( fil ) 
ON THE INORGANIC CONSTITUENTS OF THE BERRIES 
OF THE COFFEE PLANT (COFFEA ARABICA.) 
By Thornton J. Herapath y Esq . 
Having been desirous, some short time since, 
of determining the best manure for the West Indian 
coffee plantations it became necessary for me, 
in the first place, to ascertain the composition of 
the inorganic constituents of the coffee berry. 
For this purpose 150 grs. of very fine West Indian 
coffee berries, which had been dried in a gas stove 
at a temperature of about 220, F., were taken, 
and carbonized at a gentle heat in a loosely-cover¬ 
ed platinum crucible, recommended by Prof, 
Rose. The carbonaceous mass thus obtained was 
then repeatedly digested with boiling water, until 
a drop of the solution, when evaporated to dryness 
on a glass plate over a spirit-lamp, left only the 
slightest perceptible trace of residue; it was then 
dried and heated to redness in a large fiat-bottorn- 
cd platina dish, over an Argand burner, until all 
the carbon was consumed and a pure white ash 
remained behind. The ash thus obtained was 
very carefully transferred to a porcelain crucible 
containing a small lump of neutral carbonate of 
ammonia, and it w T as thin subjected to a gentle 
heat, the top of the crucible having been previous¬ 
ly imperfectly closed with a piece of plantina foil. 
The soluble salts having been extracted from the 
ash by means of hot water, the solution was added 
to that from the charred mass, and the whole 
evaporated to dryness ; the weight of the residue 
which comprised the entire soluble salts was 
2.01 grs. 
The salts insoluble in water, having been dried 
and heated to dull redness, were found to weigh 
