ON  THE  DRUGS  OBSERVED  AT  ADEN,  ARABIA. 
233 
lessness,  and  that  it  was  attended  with  less  expense  and  trouble. 
The  use  of  coffee  has  been  kept  up  from  that  time  to  the  present." 
D'Herbelot  states  that  the  beverage  called  Cahuat  al  Catiat,  or 
Caftahy  was  prohibited  in  Yemen  in  consequence  of  its  effects  upon 
the  brain.*  On  the  other  hand  a  synod  of  learned  Mussalmans  is 
said  to  have  decreed  :  that  as  beverages  of  Kdt  and  Caftaf  do  not 
impair  the  health  or  impede  the  observance  of  religious  duties, 
but  only  increase  hilarity  and  good  humor,  it  was  lawful  to  use 
them,  as  also  the  drink  made  from  the  Boonn  or  Coffee-berry. 
I  am  not  aware  that  Kdt  is  used  in  Aden  in  any  other  way  than 
for  mastication.  From  what  I  have  heard,  however,  I  believe  that 
a  decoction  resembling  tea,  is  made  from  the  leaf  by  the  Arabs 
in  the  interior  ;  and  one  who  is  well  acquainted  with  our  familiar 
beverage,  assures  me  that  the  effects  are  not  unlike  those  produced 
by  strong  green  tea,  with  this  advantage  in  favor  of  the  Kdt,  that 
the  excitement  is  always  of  a  pleasing  and  agreeable  kind. J 
*  Bibliotheque  Orientalc,  La  Haye.  1777.  Tome  1,  page  461,  article  Cahuah. 
t  The  Arab  writer  seems  here  to  distinguish  Kdt  from  Cafta,  although 
they  are  previously  spoken  of  as  synonymous.  Upon  this  De  Sacy  remarks, 
u  Peut-etre  le  Kdt  est-il  la  feuille  meme  de  cet  arbre,  et  le  Cafta  une  pre- 
paration artificielle  faite  avec  cette  feuille."  Chrestomathie  Arabe,  Tome  1, 
pp.  462-3.    Note  40. — D.  H. 
t  Mr.  Vaughan  has  transmitted  two  specimens  called  respectively  Subbare 
Kdt  and  Muktaree  Kdt,  from  the  districts  in  which  they  are  produced. 
The  first  named  is  considered  of  superior  quality,  the  bundle  sent  which 
weighs  nearly  2£  ounces,  being  worth  at  Aden  two  annas  {3d.  sterling.) 
The  Muktaree  Kdt  which  consists  of  shorter  shoots  is  not  so  much  esteemed 
and  consequently  fetches  a  lower  price. 
Catha  edulis  Forsk.  Nat.  ord.  Celastracece,  is  figured  in  Dr.  Lindley's  Vege- 
table Kingdom  (Lond.  1846,  8vo.)  page  586.  But  there  is  a  still  more  com- 
plete representation  of  the  plant  under  the  name  of  Catha  Forskalii,  Richard, 
in  a  work  published  under  the  auspices  of  the  French  Government,  and  en- 
titled Voyage  en  Abyssinie  execute  pendant  les  annces  1839,  1840,  1841,  1842, 
1843,  par  une  commission  scientifique  composee  de  MM.  Theophile  Lefebvre, 
Lieut.,  de  vaisseau,  A.  Petit  et  Quart  in- Dill  on,  docteurs-mcdecins,  naturalist  es 
du  Museum,  Vignaud,  dessinateur.  The  botanical  portion  of  this  work  by  M. 
Achille  Richard,  is  regarded  either  as  a  part  of  the  Voyage  en  Abyssinie,  or 
as  a  distinct  publication  under  the  title  of  Tentamen  Flora  Abyssinicce.  The 
leaves  of  the  plant  as  represented  by  this  auihor  are  somewhat  narrower 
than  those  of  the  specimens  received  from  Arabia. 
M.  Richard  enters  into  some  particulars  relative  to  the  synonyms  of  the 
plant,  from  which  it  appears  that  Vahl  referred  ForskaPs  genus  Catha  to  the 
Linnean  genus  Celastrus,  changing  the  name  of  Catha  edulis  for  that  of 
Celastrus  edulis.  Hochstetter  applied  the  name  of  Celastrus  edulis  to  an 
Abyssinian  species  ( Celastrus  obscurus,  Richard)  which  he  imagined  identical 
with  Forskiil's  Catha  edulis,  while  of  the  real  Catha  edulis,  Forsk.,  he  formed 
a  new  genus  and  species,  under  the  name  of  Trigonotheca  scrrata,  Hochs., 
Nat.  ord.  Hippocrateacece. 
