The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1889-12-28
COFFEE DYING OUT.
Two Possible Substitutes for Our ia vori
RraaIf Itoy,rano


Breakfast beverage.
1t Is believed by some authorities that
the worlds production OF coffee will
soon be inadequate for the demand,
owing to the spread of the disease which
has caused so great mortality among
the coffee trees in Ceylon. The proba-
bility is, however. that some means of
preventing the further course of the dis
ease will be discovered before the produce
tion is seriously affected. Tho ravages
of the phylloXera among the European
vineyards was for some years terribly
destructive, but finally remedy was
discovered and Ihe insect Is no longer
! feared.
There is no REASON why human ingenu-
/ ity should not l,c as successful in com
! batting the enemies of the cofTee-tree as
! 1t has boen in the case of the destroyer
of the vine. Tho high prices at which
! coffee has ruled for several years has
made coifee-planting very profitable
/ business and givon decided impetus to
productions; therefore, instead of falling
off the worlds supply should steadily in
crease. But if the fears of the pessi-
mists should be justified by results there
]
suitable substitute from the many that
have been discovered at various times.
/ Two new cases have lately been men,
toned as likely to suit the palates of
coifee-consumers should thoy be cut off
from the enjoyment of their favorite
bean. One is the fruit of the ''mussaen-
sla," n species of orange that grows in
Reunion. 1t is said that it possesses an
aroma fully equal to that of coffee and
can be cultivated at a comparatively
triling cost. The French colonial gov
ernment has already given instruction
for planting the "mussaensla' shrub
over considerable area in the high
grounds which are most favorable for the
cultivation of this plant IT has been
calculated that the annual production of
''mussaensla in Reunion may shortly
reach 3, 600 900 Kilograms.
The second Of the new substitutes is
the kola nut. As stimulant and an
| article of food, possessing the essential
qualities of coffee, it is said to be even
| richer. The kola nut is indigenous in
Western Africa, but has been produced
in other tropical countries and is, in fact,
now growing in Ceylon. Hitherto this
product has been chiefly put to medicinal
uses, but its acceptability as beverage
is growing, says the Coylon Mail, and it
has high value, because of its power of
enabling men to sustain great effort or
to endure prolonged fasting. Nothing
is said as to the price at which this arti
Gle can be produced nor as to its ca
pacity to compete commercially with
coffee, probably because the cultivation
has not yet been carried on upon a large
scale.
The Mail is of the opinion, too, that
the plant may be made more productive
than it now is, little effort having hith-
crto been made to raise it above the
state in which it is found growing wild
in the countries where it is indigenous.
Since the successful introduction of tea
into Ceylon a strong desire has been
manifested in the island to promote tho
cultivation of new products. and it is
possible that the present proposal may
lead 10 useful results. If it should be
adopted the experiment will be watchec
with great interest," Merchants Re