sold in London for 60s. per pound, though it did not cost more than 2s. 6d. or 3s. 6d. at Batavia. It continued at this price till 1700. In 1715 green tea began to be used; and as great quantities were then imported, the price was lessened, and the practice of drinking tea descended to the lower ranks. In 1720 the French began to send it to us by a clandestine commerce. Since that period the demand has been increasing yearly, and it has become almost a necessary of life in several parts of Europe, and among the lowest as well as the highest ranks.

The following table will give an idea of the quantity of tea imported annually into Great Britain and Ireland since 1717:

Besides these immense quantities imported into Britain and Ireland, much has been brought to Europe by other nations. In 1766 the whole tea imported into Europe from China by other nations amounted to 17 millions of pounds; in 1785 it was computed to be about 19 millions of pounds. And during the late war almost the whole of the trade has been in the hands of the English.

In this country, teas are generally divided into three kinds of green, and five of bohea: the former are, 1. Imperial or bloom tea, with a large loose leaf, light-green colour, and a faint delicate smell. 2. Hyson, so called from the name of the merchant who first imported it; the leaves of which are closely curled and small, of a green colour, verging to a blue. 3. Singlo tea, from the name of the place where it is cultivated. The boheas are, 1. Souchong, which imparts a yellow-green colour by infusion. 2. Cambo, so called from the place where it is made; a fragrant tea, with a violet smell; its infusion pale. 3. Congo, which has a larger leaf than the preceding, and its infusion somewhat deeper, resembling common bohea in the colour of the leaf. 4. Pekoe tea; this is known by the appearance of small white flowers mixed with it. 5. Common bohea, whose leaves are of one colour. There are other varie

ties, particularly a kind of green tea, done up in roundish balls, called gun-powder tea.

[Aiton. Woodville. Du Halde. Gregory.

SECTION XV.

Coffee.

Coffea. LINN.

THIS genus of plants contains ten species, chiefly natives of the East Indies, South America, and the Polynesian isles. The only species, however, that we here notice in the present work is the Coffea Arabica, of which there are two varieties, though both are sold in our shops as Turkey coffee, and possess similar qualities.

a. With leaves oblong-ovate; flowers in axillary clusters; corols five-cleft.

6. With berries oblong, acute at the base; leaves opposite and waved; flowers from two to four together, nearly sessile, white, odorous.

The tree seldom rises more than 16 or 18 feet high, with an erect main stem, covered with a lightish brown bark: the leaves are oblong-ovate, pointed; flowers in axillary clusters, the corols of which are five-cleft. These flowers are of a pure white, and very pleasant odour, but their duration is very transient. The fruit resembles a cherry, and grows in clusters, ranged along the branches under the axillæ of the leaves, which are of a laurel hue, but rather longer than a laurel leaf. It is an evergreen, and makes a beautiful appearance at every season in the stove, but particularly when it is in flower. The coffee-tree is now propagated in great plenty in many parts of America; but the produce of these countries is greatly inferior to that of Arabia. This plant is propagated by seeds, which should be sown soon after they are gathered from the tree, for if kept but a short time out of the ground, they will not grow, which is the chief reason that this tree has not been spread into more different countries; for the seeds will not keep long enough to be sent into any place; so that in order to cultivate this plant in any part of the world, it is absolutely necessary to have it carried thither growing. The berries are commonly ripe with us in April, at which time they should be sown in pots of fresh light

earth, covering them about half an inch thick with the same light earth; then plunge the pots into a moderate hot-bed of tanner's bark, observing to refresh them often with water, as also to raise the glasses in the heat of the day, to admit fresh air; and in very hot weather, it will be proper to shade the glasses with mats, otherwise the earth in the pots will dry too fast, and prevent the vegetation of the seeds. It must be observed that the taking off the pulp of the berries, which has been by some people directed as absolutely necessary, is a great mistake. When this plant is removed, great care should be taken not to break or injure the roots; and also to preserve the earth to the roots; nor should they be kept any time out of the ground, for if their fibres be suffered to dry, they are very subject to mould, and perish soon after. The soil in which this tree has been observed to thrive best was composed in the following manner, viz. one load of fresh, light, loamy earth; one load of rotten cow-dung, with half a load of sea-sand: these were well mixed together, and laid in a heap six months before it was used, in which space of time it was turned several times, the better to incorporate the several parts.

The coffee-tree has of late years been much cultivated in the islands of America, both by the English and French, but the coffee which has been thence brought to Europe has been very little esteemed. This great difference in the goodness many have attributed to the soil in which it grows, and therefore have supposed it impossible for the inhabitants of the British islands ever to cultivate this commodity to any real advantage; but this is certainly a mistake, as is affirmed by several persons of credit, who have resided in these islands, who say, that the berries which they have gathered from the trees and roasted themselves, were as well flavoured as any of the coffee brought from Mocha; so that the fault is in the drying, and bringing over; for if in the drying of the berries they be laid in rooms near the sugar-works, or near the house where the rum is distilled, the berries will soon imbibe the surrounding effluvia, which will greatly alter their flavour. In like manner the coffee brought in the same ships with rum and sugar, were the coffee ever so good, would hereby be entirely altered.

With respect to the medicinal properties of coffee, it is in general excitant and stimulating; though we doubt whether it relaxes the animal fibres, as has by some authors been supposed. Its more

or less wholesome effect greatly depends on the climate, as well as the age, constitution, and other peculiarities, of the individual. Hence it cannot be recommended to children, or persons of a hot, choleric, nervous, or phthisical habit; nor will it be so safe and useful in warm as in cold and temperate climates; but to the phlegmatic and sedentary, a cup of coffee, one or two hours after a meal, or, which is still better, one hour before it, may be of service to promote digestion, and prevent or remove a propensity to sleep. In cases of spasmodic asthma, hypochondriasis, scrofula, diarrhoea, agues, and particularly against narcotic poisons, such as opium, hemlock, &c. coffee often produces the best effects; nor is there a domestic remedy better adapted to relieve periodical head-achs which proceed from want of tone, or from debility of the stomach.

Count Rumford, in the eighteenth of his Essays, has entered into a minute, elaborate, and useful analysis of the powers of this valuable berry, and the best means of infusing it for dietetic purposes. He remarks that " among the numerous luxuries of the table, unknown to our forefathers, coffee may be considered as one of the most valuable. Its taste is very agreeable, and its flavour uncommonly so; but its principal excellence depends on its salubrity, and on its exhilirating quality. It excites cheerfulness, without intoxication; and the pleasing flow of spirits which it occasions, lasts many hours, and is never followed by sadness, languor, or debility. It diffuses over the whole frame a glow of health, and a sense of case and well-being, which is extremely delightful; existence is felt to be a positive enjoyment, and the mental powers are awakened, and rendered uncommonly active." After some other judicious observations on the valuable properties of coffee, and the uncertainty of the result in the common methods of preparing it, the Count proceeds with his subject.

"Different methods have been employed in making coffee; but the preparation of the grain is nearly the same in all of them. It is first roasted in an iron pan, or in a hollow cylinder made of sheet-iron, over a brisk fire; and when, from the colour of the grain, and the peculiar fragrance which it acquires in this process, it is judged to be sufficiently roasted, it is taken from the fire, and suffered to cool. When cold it is pounded in a mortar, or ground in a hand-mill to a coarse powder, and preserved for use.

"Great care must be taken in roasting coffee, not to roast it too