AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
53 
in a shaded aspect. But experience has shown 
that if we want strong, bushy plants, with foliage 
to the rims of the pots, and covered with blos¬ 
som-buds, we must give them the opposite treat¬ 
ment. It is often recommended to keep the pots 
standing on boards during the Summer, and to 
keep them moist by frequent waterings. But we 
find it to work well and to save much trouble in 
watering, to plunge the pots in the ground, let¬ 
ting each pot rest on coal ashes so as to keep 
away worms from the roots. 
After the middle of September, they should be 
taken into the house, or removed to some warm 
and sheltered spot, safe from frost. If they can 
be kept out until October, it will be all the better 
If you want very fine foliage and flowers, give 
the plants a weekly application of manure-water, 
beginning in August or first of September, and 
continue until the blooming period is passed. 
Of course, watering with clear water also must 
not be forgotten. These plants are great topers, 
and can’t get along without frequent and copious 
draughts. After they have done flowering—which 
with most varieties will be about New Year’s— 
they may be set under the staging of the green¬ 
house, or carried into the cellar, to remain dor¬ 
mant until cuttings are wanted in the Spring. 
Some varieties of the chrysanthemum bloom 
so early that they can be flowered out of doors, 
by the following management: When the plants 
have become well established, bring them to the 
south side of a wall or house, and set them near 
it. Instead of pinching offthe tops, letthemgrow, 
and train them up on the side of the wall. When 
frosty nights come, cover them with old mats or 
with hot-bed sash, and they will flower through¬ 
out October and the first of November, in mild 
seasons. Among the early bloomers, the follow¬ 
ing are good sorts : Hendcrsonii. yellow ; An¬ 
dromeda, rose colored ; Orion, canary yellow; 
Autumn *, bronzy buff, (a great bloomer ;) Helena, 
deep rosy purple : Belle d'Aout, rose colored; 
Surprise, white, tipped with blush. 
Of those which flower later, and are proper 
house-plants, the variety is so great, (numbering 
several hundred,) that we can not attempt to give 
a catalogue. 
Coffee Adulterations and SubstitiFes— 
Chicory—Cocoa—Chocolate. 
IContinued from page 22. ] 
We were not a little amused a few months 
since at what we saw in front of an establish¬ 
ment in this city, the sign-board of which reads : 
“ Pure ground coffee supplied to the Trade and to 
Families.” Workmen were busy in removing 
from a loaded cart what appeared to be the usual 
coffee sacks filled, one would suppose—when go¬ 
ing into such an establishment—with pure old 
Mocha or Java. But just as we were passing, one 
of the coffee sacks burst open, and out poured a 
quantity of peas upon the sidewalk. But this is 
not an exceptional case. Let any one take a 
common magnifying glass and examine the “pure 
ground coffee ” generally sold in the country, and 
he will be surprised, perhaps, to find that r.othalf 
of the material sold is the genuine coffee. We 
doubt not that it would be better on the whole if 
the entire mass were pure peas, and nothing else. 
The material would doubtless be quite as health¬ 
ful—the fraud suffered is in paying the price of 
coffee, for the vastly cheaper article of peas, the 
latter being worth less than two cents a pound, 
since a bushel weighing 60 lbs. is seldom worth 
in the market as much as $1.20. With our views 
of the effects of coffee upon the system, we can 
not find fault with, but rather commend the cus¬ 
tom in many families of making their “ warm 
drink ” for breakfast from burned crusts, or peas 
roasted and ground at home. We of course have 
reference to health and economy—not to a culti¬ 
vated taste for genuine coffee. 
Acorns, chestnuts, and various roots, roasted 
and ground, are common adulterations. Chest¬ 
nuts make a not unpleasant beverage, after one 
Fig. 1 —Chicory Plant —(Cichorium intybus.) 
is a little accustomed to it. Dandelion roots are 
considerably used, and in certain conditions of the 
system are not without a beneficial medicinal 
effect; but the efforts made by interested parties, 
through newspaper advertisements and “ notices,” 
to make people believe in, and purchase “ Dande¬ 
lion root coffee ” for habitual use, are little short 
of humbug, If the dandelion root is thoroughly 
cooked, it is little better than burned peas, or 
charcoal even, while if not thus cooked it posses¬ 
ses a powerful alterative effect which is delete¬ 
rious except when taken as a specific medicine for 
a particular ailment. 
Chicory, called also wild Endive, Succory, etc., 
is one of the most common coffee adulterations 
abroad, and is coming more and more into use 
here. The general form of the plant is shown in 
fig 2. The stalk grows three to four feet high, 
and bears large pale-blue flowers. When culti¬ 
vated, the large parsnep-like tap-root extends 
down 11 to 2 feet in favorable soils. It grows in 
most temperate and warm climates, and is culti¬ 
vated most largely, perhaps, in France, Belgium, 
and in Prussia and other parts of Germany. 
The root is dug before the plant shoots into 
flower, and washed, cut into slices, dried and roast¬ 
ed to a chocolate color. In roasting, one pound of 
lard is added to from 40 to 60 lbs. of the root. It 
is then ground with coffee, and can not be readily 
distinguished from it by the unpracticed eye. To 
detect its presence in coffee, however, it is only 
necessary to put the mixture in cold water. Chic¬ 
ory gives a colored infusion in the cold water, 
while coffee does not impart a color until heated. 
Chicory gives a bitter taste to the coffee, and 
it thus answers a double purpose as an adulter¬ 
ation. A smaller quantity is required to give a 
deep color, and strong taste, and on this account 
is ccommical to the consumer ; while its com¬ 
parative cheapness enables the dealer, who sells 
it for or with coffee, to make a great profit. 
But the adulteration is highly objectionable for 
two reasons. First .—Though when taken in small 
quantities chicory is not very deleterious, and its 
bitter principle may even be beneficial as a tonic 
if used temporarily, yet its prolonged free use pro¬ 
duces cramp in the stomach, heartburn, loss of 
appetite, acidity, constipation or diarrhea, weak¬ 
ness of the limbs, tremblings and sleeplessness, 
cloudiness of the senses, etc., etc. Second.— 
Chicory itself is seldom pure. The dealer mix¬ 
es with it Venetian red to give it a coffee color ; 
and the Venetian red manufacturer mixes with 
his article more or less of brick-dust, colored earth, 
etc. Yet with all these objections there are proba¬ 
bly twenty-five million pounds of dried chicory 
root consumed annually in England and France 
alone. We have no means of ascertaining the 
amount brought to this country. It is not yet 
cultivated here to any extent, and we hope will 
not be. We may add that those accustomed to 
use chicory infusions soon become chicory-topers. 
Strumpf mentions a class of women in Germany, 
who make chicory a prominent article of their 
diet. He calls them “ chicorien-kaffe-schwelgerin- 
nen ” (chicory-coffee-topers). 
THE COCOAS. 
These are preparations of oily seeds, usually, 
though they are often largely mixed with earth- 
nuts, such as the underground pea (arachis hypo 
gca), earth-chestnuts or earth-almonds ( chvfas — 
cypcrus esculcnlus), etc. Cocoa, proper, ( theo - 
broma cacao) is a species of bean, growing upon a 
tree, found wild and also cultivated extensively in 
Mexico, and other parts of Central America, in 
South America, in the West Indies, in Spain, 
France, Italy, etc. 
Fig. 2 shows the general form of the cocoa tree, 
growing 12 to 18 feet in hight; and also the leaf 
flower, and fruit—these are largely magnified as 
compared with the engraving of the tree. The 
fruit grows directly from the stem and principal 
branches. It is in the form of a thick cucumber. 
Fig. 2 —Cocoa or Chocolate, (Theobroma cacao )—Tree 
—Magnified Leaf and Flower Cl), and Fruit Pod (2). 
or small oblong melon four to five inches in length, 
like (2) in fig. 2. This pod contains from ten to 
thirty beans or seeds embedded in rows, in a pulp 
or spongy substance like that of a watermelon. 
These seeds are taken out when ripe, cleaned and 
dried, and are then ready for market. 
The seeds are subsequently prepared in several 
ways. 1. The beans are freed from the surrounding 
husks, and broken or ground into coarse frag¬ 
ments. These are sold like coffee, and after¬ 
wards treated and prepared for the table in a sim¬ 
ilar manner. 2. The bean including the husk 
(which forms about one-tenth of its weight) is 
roasted and made into a paste by beating in a 
