Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1851-12-03
AGRICULTURAL SCIENTIFIC.
N,TURE, CONSUMPTION AND
f. r USES.

E.f ...
The coffee plant is native of Yemen, in
Arabia; the time of its introduction into
EG@ope is unknown; it is mentioned in a
work published in 1888, by German ply
acian named l.. WauwolG. The Turks
have Coffee Houses, in which they meet to
sip their brown liquid, and chat together,
ike EngliShmen III their ale houses. Cot
fee houses are common in Germany, and
were, at one time, more common in Eng
land than at the present moment. The first
Coffee House opened in London was by a
merchant of Turkey, named Edwards; this
in 1852. Coffee was in pu bic used before
that time in France.
hNhen coffee was first introduced into
Britain it met with the most furious oppo-
sition from old and young, grave and gay,
men and women fair. In 1914 the women
OF England petitioned Parliament against
allowing the use Of codee,n which petition
i was stated chat men, by its use, became
Ike the desert of Arabia, and that if its use
was persisted in, the offspring of mighty
Anglo Saxon ancestors would dwindle INTO
a succession of apes and pigmies; and on a
domestic meSSage,a husband would stop by
the way to drink couple of cups of cof-
fee" Here we see the fair sex were ieal-
Gus for the honor OF good Old English ale;
ana TIE question Is, were they not right
Coaee, however, had aud still has its advo-
ca,es 1t has been stated by them, that
wherever it has been introduced, drunken
ness has become less frequent, and the peo-
PIE more sober. We have no statistics to
Prove or disproye this statement, but it may
justly be assumed to be true.
IL the reign Of Charles H., Coffee Hou-
SEES were shut up in London by proclama-
ton, In which 1t was stated, "the retailing
fcofee nourished sedition, spread lies,
scandaiized great men, and night be con-
sdered common nuisance" The arbi-
trary act occasioned violent discomfort, and
permission was given to open the Coffee
House again, but the landlords were forbid
to keep sedihous papers on their premises.
Inc Coffee Houses had become political
Cub houses.
-Four different kinds Of coffee are used
Mocha, which is the best comes down the
Persian Gulf, flom Arabia; its berries are
OF mlddiing size, clean and plump, and Of
a greenish light olive hue; it sells dearer
than any other. The next best is Java,
winch Is grown in the Island OF that name,
and is cultivated by the Dutch. The 9th or
two kinds are the Brazilian and West India
coffee, which are very similar. A field of
code in full bloom is sight worth going to
Jamaica to see.
The quality and effects of coffee differ &C
corning to the manner in which it is roasted.
1t must be roasted with great care, and not
over-done. The Turks roast it in an iron
spoon, and roast it just before they are 60
ing to use it. This is the best plan, as
coffee looses It's flavor if exposed after be-
ing roasted. The reason Of this is evident;
the roasting brings out the essential oil to
the surface, this is volatile, and is the fine
aromatic quality Of the bean il therefore
soon evaporateS when exposed to the at
mosphere. To roast coffee Alright it should
be done by an invention patented few
years ago in England; it consists in using a
copper drum siiyerized inside, into which
are placed the beans, and the drum made
to revolye above the fire, until the beans
are done. Ii is best not to oyer-roaSt them.
The peculiar principle of coffee is the
elfrjR, which was discovered by Robiquet
in 1921; it is very active principle. and
affects the urinary organs. Water saturat-
ed with coffee was first used by Grindal, in
tn. Russian Hospital Of Dorpat,in the treat
menI of intermittant feverS; it was also CIV
en- as powder, raw. In eighty cases, not
oae resisted It's effects. Homeopathic prac-
titioners also use il with success.
As an article Of diet, and as a beverage,
coffee has become quite favorite, if we
may Judge from the quantity consumed.-I
No less than IA. 9S6,S95 pounds were i'm
ported into the United States in 1850; the
value of this was S11,215, 099. No coun-
try in the world consumes so much coffee
III proportion to its inhabitants, as ours
ThGs, last year, the average amount Of coi-
fee consumed by each man, woman and
Child, was over seven pounds. The con-
sumption OF coffee has greatly increased in
England, and it does not appear that the
fsarS of the old English matrons, about
their sons becoming monkeys by its use, are
yet realized.
Coffee is now very generally used by all
Europeans as well as the old Turks, and in
almost all American families, for break
fast beverage. Its effects upon the human
system may be peculiar, but general use
has not yet devolved anything extraordina-
~ produced by it, except it may be the
b silhy appearance and rugged strength of
some French miners, who use it in large
Quantities; this fact was brought before the
Academy of Science in Paris last year. In
some armies and navles, coffee has wisely
beea substituted for grog; it would be well if
this were the case in every single instance.
In cold weather coffee is an agreeable and
safe stlmulant. 1t was noticed that those
French Soldiers who had saved some cof-
fee and sugar during the terrible retreat
from Moscow, stood the cold much better
than those who had none. Coffee affects
the Lerves of some people in most Singh
lar manner by making them trembling and
teverish. No person so affected should use
il. As general thing, for almost every
person, will believe it is healthy and pleas
ant beverage. In England all the coffee is
aduiterated with yellow dock-root, ground
up along with the beans; the law allows of
this .adulteration, and yet, for all this, the
coffee there sells for about double the price
it does in the United States.
Every family should buy their own beans
and roast and grind them, for much of our
ground coffee is also adulterated with roast
ed corn and peas. These authorizations are
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