The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1854-03-15
What we drink; Tea and Coffee.

y correct knowledge of the beneficial,
or dcictcrlous effects of any kind of meat
or drink, can only he obtained 10y expert
ence. The food Of man is exceedingly di-
versliied, and so is his drink. No person
San set up his standard of meats and
Inc iood and drink mosJ-saIl, o;hcrs.
people hNmg IN certain locality, NAV bc
totally unsuited 70 people LIVING in a az
Icrcnt ono. And kasiaas :, > VII.
ble for person living in the arctic rettEiSI6if>
to obtain the same food as one residing
in tie tropics. The EsquimauX cannot
raise wheat, nor the Lapandcr maze, or
rice; they must therefore use Just such
food rs their own climates can produce
Some assert that wafer alone is the natu-
raj drink Of man; this may be true, but
how can we be satisfied Of its correctness!
1t may just as truly bc said, that all
grains, vegetables, fruits, and flesh, should
DC used without hcins cooked-in their
natural state as To assert that water a.
zone is the natural beverage Of man.
Human beings are not guided 10y instinct,
but reason and experience, and this is the
reason why civilized men neither eat lOr
drink like the brute creation. All
nations and Peoples, above the very
lowest stages OF barbariaus, use some kind
OF beverage, rs necessary cOncomitant
OF IiIc-ju,t as much as their solid food.
We find that many nations have used
different periods OF their history; this is
manifest q in most extraordinary man
ncr 10y the general use of tea and coffee
at the present day, by European nations,
and by ouroelycs-bevcrages with which
our forctathers three centuries ago, were
totally unacquantcd. These beverages,
when first introduced into Europe were
denounced from pulpit and press, as being
temptations Of the evils spirit, and yet, for
Tor all this, neither pen nor tongue have
been able to stay their Use or progress
This is serious question, for 37,GG9,-
3l2 lbs. Of black and green teas were used
III the United States in 1853, AMI no less
we are sure, than 225,OOO,OOO lbs. OF
coffee, the latter averaging s l2 c.s. per
pound, and the former 81 ID cents per
TO-, the value of which is $33. .25O,90l.
Taking our population to b" 27o00,-
O00-not far from the mark now--aul
allowing for infants, children AMI those
who do not Use such beverages, it is a
fair estimate, to assume, that the amount
of tea and coffee were consumed By cue
third Of our population, which would a
mount to % lbs. uf coffee, and nearly
) pound, Of tea for each, but even allow
ing that one half four population indulge
in the use Of these beverages, it amounts
To IS lbs. 0! tea ana coffee per aunum,
for cach--an enormous quanity. Ifthcse
beverages are injurious injurious to health,
j. follows that we exhibit the very essence
OF toolishness by paying S33, 3,250,09l per
anuun, for them in their raw state; GER
tainly this cannot bsvery creditablc to our
boosted civilization.
The prevailing opinion Of scientific men
at the present day, is not unfavorable to
their use; Knapp asserts, that tea and
coffee as beverages, are more than mere
habits, and Liebig is friendly to their use,
asserting that tea contains the active con-
stituents Of mineral springs.
In some parts of the worll the inhabi
tants--sueh as the nomaClic tubes of Tar
tary, who are q sturdy and healthy race,
use tea both as a beverage and solid
food. They use the leaves as we DO dried
apples, and the beverage as we use soups.
A man and nation may abuse good
beverage, and then blame the beverage
for the evil results Of their own impru-
dence. A change offood is beneficial to
man; and so it may be with drink. A
certain kind Of food may agree with a
Iperson's constitution ior.s number Of