54 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
mortar or grinding between hot rollers. This paste 
is then mixed with various ingredients, such as 
starch, sugar, etc., and often much adulteiated. 
It is made into cakes and sold as cocoa, rock co¬ 
coa, or soluble cocoa. 3. The hulled beans are 
ground into a paste by means of hot rollers which 
partially roast them at the same time ; sugar, 
and various kinds of seasoning such as vanilla, 
cinnamon, cloves, etc., are added. This forms 
the well-known chocolate. Its value, taste, and 
flavor depend upon the skill or taste, or honesty 
of the particular manufacturer. The name choco¬ 
late is derived from the Mexican name of the 
plant “ Chocollatl .” It is said to have been used 
by the Mexicans from time immemorial. The 
Spaniards found it in common use so long ago as 
A. D. 1520, and brought it thence to Europe. 
Linnaeus was so exceedingly fond of the beverage 
prepared from the cocoa that in naming the plant 
he called it Thco-broma , or Food of the Gods, (from 
Thcos, god, and hroma, food). 
Chocolate, prepared as above, is made up into 
sweet cakes and eaten as a nutritious solid food. 
It is also scraped into powder and dissolved in 
water forming a thick nutritious beverage or soup. 
The husks of the beans are also used alone in 
preparing what is called cocoa-tea. They can 
usually be bought separately. They are more 
frequently mixed in large proportions with infe¬ 
rior cocoa beans, and sold cheaply as cocoa, or 
chocolate, to the poorer classes, especially in 
Europe. 
Cocoa, and its preparations, chocolate, etc., are 
somewhat stimulant, like tea and coffee, and pro¬ 
duce similar effects upon the system, though in 
a much less degree. It is far more nutritious, 
containing a large amount of oil, as well as a con¬ 
siderable proportion of gluten, starch, gum, etc., 
as will be seen by the following table which gives 
the composition of 100 parts of the unroasted 
cocoa bean when deprived of its husk. 
Oil (cocoa butter).56 parts. 
Gluten.17 “ 
Starch, gum, etc.22 “ 
Water.. 5 “ 
It will be interesting to compare the composi¬ 
tion of the cocoa bean with the solid portion of 
milk, after the water is evaporated from both— 
100 parts of the dry substances being taken. 
Cocoa-bean. Dried milk. 
Oil (or butter)... 
.55 
24 
Gluten (easeine in milk). 
.18 
35 
Sugar, starch, etc. 
.23 
37 
Ashes or mineral matter. 
. 4 
4 
According to this table the solid nutriment in 
one pound of cocoa is about equal to that in 7 lbs. 
of milk, since only about one-seventh part of milk 
is solid matter, the rest being water. Cocoa dif¬ 
fers from milk in having more oil, and less gluten, 
sugar, and starch. The amount of oil renders it 
harder to digest than milk, beef-tea, and other 
similar beverages, and it does not agree with 
some persons, but when ground with sugar, 
starch, etc., as in chocolate, it is usually a very 
good diet, especially for invalids, since it com¬ 
bines nourishment with moderate tonic and ex- 
hilerating properties. 
- ^->-®-. 
A Healthy Article of Food. 
We do not intend making our paper a journal 
of dietetics ; yet we mean to recommend healthy 
food, if for no better reason, as a means of mak¬ 
ing better farmers. Oaten cakes and puddings 
and gruel have been sufficiently used in our house¬ 
hold, of late, to convince us that this grain is very 
nutritious and healthful. The chemists tell us 
that the pure meal contains more material for 
making bone and muscle and blood, than any other 
vegetable substance. In England, a process has 
been invented for bolting the meal so as to make 
it nearly as white as wheat flour. If this new 
mode comes into general use, it will do much to- 
ward recommending the meal to those who have 
prejudices against color! 
The author of Rasselas, being once asked for 
a definition of the word “ oats,” replied, (with his 
usual sarcasm when referring to Scotland,)—“ It 
is a grain which horses are fed on in England, and 
men in Scotland!” A Scotchman present re¬ 
plied quickly : “And where will you find such 
horses and such men /” 
-< a t - »- <£> -- 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Suggestions on House Furniture, etc. 
BY ANNA HOPE. 
Carpets — Sofas — Chairs — Wall Paper — Window 
Curtains. 
The appearance of a room is much affected by 
the carpet, and it is astonishing that while it is so 
easy to make a pretty one, so many that are ugly 
should be manufactured. For small rooms car¬ 
pets with small figures should be selected. Large 
patterns diminish the apparent size of a room, as 
large plaids on a small woman make her look 
still more diminutive. Good colors should be 
chosen—not dull reds and faded greens, which 
always have an air of cheapness and meanness, 
but clear, bright colors, such as please and refresh 
the eye. By bright I do not mean flashy, but, if 
I may be allowed the expression, I mean a healthy 
color—one that has come from a good stock and 
enjoyed the pure air and never been paled and 
weakened in tenant houses. Crimson, (not red) 
green, and wood color, are always durable, and 
they form a harmonious contrast. Crimson, as 
the prevailing color, gives a warm, cheerful as¬ 
pect, and it lights up well in the evening. Green 
is also cheerful and pleasing. It is Nature’s own 
color, and for rooms in Summer, nothing has an 
influence more cool and refreshing. I like it at 
all times. Wood color is unassuming and never 
offends the eye. 
Very small patterns are suitable only for cham¬ 
bers. The breadths of carpets are always cut in 
the middle of a figure, consequently small fig¬ 
ured carpets are more economical than large, un¬ 
less it so happens that the room is of such a size 
that there will be no waste. 
There should always be a regard to harmony of 
color in furnishing a room. This should be pro¬ 
cured not only in the carpet and paper, but if pos¬ 
sible, in every article of furniture. If green, 
crimson, and wood-color is the style of the carpet, 
green, crimson, or wood-color may be selected 
for curtains and the covering of furniture. Crim¬ 
son curtains give a warm, comfortable look to a 
winter parlor, while in Summer they would im¬ 
part a most uncomfortable and heated appearance. 
I can never forget the effect of a red and black 
French print worn by a young lady at a watering 
place, when those dresses were so fashionable for 
a winter morning. She came out in hers during 
the dog days and it required all the power of the 
cooling sea-breezes not to be, in imagination, 
scorched by it. 
The great merit of hair cloth furniture, aside 
from its economy, is that it looks as well with 
one carpet as another, but it is too sombre to be 
chosen a-s a matter of taste. The gloomiest par¬ 
lor I ever entered was furnished with a very dark 
crimson or maroon carpet, and the sofas and 
chairs were all of rosewood and hair-cloth. If it 
had been draped for a funeral it could scarcely 
have been more cheerless. I should grow mel¬ 
ancholy in such a room in spite of myself. 
A sofa covered with hair-cloth can he enlivened 
by bright cushions, or by an Afghan, or African 
blanket thrown over the back. These Afghans 
are twist of the double embroidery wool in stripes 
of different colors, and are designed to be thrown 
over a person reclining upon the sofa. 
“ Reps ” is now much used for furniture. Its 
first cost is less than hair-cloth, but it does not 
wear so well. It has, however, the advantage of 
color. 
If furniture chintz is used its colors must be in 
agreement with the carpet. Never select that 
which has great, glowing flowers, or gaudy birds, 
but such as is simple in its style, and remember 
the same hint when buying window-shades. A 
plain buff, or white, for these shades, is never dis¬ 
agreeable, and never out of taste. 
For papering walls some neutral tint is always 
preferable to a bright colored paper, especially if 
pictures are to be hung upon it. The paper itself 
does much toward furnishing a room and relieves 
it of the bareness which a plain white wall al¬ 
ways presents. The quality of the paper should 
depend somewhat upon the size and dignity of 
the room. A too expensive paper is scarcely bet¬ 
ter than that which is too poor. The figure of 
a wall paper should not be too marked. I have 
seen the picture of a railroad train driving at full 
speed, repeated hundreds of times on the paper 
of a small dining-room. If I eat in that room, I 
should be tempted to disobey all physiological 
law, and eat at railroad speed, and should listen 
anxiously for the ringing of the bell and the “all 
aboard ” of the conductor. 
Curtain-cords and picture-cords should be in 
harmony with the general spirit of the room. So 
should table covers, if they are used. 
Rocking-chairs are not the fashion in parlors 
for the very good reason that the rockers are al¬ 
ways in the way, and are liable to injure other 
furniture and the base-board, to say nothing of 
unfortunate ankles. Arm-chairs of various styles 
have taken their place. It is always well to have 
a few low chairs in the parlor for the accommo¬ 
dation of “women and children.” 
--—aaa Q BffE—->—«=-- 
A Batch of Recipes. 
For convenience of reference we throw togeth¬ 
er here a large number of recipes prepared or 
contributed specially for the Agriculturist. We 
can only vouch for those signed Ed. —the others 
being furnished by subscribers personally un¬ 
known. 
Pie Calies. 
The best mode of cooking rice, that is to our 
taste, and an excellent breakfast dish or dinner 
dessert, is the following: Boil the rice soft, and 
while warm make it into flattened balls, say an 
inch thick and 3 inches in diameter. When wanted 
for use dip the balls in beaten egg and cook upon 
a greased griddle the same as buckwheat flat- 
jacks. The thin film of egg on the surface pre¬ 
vents the absorption of grease. The cakes thus 
prepared and eaten with butter or sauce of any 
kind liked, are very far from being “ bad to take.” 
Ed. 
Potato Bread. 
“ Jeanne,” of Erie Co., N. Y., writes : “ We 
were glad to find in a former volume of the Agri¬ 
culturist, directions for ‘pstato bread.’ We have 
long been in the habit of using a few potatoes in 
bread, and think them an excellent addition, es¬ 
pecially if the flour be dark or of inferior quality. 
For ordinary use we think our recipe better than 
the one given. For five loaves of bread we se 
