g
and for furniture. The flowers are used medicinally as an
astringent and the roots as a febrifuge.

130. COCOS PLUMOSUS.--A Brazilian species, highly ornamental in its
long, arching leaves, and producing quantities of orange-colored
nuts, in size about as large as a chestnut, inclosed in an edible
pulp.

131. COFFEA ARABICA.--The coffee plant, which belongs to the
_Cinchonaceae_ and is a native of Abyssinia, but is now cultivated
in many tropical regions. It can not be successfully cultivated in
a climate where the temperature, at any season of the year, falls
below 55 degrees, although it will exist where the temperature all
but falls short of freezing, but a low fall of temperature greatly
retards the ripening of the fruit. Ripe fruits are often gathered
from plants in the extreme south of Florida. The beans or seeds
are roasted before use, and by this process they gain nearly one
half in bulk and lose about a fifth in weight. Heat also changes
their essential qualities, causing the development of the volatile
oil and peculiar acid to which the aroma and flavor are due. The
berries contain theine; so also do the leaves, and in some
countries the latter are preferred.

132. COFFEA LIBERICA.--The Liberian coffee, cultivated in Africa, of
which country it is a native. This plant is of larger and stronger
growth than the Arabian coffee plant and the fruit is larger. This
species is of recent introduction to commerce, and although it was
reported as being more prolific than the ordinary coffee plant,
the statement has not been borne out in Brazil and Mexico, where
it has been tested. It is also more tender than the older known
species.

133. COLA ACUMINATA.--An African tree, which has been introduced into
the West Indies and Brazil for the sake of its seeds, which are
known as Cola, or Kola, or Goora nuts, and extensively used as a
sort of condiment by the natives of Africa. A small piece of one
of these seeds is chewed before each meal to promote digestion. It
possesses properties similar to the leaves of coca and contains
theine. These nuts have from time immemorial occupied a prominent
place in the dietetic economy of native tribes in Africa, and the
demand for them has established a large commercial industry in the