1859 The Book of one Hundred Beverages - BERNHARD (William) -

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BJtEA.11:1'.&ST UVEUG:IS. 'W&ter ;- if it contains chicory, the latter siBb ·*'. the. bottom and stains the ~water of a deep red tint. The- presence o(niast,ed corn is not so read– ily detected by unpi-ofessional persons, but it may be immediately discoTered by adding to some oold clear boiled coffee, a few drops of the tinc– ture of iodine, which immediately strike a deep blue with the starchy m11.tter of the (wheat) corn; this change does not occur when the coffee is un– adulterated, as coffee does not contain any starch. Infusion or decoction of coffee is a wholesome and nutritive beverage ; it diminishes the disposi– tion to sleep, and hence it is used by those who :require to keep awake for study. or other purpo– S€S. Medically it. is foUlld, like tea, useful in some forms of headache, where there is not any determination of blood t.o the head ; and it is also especially useful in some cases of spasmodic aathma, when taken strong. Liebig and the pres– ent race of physiological chemists attribute very considerable nutritive ?Owers to the Caffein con– tained µi coffee ; their theories are partly bor.u out by the following facts, which so fully set forth the value of coffee as a beverage, that we are in– duced to copy them. At the Academy of Scien– ces at Paris, M. Gasparin read a paper in wbicll • he showed that the miners of Charleroi preserve their health and bodily vigor on a diet contain– ing scarcely half the- amount of nourishment of that of any other class ·or laborers in Europe. This diet consists daily of about three pints of coffee, two pounds of bread, two ounces of butter, about a pound and a. half of potatoes and legumi-

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