XLII. COFFEE. (117)

1. The coffee tree is a native of eastern Africa, but it was in Arabia that it first became known to the people of Europe, and until about the year 1700 A. D. that country afforded the entire supply.

2. Then the coffee seeds found their way to Java, by means of some traders, and one of the first plants grown on that island was sent as a present to the governor of the Dutch East India Company, who lived in Holland.

3. It was planted in the Botanical Gardens at Amsterdam, and in a few years seeds taken from it were sent to South America, where the cultivation of coffee has steadily increased, extending to the West Indies, until now the offspring of this one plant produce more coffee than is obtained from all the other plants in the world.

4. The plant is an evergreen, and is from six to twelve feet high, the stem being from ten to fifteen inches in diameter. The lower branches bend down when the tree begins to grow old, and extend themselves into a round form somewhat like an umbrella; and the wood is so pliable that the ends of the largest branches may be bent down to within two or three feet of the earth.

5. The bark is whitish and somewhat rough. A tree is never without leaves, which are at small distances from one another, and on almost opposite sides of a bough. Blossoms and green and ripe fruit may be seen on the same tree at the same time. When the blossom falls off, there grows in its place a small green fruit, which becomes dark red as it ripens.

6. This fruit is not unlike a cherry, and is very good to eat. Under the pulp of this cherry is found the bean or berry we call coffee, wrapped in a fine, thin skin. The berry is at first very soft, and has a bad taste; but as the cherry ripens the berry grows harder, and the dried-up fruit becomes a sh.e.l.l or pod of a deep brown color.

7. The berry is now solid, and its color is a translucent green. Each sh.e.l.l contains two seeds, rounded on one side and flat on the other. The seeds lie with the flat sides together, and, in one highly prized variety, the two seeds grow together, forming one: this is known as the pea berry.

When the fruit is so ripe that it can be shaken from the tree, the husks are separated from the berries, and are used, in Arabia, by the natives, while the berries are sold.

8. The young plants are inserted in holes from twelve to eighteen inches deep, and six or eight feet apart. If left to themselves, they would grow to the height of eighteen or twenty feet; but they are usually dwarfed by pruning, so that the fruit may be easily got at by the gatherer.

9. Thus dwarfed, they extend their branches until they cover the whole s.p.a.ce about them. They begin to yield fruit the third year. By the sixth or seventh year they are at full bearing, and continue to bear for twenty years or more.

l0. Before the berry can be used, it undergoes a process of roasting. The amount of aromatic oil brought out in roasting has much to do with the market value of coffee, and it has been found that the longer the raw coffee is kept, the richer it becomes in this peculiar oil, and so the more valuable. But after the coffee is roasted, and especially after it is ground, it loses its aroma rapidly.

11. Arabia produces the celebrated Mocha, or "Mokha," coffee, which is the finest in the world; but little or none of the best product is ever taken out of that country. The Java coffee from the East Indies is next prized, but the best quality of this kind is also quite difficult to obtain, and many, therefore, prefer the finest grades of Rio coffee from South America to such Mocha and Java as can be had in our country.

DEFINITIONS.--l. Af-ford'ed, yielded, produced. 3. Off'spring, descendants, however remote, from, the stock. 4. Pli'a-ble, easily bent.

7. Trans-lu'cent, permitting the pa.s.sage of light. 8. Prun'-ing, tr.i.m.m.i.n.g.

10. Ar-o-mat'ic, containing aroma, fragrant.

EXERCISES.--What country first supplied coffee? How did the plant come to be grown in other countries? Describe the plant. What is said of the fruit? How are the plants cultivated? What is said about the roasting of coffee? What are the three princ.i.p.al kinds of coffee used, and how are they valued?

XLIII. THE WINTER KING. (120)

1. Oh! what will become of thee, poor little bird?

The muttering storm in the distance is heard; The rough winds are waking, the clouds growing black, They'll soon scatter snowflakes all over thy back!

From what sunny clime hast thou wandered away?

And what art thou doing this cold winter day?

2. "I'm picking the gum from the old peach tree; The storm doesn't trouble me. Pee, dee, dee!"

3. But what makes thee seem so unconscious of care?

The brown earth is frozen, the branches are bare: And how canst thou be so light-hearted and free, As if danger and suffering thou never should'st see, When no place is near for thy evening nest, No leaf for thy screen, for thy bosom no rest?

4. "Because the same Hand is a shelter for me, That took off the summer leaves. Pee, dee, dee!"

5. But man feels a burden of care and of grief, While plucking the cl.u.s.ter and binding the sheaf: In the summer we faint, in the winter we're chilled, With ever a void that is yet to be filled.

We take from the ocean, the earth, and the air, Yet all their rich gifts do not silence our care.

6. "A very small portion sufficient will be, If sweetened with grat.i.tude. Pee, dee, dee!"

7. But soon there'll be ice weighing down the light bough, On which thou art flitting so playfully now; And though there's a vesture well fitted and warm, Protecting the rest of thy delicate form, What, then, wilt thou do with thy little bare feet, To save them from pain, mid the frost and the sleet?

8. "I can draw them right up in my feathers, you see, To warm them, and fly away. Pee, dee, dee!"

9. I thank thee, bright monitor; what thou hast taught Will oft be the theme of the happiest thought; We look at the clouds; while the birds have an eye To Him who reigns over them, changeless and high.

And now little hero, just tell me thy name, That I may be sure whence my oracle came.

10. "Because, in all weather, I'm merry and free, They call me the Winter King. Pee, dee, dee!"

DEFINITIONS.--l. Mut'ter-ing, murmuring, rumbling. 3. Un-con'scious, not knowing, not perceiving. 5. Clus'ter, a bunch. 7. Flit'ing, moving about in a lively manner. Ves'ture, clothing, covering. 9. Mon'i-tor, one who warns of faults. Or'a-cle, a wise sentence or decision.

XLIV. THE NETTLE. (121)

1. Anna. O papa! I have stung my hand with that nettle.

2. Father. Well, my dear, I am sorry for it; but pull up that large dock leaf you see near it; now bruise the juice out of it on the part which is stung. Well, is the pain lessened?

3. A. Oh, very much indeed, I hardly feel it now. But I wish there was not a nettle in the world. I am sure I do not know what use there can be in them.

4. F. If you knew anything of botany, Nanny, you would not say so.

5. A. What is botany, papa?

6. F. Botany, my dear, is the knowledge of plants.

7. A. Some plants are very beautiful. If the lily were growing in our fields, I should not complain. But this ugly nettle! I do not know what beauty or use there can be in that.

8. F. And yet, Nanny, there is more beauty, use, and instruction in a nettle, than even in a lily.

9. A. O papa, how can you make that out?

10. F. Put on your gloves, pluck up that nettle, and let us examine it.

First, look at the flower.

11. A. The flower, papa? I see no flower, unless those little ragged k.n.o.bs are flowers, which have neither color nor smell, and are not much larger than the heads of pins.

12. F. Here, take this magnifying gla.s.s and examine them.

13. A. Oh, I see now; every little k.n.o.b is folded up in leaves, like a rosebud. Perhaps there is a flower inside.