The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom by P. L. Simmonds

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_Chocolate_, properly so called, and so prized both in the Spanish
continent and in the West Indies, never reaches Great Britain except
as a contraband article, being, like nearly all colonial manufactured
articles, prohibited by the Custom-house laws. What is generally drank
under that name is simply the cacao boiled in milk, gruel, or even
water, and is as much like the Spanish or West India chocolate as
vinegar is to Burgundy. It is, without any exception, of all domestic
drinks the most alimentary; and the Spaniards esteem it so necessary
to the health and support of the body, that it is considered the
severest punishment to withhold it, even from criminals; nay, to be
unable to procure chocolate, is deemed the greatest misfortune in
life! Yet, notwithstanding this estimation in which it is held, the
quantity made in the neighbourhood of Carthagena is insufficient for
the demands of the population, and is so highly priced that none is
exported but as presents! The manner in which the Spaniards first
manufactured this veritable Theobroma--this food for gods (from
_Theos_, God, and _broma_, food)--was very simple. They employed the
cacao, maize, Indian corn (_Zea Mays_), and raw cane-juice, and
coloured it with arnatto, which they called _achiotti_ or _rocou_, but
which was known in Europe at that time by the name of _Terra
Orellana_. These four substances were levigated between two stones,
and afterwards, in certain proportions, mixed together in one mass,
which mass was subsequently divided into little cakes, and used as
required, both in the solid and fluid form.

The Indians used one pound of the wasted nuts, half a pound of sugar,
and half a pound of ground corn (maize) each, and then added
rose-water to make it palatable. This the Mexicans called chocolate,
from two words in their language, signifying the noise made by the
instruments used to mill and prepare it in the water. Many other
ingredients were subsequently added; but with the exception of
Vanilla, in the opinions of most persons, they spoil, rather than
improve it. Chocolate, as used in Mexico, is thus prepared: --The
kernels are roasted in an iron pot pierced with holes; they are then
pounded in a mortar, and afterwards ground between two stones,
generally of marble, till it is brought to a paste, to which sugar is
added, according to the taste of the manufacturer. From time to time,
as the paste assumes consistency, they add long pepper, arnatto, and
lastly, vanilla. Some manufacturers vary these ingredients, and
substitute cinnamon, cloves, or aniseed, and sometimes musk and
ambergris--the two latter on account of their aphrodisiac qualities.
The following is the formula given by a late writer:--To six pounds of
the nut add three-and-a-half pounds of sugar, seven pods of vanilla,
one-and-a-half pounds of corn meal (maize ground), half-a-pound of
cinnamon, six cloves, one drachm of capsicums (bird pepper), and as
much of the rocou or arnatto as is sufficient to color it, together
with ambergris or musk, to enforce (as he says) the flavor, but in
reality to stimulate the system. There is another chocolate made of
filberts and almonds, but this is not considered genuine. In old Spain
it is somewhat differently made; two or three kinds of flowers, also
the pods of Campeche, almonds, and hazel-nuts, being mixed up with it,
while the paste is worked with orange-water.

With regard to the manner in which chocolate is prepared in England
nothing need be said, as it is too well known to require description.
That which has appeared to me the best is "_Fry's Chocolate_," which
requires only to be rubbed up with a little boiling water, and scalded
milk added to it with sugar, according to the taste of the drinker;
there is a flavour, however, in this chocolate sometimes of _suet_,
which is probably added to give it a richness which the cacao employed
may not possess of itself. In the West Indies they rarely add anything
to cacoa but arnatto (sometimes a little fresh butter), though it is
often scented and sweetened, and sold in little rolls at five-pence
and ten-pence each, currency. It is always boiled with milk, which,
though very indigestible when boiled and taken alone, seems to lose
this quality when taken with chocolate. Chocolate thus made is much
drank, when cold, in the middle of the day, and is considered, both by
the negroes and the old settlers, as a most nutritive and salutary
beverage.

The signs by which _good chocolate_ or cacao is known are these:--It
should dissolve entirely in water, and be without sediment; it should
be oily, and yet melt in the mouth; and if genuine, and carefully
prepared, should deposit no grits or grounds. That made in the West
Indies, and in some parts of Cuba, is dark; but that manufactured in
Jamaica is of a bright brick colour, owing to the greater quantity of
arnatto which is used in the preparation, and which, I think, gives it
a richer and more agreeable flavor.

In an economical point of view, chocolate is a very important article
of diet, as it may be literally termed meat and drink; and were our
half-starved artisans, over-wrought factory children, and ricketty
millinery girls, induced to drink it instead of the innutritious
beverage called "tea," its nutritive qualities would soon develop
themselves in their improved looks and more robust constitution. The
price, too, is in its favour, cacao being eight-pence per pound; while
the cheapest black tea, such as even the Chinese beggar would despise,
drank by milliners, washerwomen, and the poorer class in the
metropolis, is three shillings a pound, or three hundred and fifty per
cent, dearer, while it is decidedly injurious to health.

The heads of the naval and military medical departments in England
have been so impressed with the wholesomeness and superior nutriment
of cocao, that they have judiciously directed that it shall be served
out twice or thrice a week to regiments of the line, and daily to the
seamen on board Her Majesty's ships, and this wise regulation has
evinced its salutary effects in the improved health and condition of
the men. Indeed, this has been most satisfactorily established in
Jamaica among the troops; and the same may be asserted of the seamen
in men of war on the coast.

But the excellent qualities of chocolate were known not only to the
Mexicans and Peruvians, from whom, as a matter of course, the
Spaniards acquired a knowledge of its properties; but European nations
also acknowledged its virtues. The Portuguese, French, Germans, and
Dutch, considered it an exceedingly valuable article of diet, and
Hoffman looked upon it both as a food and a medicine. In his
monograph, entitled _Potus Chocolati_, he recommends it in all
diseases of general weakness, macies, low spirits, and in
hypochondrial complaints, and what since his time have been termed
nervous diseases. As one example of the good effects of cacao, he
adduces the case of Cardinal Richelieu, who was cured of eramacausis,
or a general wasting away of the body, by drinking chocolate.[5] And
Edwards informs us that Colonel Montague James--the first white
person born in Jamaica after the occupation of the island by the
English--lived to the great age of 104; and for the last thirty years
of his life took scarcely any other food but chocolate. It is also
certain that those who indulge in excesses find their vigor more
speedily restored by the alternate use of chocolate and coffee than by
any other ingesta; and pigs, goats, and horses, which are fed even on
the spoiled berries, are observed to become very speedily fat, and in
good condition.

But cacao has not only the property of rapidly restoring the invalid
to health, strength, and condition, but a very inconsiderable quantity
of it will sustain life for a long period. The South American Indians
perform extraordinary journeys, subsisting, daring these prolonged
travels, on an incredibly small quantity of chocolate--so small,
indeed, as to render the accounts of travellers upon the subject
almost marvellous. In this respect it resembles coffee, which also
possesses the estimable property of sustaining the powers of life,
while it modifies and restrains the passion of hunger.

It is a curious fact, and how far this condition may be connected with
its powers of sustenance is worthy of inquiry, that chocolate recently
boiled, if the operation be performed in a tin pan, is highly
electrical; and this property may be frequently manifested by
repeating the process.

Cacao, according to Bridges, "was the favourite staple of the Spanish
commerce, trifling as that commerce was; and when the English took
possession of the island of Jamaica, it was that which first engaged
their attention. The extensive plantations left by their predecessors,
who had made it their principal food and only support, soon, however,
began to fail. They were renewed; but whether it might be from the
want of attention, or of information in the new colonists, the plants
never succeeded under their management; so that, disgusted with the
troublesome and unprofitable cultivation, they soon substituted
indigo." Yet forests of cacao trees grow wild in Guiana, the Isthmus
of Darien, Yucatan, Honduras, Guatemala, Chiapa, and Nicaragua; while
in Cuba, St. Domingo, and Jamaica, it was once an indigenous plant.

The following were the expenses of a cacao plantation in Jamaica
during the early period of British possession:--

L stg
Letters patent of five hundred acres of land 10
Six negroes 120
Four white persons, their passage and maintenance 80
Maintenance of six slaves for six months 18
Working implements 5
----
L233

In four to five years the produce of one hundred acres would usually
sell for L4,240 sterling. This was a monstrous and most unlooked-for
return; but then, what was it to the profits of sugar, which, owing to
the prodigious increase of the slave trade, was fast coming into
active operation, and eating up and destroying all other sources and
springs of industry? How dearly have the West Indians paid for the
short-lived affluence which the sugar cane conferred!

Blome, in his brief account of Jamaica, published in 1672, speaks of
cacao as being one of the chief articles of export. He states that
there were sixty cacao-walks or plantations, and many more planting;
but, for many years, no cacao plantation has existed in Jamaica, all
the chocolate used being made from imported berries, or the chance
growth of a munificent climate and redundant soil! A few scattered
trees, Edwards says (and as I my self know), here and there, are all
that remain of those flourishing and beautiful groves, which were once
the pride and boast of the country. They have withered with the indigo
manufactory, under the heavy hand of ministerial exaction. _The excise
on cacao, when made into cakes, rose to no less than L12 12s. per
cwt., exclusive of 11s. 111/2d. paid at the Custom-house, amounting
together to upwards of L840 per cent. on its marketable value!_

The mode of cultivating the cacao is given at some length by Edwards;
it is that of the Spaniards, a process strictly followed in Trinidad,
where, of all the West India islands, it constitutes a considerable
item of exports. It is thus described:--"A spot of level land being
chosen--preference is always given to a deep black mould, sheltered by
a hedge or thicket, so as to be screened by the wind, especially the
north, and cleared of all weeds and stumps of trees--a number of holes
are dug, at ten or twelve feet distance from each other, each hole
being about a foot in length, and six or eight inches deep. A very
important matter is the selection of the seeds for planting, and this
is done in the following manner: the finest and largest pods of the
cacao are selected when full ripe, and the grains taken out and placed
in a vessel of water. Those which swim are rejected; those chosen are
washed clean from the pulp, skinned, and then replaced in the water
till they begin to sprout; Banana (_Musa paradisiaca_), or some other
large leaves, those of the sea-side grape (_Coccoloba uvifera_), for
instance, are then taken, and each hole is lined with one of them,
leaving, however, the sides of the leaves some inches above ground;
after which the mould is rubbed in gently till the hole is filled;
three nuts are then selected for each hole, and they are set
triangularly in the earth, by making a small opening with the finger
about two inches deep, into which the nuts are put, with that end
downwards from which the sprout issues." They are then covered
lightly with mould, the leaf folded over, and a small stone placed on
the top, to prevent its opening; in eight or ten days the young shoots
appear above the ground; the leaves are then opened to give them light
and air, and a shelter from the sun, either in the shape of plantain
or banana leaves, is not forgotten; but the coco-nut and other species
of palm, on account of their fibrous structure and great durability,
are always preferred. This artificial shelter is continued for five or
six months. But, as a further security to the young plants, for they
are very delicate, other trees or shrubs are planted to the south-west
of the plants, that they may grow up with and shelter them, for young
cacao will grow and flourish only in the shade. For this purpose the
coral bean-tree (_Erythrina Corallodendrum_) is chosen. I should
presume there are other trees and plants equally eligible for this
purpose, and more useful; but my experience does not enable me to
speak positively upon the subject. Should the three seeds placed in
each hole spring up, it is thought necessary, when the plants are
fifteen or twenty inches high, to cut one of them down. The two
others, if they devaricate, are sometimes suffered to remain, but it
does not always happen that even _one_ of the three springs above the
earth; consequently this additional labor is not invariably requisite.

On the fourth or fifth year the tree begins to bear, and attains
perfection by the eighth, continuing to produce two crops of fruit per
annum, yielding at each crop from 10 lbs. to 20 lbs., according to the
nature of the soil. It will continue bearing for twenty years; but, as
it is a delicate plant, it suffers from drought, and is liable to
blight. In these respects, however, it does not differ from many other
plants, which are even more subject to disease, though not half so
valuable. Besides, a proper system of irrigation, such as could be had
recourse to in many parts of Jamaica, would obviate and prevent these
evils.

The whole quantity imported into the United Kingdom from the West
Indies and British Guiana during the last thirteen years, has been as
follows:--

lbs.
1831 1,491,947
1832 618,090
1833 2,125,641
1834 1,360,325
1835 439,440
1836 1,611,104
1837 1,847,125
1838 2,147,816
1839 969,428
1840 2,374,233
1841 2,919,105
1842 2,490,693
1843 1,496,554
1844 3,119,555
1845 3,351,602
1846 1,738,848
1847 3,026,381
1848 2,602,309
1849 3,159,086
1850 1,987,717
1851 4,347,195
1852 3,933,863

Cacao is cultivated in the highlands as well as on the coasts of the
north-eastern peninsula of the large and rich island of Celebes, which
has within the last year or two been thrown open to foreign trade. The
plantations of it are even now considerable, and this branch of
industry only requires not to be impeded by any obstacles in order to
be still further extended. It forms a large ingredient in the local
trade, and furnishes many petty traders with their daily bread, not to
speak of the landowners, for whom the cultivation of the cacao affords
the only subsistence. The preparation of the product differs from that
adopted in the West Indies, but we have not been able to ascertain the
practice. We may reckon that 1,200 to 2,000 piculs of 133 lbs. are
yearly produced; the prices vary much, being from 50 to 75 florins per
picul.--("Journal of the Indian Archipelago," vol. ii., p. 829.)

Bourbon now produces 15,000 to 20,000 kilogrammes of cacao annually.
Cacao is grown to a small extent in some of the settlements of Western
Africa, but as yet only a few puncheons have been exported, all the
produce being required for local consumption.

The following figures give the imports and consumption of cacao into
the United Kingdom in the last five years:--

Imports. Consumption.
lbs. lbs.
1848 6,442,986
1849 7,769,234 3,233,135
1850 4,478,252 3,103,926
1851 6,773,960 3,024,338
1852 6,268,525 3,382,944

The home consumption is very steady at about 3,000,000 lbs., yielding
to the revenue L15,000 to L16,000 for duty. The produce of British
colonies pays 1d. per lb. duty, that from foreign countries 2d; cocoa
husks and shells half these amounts; when manufactured into chocolate
or cocoa paste the duty is 2d. per lb. from British possessions, and
6d. from other parts. The quantity imported in this form is to the
extent of about 14,000 lbs. weight.

COFFEE.

The next staple I proceed to speak of is coffee--second only in
importance as a popular beverage to that universal commodity, tea. I
shall proceed, in the first instance, to take a retrospect of the
progress of the coffee trade, and glance at the present condition and
future prospects of produce and consumption. It will be seen, by
reference to the following figures, that the consumption of coffee in
the United Kingdom shows a successive decrease, from 1847 to 1850, of
6,414,533 lbs., and a loss to the revenue of L179,614.

HOME CONSUMPTION AND REVENUE OF COFFEE FOR THE
Years lbs. L
1824 8,262,943 420,988
1825 11,082,970 315,809
1828 17,127,633 440,245
1835 23,295,046 652,124
1839 26,789,945 779,115
1840 28,723,735 921,551
1844 31,394,225 681,610
1845 34,318,095 717,871
1846 36,793,061 756,838
1847 37,441,373 746,436
1848 37,106,292 710,270
1849 34,431,074 643,210
1850 31,226,840 566,822
1851 32,564,164 445,739
1852 35,044,376 438,084

I estimated, in a little treatise on coffee and its adulterations,
which I published in 1850, that not less than 18,000,000 lbs. of
vegetable matter of various kinds were sold annually under the
deceptive name of coffee. Three-fourths of these 18,000,000 lbs. of
pretended coffee were composed of chicory, and the remaining fourth of
other ingredients prejudicial to health, as well as a fraud upon the
revenue. The various substances used in adulterating both chicory and
coffee, when sold in the powdered state, have been specifically
pointed out and set forth from time to time in memorials from the
trade and the coffee-growers. Mr. M'Culloch and other competent judges
set down the actual consumption of chicory in the United Kingdom at
12,500 tons per annum. When we consider the vast difference of price
between chicory and coffee, as purchased by the wholesale dealer, the
temptation to its fraudulent use was obviously great, and there was no
penal restriction against it.

It will be interesting and useful to trace the history of the trade in
chicory from its first introduction.

The substitution of chicory for coffee occasioned a loss to the
revenue of three hundred thousand pounds sterling a-year, besides its
mischievous effect in adulterating and debasing a popular beverage
when used in such large and undue proportions for admixture, and sold
at the price of coffee.

Since the prohibition of the admixture of chicory with coffee, when
sold to the public, and the compulsory sale by Treasury minute of the
two articles in separate packages, a large and rapid increase in the
consumption of coffee has taken place, and the trade is now placed in
a healthy position. Whilst the increase in the consumption of coffee
from the 1st of January, to 5th September, 1852, was but 142,267 lbs.
as compared with the same period of 1851; the increase in the
remaining four months of the year was to the amazing extent of
2,350,368 lbs. This increased consumption is likely to continue, and
our colonial possessions are furnishing us with larger proportionate
supplies, as may be seen by the following figures:--

TOTAL IMPORTS OF COFFEE IN
1848 1849 1850 1851 1852
Produce of lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs.
British
Possessions
35,970,507 40,339,245 36,814,036 35,972,163 42,519,297
Ditto foreign
countries 21,082,943 22,976,542 13,989,116 17,138,497 11,857,957
---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Total 57,053,450 63,315,787 50,803,152 53,110,660 54,377,254

In the year 1832 chicory was first imported into England, subject to
a duty equivalent to that levied upon colonial coffee, and permitted
to be sold by grocers _separately_ as chicory; but notices were at the
same time issued, that the legal penalties would be rigidly enforced,
if discovered mixed with coffee.

In 1840, in consequence of memorials from the grocers and dealers in
chicory, and also from the circumstance of exceedingly high rates then
ruling for coffee, together with the disruption of our commercial
relations with China, simultaneously advancing the price of tea (thus
rendering both these popular beverages excessively dear to the
consumer), an order was issued from the Treasury to the Excise Board,
authorizing the admixture of chicory with coffee; a duty, however,
being still maintained on the former of L20 per ton on the kiln-dried,
and 6d. per lb. on the powdered root, when imported from abroad.

In the year 1845, the cultivation of chicory was introduced upon
British soil, and, being a home-grown commodity, was exempt from duty,
but nevertheless, by virtue of the said Treasury Order, was permitted
to enter into competition with a staple production of our own
colonies, contributing on its import a tax of 60 to 80 per cent. to
the revenue of the State.

The result, as might have been foreseen, necessarily created and
stimulated a demoralizing system of fraud, unjust and destructive to
the interests of the coffee planter, and prejudicial to the national
revenue.

The effects of so baneful a system being equally manifest upon both
consumption and revenue, they are here separately illustrated.

In 1824, according to the following high scale of duties, viz., 1s. on
West India, 1s. 6d. on East India, and 2s. 6d. on foreign, the Customs
derived from coffee was L420,988; in the following year the rates were
reduced one-half, and in the short space of three years the amount
yielded had advanced to L440,245, an increase which steadily
progressed (partly aided by the admission of the produce of British
India at the low duty) until it reached L921,551 in 1840. These
satisfactory results justified a further reduction of the duties in
1842 to 4d. on colonial and 8d. (and in the subsequent year to 6d.) on
foreign, under which the revenue declined in 1844 to L681,616. In 1846
it had again reached to L756,838, and was gradually recovering itself,
when this system of adulteration first began to extend itself
generally, and since that time the revenue has rapidly declined under
the _same scale of duties_ to L566,822 in 1850.

In 1824 the quantity retained for home consumption was 8,262,943 lbs.,
which was augmented to 11,082,970 lbs. in the first year of the
reduction of duty, and continued to exhibit an increase at a rate
rather exceeding two million pounds per annum until 1830, when coffee
would appear to have reached its limit of consumption without further
stimulus, and remained stationary until the modification of duties
allowing the admission of foreign coffee, _via_ the Cape, at the
colonial rate, when it advanced from 23,295,046 lbs. in 1835, to
28,723,735 lbs. in 1840; and consequent upon a further reduction of
duties in 1842, the elasticity of the trade experienced a still wider
development, and an increase of nine million pounds is exhibited in
the next five years. From that period, however, the general use of
chicory has not only checked the progressive increase of this healthy
demand, but an annual decline is observable to the extent of above six
million pounds in 1850, as compared with 1847.

On the 15th of April, 1851, with the view of partly remedying the
grievance of the colonists on this head, the duties were equalized and
reduced to 3d. The results are, however, far from satisfactory, either
in a fiscal or commercial point of view. It is true that an increase
in consumption, of one-and-a-quarter million pounds has taken place,
but at the sacrifice of L121,000 of revenue. But this increase, it
will be seen, has not exceeded 41/4 per cent., whilst there has been a
diminution of 211/2 per cent. in the revenue receipts. Upon
investigation, moreover, it will be found that, notwithstanding the
_total_ increase exhibited, there has been an actual falling off of
894,778 lbs. of colonial coffee in 1851; the items for last year are,
however, much more favorable and encouraging for the planters.