AmAuJ"'if9h2frm'}  Verbena  Urticce folia.  401 
adhering  to  many  grains  of  coffee  thin  light  gray  skins,  called 
"  silver  skins,"  which  would  hardly  be  noticed  by  the  ordinary 
observer.  To  remove  these  skins  and  brighten  the  grains  of  coffee  it 
is  further  dried  in  the  warehouse  for  two  or  three  weeks,  and  again  put 
through  the  "huller"  and  "  fanner."  The  next  step  is  to  separate 
the "  pea  berry  coffee."  A  small  percentage  of  the  coffee  berries, 
instead  of  containing  the  normal  two  seeds,  have  by  abortion  only 
a  single  seed.  The  grains  of  these  single-seeded  berries,  instead  of 
having  a  flat  face,  are  rounded,  and  are  called  "  pea  berries."  These 
"pea  berries"  are  heavy  and  of  the  best  quality,  and  bring  a  better 
price  than  the  best  grade  of  flat-faced  grains.  To  separate  them 
the  coffee  is  run  into  a  cloth  belt  slowly  revolving  at  a  slight  inclined 
plane,  the  flat-faced  grains  being  carried  over  the  top,  the  rounded 
"pea  berries"  rolling  off  the  bottom. 
The  coffee  is  next  graded  according  to  the  size  of  the  grains  by 
being  run  through  a  "sizer."  This  is  a  cylindrical  screen,  consist- 
ing of  four  sections  of  different  sized  meshes,  the  smallest  holes 
near  the  top.  The  screen  revolves  at  an  incline,  and  the  different 
sized  grains  drop  through  the  various  sections  according  to  size  into 
bins  beneath^  the  largest  grained  and  best  grade  being  carried 
through  the  cylinder. 
Finally  the  coffee  is  given  to  women  who  spread  it  on  a  table  and 
pick  out  all  the  deformed  or  broken  grains,  which  are  called  the 
"  tringe."  The  best  grades  of  coffee  are  put  in  tierces  holding 
about  800  pounds,  and  mostly  shipped  to  England— the  poorer 
grades  and  "  tringe  "  into  barrels  or  bags  for  this  country. 
I  have  given  a  description  of  the  machinery  which  I  saw  in  oper- 
aLion  on  the  plantations.  There  are  improved  machines,  I  am  told, 
but  they  are  said  to  furnish  no  better  results  than  the  old  ones. 
In  concluding  this  article,  I  wish  to  acknowledge  my  indebted- 
ness for  information  and  other  courtesies  to  John  H.  Nosworty,  the 
"  Busher"  of  Somerset  Plantation. 
•  '  VERBENA  URTICvEFOLIA 
By  Robert  M.  McFarland,  Ph.G. 
Contribution  from  the  Chemical  Laboratory  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy. 
No.  113. 
The  leaves  of  this  plant  have  acquired  some  reputation  in  domestic 
practice,  as  a  tonic ;  the  usual  mode  of  administration  has  been  as 
