THE  'iROPICAl,  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Oct,  I,  1896. 
238 
ami  C'oiiipariug  it  ^viUl  lhat  o[  tlu'  root,  of  Ahvpa 
Bclladoiiini,  with  \s  hioh  it  is  allied.  The  Medical 
Storekeeper  of  Dombay  has  iuv])ared  a Jiiiinieiit, 
alcoholic  extract,  tincture  and  plaster  from  the  roots, 
l)uthe  is  not  at  ]ires;-ii|  able  toi’eporton  theirlhera'iien- 
tic  value,  as  the  elinie.d  ex))erii;ieiits  are  not  linished. 
(15)  I\’oiu/aua  pulloo.  The  Assistant  Sui\t(eon  of 
Caniuinore  i’or\\ard(  d in  krareh  to  this  ottice  a weed 
called  “js'onfiana  pulioo."  It  was  said  to  be  used  by 
the  people  of  Is'orth  Malabar  as  a remedy  for  ele- 
phantiasis, and  as  a substitute  for  tobacco.  It  was 
indeiitilied  as  FiwhrisliiHs  n:itlivulis,  a small  plant  be- 
longing to  the  rush  family  (Cyperaceie). 
(1(5)  Foli/gonum  Sarhulimme. — The  plants  of  this 
fodder,  which  were  raised  from  seed  obtained  by  this 
oilice  from  .laijan  and  mentioned  in  the  last  year’s 
report,  have  nearly  all  died  ; so  the  results  of  this  ex- 
periment may  be  said  to  be  a failure. 
(17)  Bandalirood  {iSonUthim  album). — Some  billets  of 
sandalwood  were  sent  by  the  Forest  Department 
for  the  purpose  of  determining  the  difference  in 
the  amount  of  essential  oil  yielded  by  two  kinds 
known  as  “ male  ” and  “ female  ” sandal.  A third 
specimen  received  at  the  same  time,  afrom  a tre 
grown  in  the  plains,  gave  a most  remrkable  resulte 
in  not  yielding  a trace  of  volatile  oil  and  being 
without  odour. 
(18)  Indian  Dccl-  {liunicx.  nepat the  cinchona 
report  of  last  year  reference  wa.-  made  to  the  Indian 
Dock,  and  tiio  probeble  presence  in  it  of  chryso- 
phanic  acid.  Dr.  0.  Hesse  of  Stuttgart  has  kindly 
examined  some  root  sent  from  the  Nilgiris,  and 
fomid  in  it  three  colouring  principles — 
1.  Golden  yellow  spangles  melting  at  ISCdeg., 
with  a composition  expressed  by  the  formula 
ClallioOi  . , . , 
2.  Orange  red  needles,  melting  at  l;56deg.,  with 
a composition  of  C17H14O1  . 
Greenish-yellow  prisms,  melting  at  158deg., 
and  composed  of  ClsHicOt  . 
The  first  of  these  substances  is  an  iusomer  of  cliry- 
B iphanic  acid  ami  may  prove  to  be  useful  on  some 
future  occasion  in  medicine  and  the  arts. 
(11)1  Trees. ■mi/ able  for  introduction  as  an  er peri, ne.nt  on 
the  jVil/jiris. — In  paragrapb  3 of  G O.,  No.  5046,  lie- 
venue,  'dated  tbe  1 1th  December  1895,  Goverumeut 
desired  the  submission  of  a general  list  of  trees  which 
were  considered  most  suitable  for  experiment  witli  a 
view'  to  ac.climatixation  on  these  hills  ; and  also  called 
for  another  list  of  such  trees  as  have  been  proved  by 
experiment  to  tlourisb  here,  and  would  likely  to  bo  of 
value  if  introduced  on  a larger  scale.  These  lists  have 
been  drawn  up  and  submitted  to  Government. 
THF  CO  F FEE  POT. 
Tlie  plaiiter.s  assembled  in  conclave  at  Dangalore 
have  been  discussing  a very  interesting  quosiion, 
namely,  the  why  and  the  wherefore  of  tlio  decrease 
of  the  consumption  of  coffee  in  Great  Dntain,  and 
they  would  seem  very  reasonably  to  have  found 
one  cause  of  tlm  tbi'ng  m tlie  fact  that  the  mak- 
ing of  coffee  is  an  art  that  the  chcl  of  the  English 
household  seems  unable  to  got  round.  The  making 
of  lea  is  a ninj])io  art.  Itceipe  : Ect  the  water  be 
on  the  geiiuinu  boil ; warm  the  pot ; put  in  the  tea, 
nour  on  the  water,  ‘ and  we  tlo  the  rest.  ^ 
making  of  coffee,  however,  like  the  making  oi  salad, 
ia  a real  art,  and  it  is  not  everyone,  even  though 
))L'Ovkled  wilh  llic  beat  colTcc-pot  in  Uiu  world,  unit 
will  turn  out  a good  honest  nup  of  coiToo  such  as  shall 
verily  cheer.  A cup  of  colTeo  supplied  by  citizen 
U’Angclis  or  by  any  other  of  the  “ makers  ” is  one 
thing,  and  a muddy  infusion  of  the  berry  that  some  of 
our  '“boys”  dare  to  disli  u])  as  cal,  fee  is  altogether 
another;  and  it  is  assuredly  this  ignorance  of  the  right 
way  to  make  coffee  that  has  a great  deal  to  do  with 
inducing  people  to  prefer  the  liomely  tea.  A cup  of 
coffee  in  tlie  early  morning  is  a particuliul}' good  tonic. 
In'tbo  early  morning  it  ),roduccs  a liigbJy  exhiiaia- 
ting  and  refrcsliingclfecf,  and  the  infusion  of  the  berry 
is  goueriilly  rccommuuleit  us  a more  appi'Ojn  iate  matu- 
tinal pick-nie-u))  thun  an  iiiftision  of  the  k-af;  and 
it  was  not  by  mere  cli.-imo  that  tlic  colter:-))ot  be- 
came the  recognised  appendage  of  the  ISrUish  break- 
fast table  along  with  the  eggs  and  the  rolls,  and  that 
“ coffee  and  oppers  ” still  hold  morning  sway  with 
the  Madrassi  crowd.  It  would  undoubtedly  be 
ail  excellent  idea  for  coffee  planters,  for  the 
sake  of  their  own  interests,  as  well  as  for  the 
public  good,  to  give  the  public  a few  general  hints 
as  to  the  proper  method  of  brewing  the  berry. 
Tea-planters  have  done  it,  not  only  in  the  shape  of 
Siegel-like  “ directions”  on  pound  packets,  but  in  the 
2>,'opria  persona  ol  dainty  tea-making  damsels  at  colo- 
nial shows. 
Another  of  the  why’s  and  wherefore’s  has  been 
rightly  found  in  the  rapid  decline  of  the  price  of  tea. 
Tea  and  coffee  started  pretty  fair  and  square  in  the 
race.  Tea,  indeed,  is  said  to  have  been  drunk  in 
China  as  long  ago  as  the  5th  century;  but  it  was  not 
till  the  16th  century  that  it  became  known  to 
Europeans.  Coffee  was  not  drunk  by  the  Arabs 
themselves,  as  far  as  is  known,  until  the  fifteenth 
century,  but,  as  with  tea,  it  was  first  introduced  to 
Europeans  in  the  sixteentli.  But  then  came  the  rub. 
Tea  was  for  a longtime  regarl  as  a medicine,  while 
coffee  began  to  be  used  as  a beverage  from  the 
beginning,  and  the  consequence  was  that  tea,  like 
any  other  drug,  remained  a costly  thing,  while 
cofee  became  cheap.  Old  Samuel  Pepys  relates 
that  the  “ pothicarj'”  had  recommended  the  use  = 
of  tea  to  his  wife  as  beneficial  for  cold  and  for 
fimiinine  complaints.  Locke,  the  philosopher,  on 
returning  from  a trip  to  the  continent,  counts  it 
worth  recording  that  he  liad  brought  had:  a yiound 
of  tea,  w'hich,  for  the  low  price  of  seven  guineas,, 
lie  had  purchased  in  Amsterdam.  In  the  nume- 
rous coffee-houses,  however,  that  rapudly  sprang  up' 
ill  London  and  in  all  conliiiental  cities,  cups  of 
coliee  were  of  small  exyiense,  and  the  colonial  planters 
supplied  the  berry  in  as  large  quantities  as  were 
wanted  ; whereas  it  was  not  till  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century  and  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
that  we  find  lea  being  indulged  in  as  an  aid  to  social 
small  talk,  as  at  that  memorable  tea-party  in  1811  at 
Hampton  Court,  where 
. . . thou,  Great  Anna,  whom  tliree  realms  obey, 
Dost  sometimes  counsel  take — and  sometimes  Tea. 
The  price  ol  tea  in  1657  ranged  as  high  as 
ten  guineas  per  pound  ; in  1710,  by  which  time 
the  drinking  of  tea  Jiad  become  fairly  common,  the 
price  ranged  from  7s  to  24s  a pound.  Exactly  a cen- 
tury afterwards,  in  1840,  Indian  tea  offered  for 
public  sale  in  Loudon  fetched  no  more  than  from 
2.-S  6d  to  3s  per  pound.  Since  then  things  have 
rushed.  Groat  advertisers  like  Lipton  have  stormed 
the  market,  inissionaiies  have  gone  abroad  preach- 
ing the  gospel  of  tea,  and  ofieriug  it,  if  not  without 
price,  at  least  very  near  it,  and  it  is  small  wonder  that 
homely  housewives,  who  can  buy  the  refreshing  be- 
verage cheaply,  can-  make  it  easily,  and  can  use  the 
tea-leaves  afterwards  for  cleaning  the  lioors  of  their 
sitting-rooms  or  their  kitchens,  have  gone  over 
from  coffee  to  the  sister  drink.  There  is  perhaps 
another  reason  that  ai'plies  especially  to  Indian 
lioiisewives,  namely,  that  tea  is  ready  for  use,  and 
the  housewife  can  dole  it  out  straight  from  her 
caddy  into  the  pot.  Coffee,  however,  has  to  be  mani- 
pulated. It  call  he  bought,  to  he  sure,  ready  ground 
and  roa  ted,  hut  the  fulness  of  the  llavour  in  that 
case  is  liable  to  have  goue  out  of  it.  Between  buy- 
ing the  berries  and  handing  them  over  to  the  servant 
to  he  roasted  and  ground  tiie  housewife,  if  she  looks 
upon  her  servants  as  pilferers,  is))nmc  to  believe  that 
tlie  )uepared  powder  is  iiol;  by  any  means  the  sum 
total  of  the  berries. 
But  it  is  pushing  and  advertising  tliat  tlie  coffee 
planters  assuredly  need.  Tea  planters  have  recog- 
nised that  in  this  great  advertising  age  tlioy  must  wag 
with  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  their  campaigns  have 
proved  a success.  Coffee  iilaniers  have  been  inclined 
to  think  that  they  have  iloiic  onougli  when  they 
have  giown  a good  article  and  put  it  on  the 
market,  and  waited  for  customers.  But  the  pre- 
sent competitive  ago  demands  something  more.  A 
coffee  eanqiaign,  on  linos  such  as  might  he  deemed 
most  fitting,  might  assuredly  go  a long  way  towards 
restoring  coll'oe  to  it.s  rights  at  the*  liritisli  hreuk- 
fast-table,  and  if  popular  “ directions  ” could  really 
be  given  for  making  colfco  after  a duly  approved 
