Lowse: it is brought from 
Baiftam in the East livlies. 
Baccae Coffee. — Coho Seeds or Coffee, is a Berry 
which groweth upon a shrub in the Deserts of Arabia 
Fehte, from whence it is carried through all the Grand 
Siegnior's Dominions even to the E ist Indies : the 
best comes now from the East Indies, being large, 
bright, a full Berry, and clean. Formerly that which 
came from Turkey (which generally looks a little 
greenish) was best esteemed : great quantities are 
yearly imported from both parts. 
Lapis Rubinus. — Is of a pure fine, red, fiery colour ; 
that which is physically used is very small, like 
Gravel, but of blood red colour : the harder they are 
the better they are reckoned: The small ones which 
are used come out of Germany, Bohemia, and Italy : the 
large Oriental Rubies being Jewels of great worth, 
come from Zeylon, and other parts of the East Indies. 
Nucae Indicae. — This Nut is in shape like a Nut- 
meg, in chawing turns Red. 'Tis said they will make 
one Druuk in taking them inwardly, but I could 
never find it. The people in the East Indies chaw- 
ing them for Refreshment or Recreation, as we do 
Tobacco. 
Tea ia a small Herb of a Shrub which grows in 
China: the same is us'd in moat Coffee-Houses : Tbe 
goodness consists in a fine green Tenderness, excel- 
lent, fragrant sm< 11 like Violet, and to keep a good 
clear, and green colo ir in the Water: being chew'd, 
streaks very gieenlike Grass: of it are several sorts 
which must be distinguished by the eye, taste and 
smell, above all the leaves, fine, crisp'd, green, in- 
clining to Razor-blew-colour, 
Proverb. — The Cockroach is always wrong when 
arguing with the Chicken. 
The Quarrel. 
Molly, my sister, and I fell 
out, 
And I'll tell you what it 
was all about. 
She liked Coffee, and I 
liked Tea. 
And that is the reason we 
could not agree. 
La Querelle. 
Ma soeur s'ecrie un jour, 
" Je te trouve ennu- 
yeux," 
Je vais vous raconter 
l'affaire; 
Elle aime le cafe, moi 
j'aime le the mieux : 
V ia c'qui met ma soeur 
en colore. 
(p. 48.) Sage, Balm, and a little Lemon peel made 
into TJhea, Chocolate, Milk-Porridge, Chicken or 
Mutton-Broth, Bread and Butter, are counted best 
for Breakfast: about half an Hour after driking the 
Waters, Coffee may be used, but the less the better. 
But as for the Green or Bohoa Thea. it ought to bo 
banish'd out of your sight for the time you are in this 
watery course ; for it will undo, in many cases, all 
that the Waters have done for you before: besides, 
in general, they commonly disagree with these waters. 
(p. 97. Oct. 12;. The same Morning I put 4 Leaves 
of Green Thoa into a 4 Ounce Vial till'd with the 
Hampstead Water: in about a Minute it began to 
open tbe Leaves, and a number of fine Purple-streams 
like Rays, striking through the Body of Water to 
tbe Bottom of the Vial, and rising up like a Purple 
Cloud, inclining to a Blue, which in live Minutes time 
tinged the whole Vial of a fine Purple Colour. This 
retained its Colour fort; Days without any Alteration, 
unless it was when you held it against the Sun, 
there appeared a Ring or Circle in the Middle of a 
Mazn-ine Blue, and a fine Crimson Red Shade to- 
wards the Top of the Vial. I then added to this 
Tincture 10 Drops of Spirit of Sal- Ammoniac, which 
in a Moment's time turn'd it iuto a deep Red, and 
so continued for above two Months, without the least 
Alteration. Hampstead tVilh, John Soame. 1731. 
A. M. FEIvvl'aOJi, 
