Jan, 1, 1901.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
461 
COFFEE UNDER A CLOUD^ 
[Yort niiglib like to make extracts from the 
encloseil cuttiuo- taken from a recent number of 
the London Globe.— -l. HUGIIES,] 
In a particnlai- sense, tte fragrant beverage has 
for many vears past been most appreciated in this 
position. The affinity of coffee with "the weed" 
is an ancient discovery. There is a Persian proverb 
which declares that coffee without tobacco is meat 
without salt ; while the Arabs say that a dish of 
coifee and a pipe of tobacco are a complete en- 
tertainment. And probably the majority of " men 
who dine " would agree that no dinner can be 
regarded as complete without the presence of those 
comfortable peace-makers at the end of it. For 
some time past, however, coffee has been under a cloud 
of far greater density than that raised by the 
worshippers of my Lady Nicotine. It is adrnittedly 
an exquisite beverage ; but there are fashions in 
the best of good things, and even perfect institu- 
tions at limes come under their sway. For the mo- 
ment, coffee has almost entirely lost its domestic 
claims to consideration. Its presence on the breakfast- 
table is exceptional ; and as for coffee at the great 
event of the afternoon— where is it? Or, to go a 
step farther wich the cynic, what is it when it is 
there ? We need not pause for a reply. As a 
social factor, the annual" consumption of less than 
three-quarters of a pound of coffee per head of the 
population of Great Britain is quite insignificant. 
It leaves us, so to speak, at the very bottom of the 
coffee-tree the top of which is reached in Holland ; 
the Dutch, with an allowance of twenty-three 
pounds per head, being by far the greatest coffee- 
drinkers in Europe. In England, therefore, coffee 
is now passing through a phase of almost total 
obscuration. Doubtless it will presently emerge, per- 
haps, to become again the radiant centre of social life. 
Of course, the connoisseur — the man who " feels " a cup 
of perfect Moka as a youthful poet does his first 
sonnet— still gets his coffee as of old. The majority, 
however, are obviously indifferent; they are content 
to wait till the cloud rolls by. 
The praise of coffee has been so universal 
that its ■ merits may well be taken for granted. 
More curious is it to trace the leading ' causa of 
its decline. And that which probably underlies all 
the multifarious reasons assigned is the fact that 
its preparation involves a little more care and 
trouble than tea. Ours is a trouble-saving age, 
and we are apt to adopt what is narest and radiest. 
What is not easily done is easily left undone. 
Given good tea to begin with it is difficult to be 
at cross-purposes with the teapot. An optimist has 
even declared that "nothing is easier than to make 
good coffee." But he is manifestly in error ; it is 
easier to make bad. To say that " the dullest girl 
can be taught to make good coffee in three lessons" 
is against the common experieuce'of domestic life. 
But as a rule the coffee-maker is not solely in 
fault; the common failure of the beverage to attain 
a, reasonable standard of excellence is due to more 
than one cause. Determined, however, to agitate 
in this useful branch of reform, and starting with 
the planter's maxim, ''old coffees, young teas," 
there is no reason why ordinary householders should 
not mature the bean in their own store-closets. It 
should be kept raw, and preferably in small bulk ; 
the grateful aroma being due to a volatile oil which 
is developed in the proceFS of roasting. If kept too 
long afterwards the flavour deteriorates, but even 
this may be to some extent received by carefully 
heating the ground coffee before use. The conno- 
isseur declares that coffee should not be boiled, nor 
even allowed to " stand " for any length of time. 
And this, indeed, is the very crux of the ques- 
tion. Of course tlie delicate aroma and fine flavour 
may be entirely lost by excess of boiling ; and it 
is to avoid such a contingency that the expert 
. p,6snrea us that "right" coffee sboulij be a simple 
infusion, instead of the too customary decoction. 
Unfortunately, however, the experts themselves are 
largely at variance on this point. Some of the 
most experienced makers allow their coffee to " boil 
up " for a single minute, and with a most satisfac- 
tory result. Others— among whom was Brillat Sa- 
varin — simply infuse their coffe'e like tea. In short, 
scarcely two persons make it in precisely the same 
way at all points, nor is there any royal road to this 
great achievement. 
A FARMERS' EVERY-DAY LIFE. 
NO, 15, 
{By Cosmopolite.) 
THE HARVEST. 
How delightful it is to sit at one's "alrl 
fireside," listening to the howling of the wind 
in the chimney and the ceaseless patter of 
the rain on the window ; and to know that 
everything on the farm is secure, the stticks 
in the yard, trim and cool and already for 
a harvest thanks-giving, as soon as the clergy 
may think proper to announce such a day 
of fasting, I know that all my neighbours 
cannot be in this equable frame of mind, but 
I speak for myself on this occasion, and am 
thankful that 1 have got through this rainy 
harvest so successfully, although it has been 
an anxious time whilst it lasted. The peri- 
patetic steam mills are engaged night and 
day thrashing out the heated stacks of the 
careless farmers, and the price of grain is 
going down by leaps and bounds. In a month 
or so all this par-boiled grain will have been 
wor^ked off the market, and then I hope the 
price will go np again, and those who have 
good grain to sell, may get a fair price after 
all. There are great complaints about the 
grain turning out short in quantity, to the 
extent of a sixth of the expectations and I 
am, therefore, somewhat anxious to have a 
day's thrashing, so as to get a fair idea of 
my probable outturn. It is a very amusing 
thing to hear some old farmers talk (especi- 
ally after their third or fourth nip) about 
the wonderful crops they have grown in their 
time, and the grand prices they got for them 
whereas now— alas ! alas ! 1 Comparisons are 
sometimes painful. But what imagination 
some of those old fellows must surely have 
particularly on the subject of 
OAT CROPS 
about which they expatiate with overwhelm- 
ing eloquence, I suppose it is true that as 
one grows older one's pleasure is chiefly found 
in reminiscence and so those farming racon* 
teurs must find it a relaxing pastime to 
babble about their past history and achieve- 
ments, giving play to their fancy as they 
embroider the details of some specially enjoy* 
able narrative. Why has no eminent authoxf 
sprung from the ranks of ihe agriculturists- - 
one who could give to the world, at a popu* 
lar price, an edition of stories gathered on 
market days or in the peaceful retirement 
of the publican's booth ? Such a book en- 
titled " Fairy Fancies from Frivolous Faro 
mers " would, no doubt, sell well and becoma 
a standard work on the shelves of all village 
libraries. 
During the past few weeks the greatj 
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