INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER

  Objects of the work.

  Prof.  Solly on the demand for a practical book on raw
  materials.

  Objects of the Society of Arts and Great Exhibition.

  Necessity for an attention to the culture of the minor
  staples of the soil.

  New objects of industry worthy the attention of
  Science.

  Principal part of our homeward commerce composed of raw
  materials from the Vegetable Kingdom.

  Mutual dependence of countries on Commerce for the
  supply of their wants.

  System of arrangement of subjects adopted by the
  author.

  Many articles of commerce omitted for want of space.

  Those of tropical and sub-tropical regions chiefly
  discussed.

  Hints for the cultivator.  Division of zones, and
  countries lying within each, with their range of
  temperature.

  Table of climate; duration and production of the
  principal cultivated plants.

SECTION I.—­DRIED LEAVES, SEEDS, AND OTHER SUBSTANCES USED IN THE PREPARATION OF POPULAR DIETETIC BEVERAGES

  Cacao or Cocoa.

    Varieties and description of the tree.

    Mode of cultivation in the Colombian Republics.

    Enemies of the tree.

    Expenses of a plantation in Jamaica.

    Cultivation in Trinidad and St. Lucia.

    Statistics and consumption.

  Coffee.

    Home consumption and revenue of coffee.

    Chicory largely substituted for; history of the fiscal
    changes.

    Continental demand.

    Present produce and consumption in various countries.

    Cultivation in Mocha.

    Cultivation in India; in Ceylon.

    Exports from that island.

    Manures suitable for the tree.

    Peeling, pulping, and winnowing.

    Improved machinery.

    New use for coffee leaves.

    Culture in Java.

    Production of America and the West Indies; Venezuela.

    Statistics of the Brazils.

    Shipments of various countries to the United States.

    Comparative consumption by different nations.

    Cultivation in Jamaica; Trinidad; British Guiana; Cuba;
    decline of production in this island.

    Statistics of exports.

    Preparation of coffee leaves for infusion according to
    Dr. Gardner’s patent.

    Dr. Hooker’s opinion thereon.

  Tea.

    Immense consumption of.

    Liebig’s analysis of.

    Varieties of the plant.

    Imports of tea for a series of years.

    Alterations in the duties.

    Statistics of import and consumption, revenue and
    prices.