Imports and Duties.-The imports of coffee into the United Kingdom were, in 1874, 1,405,900 cwt.; 1875, 1,590,000 ; 1876, 1,362,600 ; 1877, 1,608,000; 1878, 1,270,000. The supply of 1878 was contributed as follows :-Ceylon, 506,000 cwt.; Brazil, 201,000; Madras, 157,000; Central America, 156,000; British West Indies, 57,000; TJnited States, 26,000; San Domingo, 26,000; New Granada, 16,000 ; Bombay and Scinde, 14 000 ; Straits Settlements, 14,000; Belgium, 14,000; Aden, 13,000 ; West Coast of Africa (forcig,n), 10,000; Cape of Good Hope, 9000 ; France, 9000 ; Germany, 9000 ; Asiatic Turkey, 5000 ; itish Honduras, 5000 ; Venezuela, 5000; Portugal, 4000; Philippines, 3000; Spanish West Indies, 3000 ; Mexico, 1000; Holland, 1000; Bengal and Burmab, 700; Other Countries, 4000. The duties are :-on raw coffee, 14s. a cwt.; on kiln-dried, roaated or ground, 2d. a lb.
The receipts (stated in cwts.) at the principal European entrepets during the first 11 months of the years 1876-7-8 respectively, were:-Hamburg, 1,508,000, 1,546,000, 1,482,000; Holland, 902,000, 1,509,000, 1,292,000 ; Havre, 710,000, 580,000, 823,000; Antwerp, 537,000, 479,000, 577,000; Trieste, 251,000, 225,000, 247,000, The imports (in °NOB.) at Hamburg in tbe years 1874-78 wero :-from Santos, 408,000, 379,000, 379,000, 440,000, 471,000; Rio, 274,000, 396,000, 395,000, 429,000, 320,000; La Guayra and Curacao, 130,000, 175,000, 213,000, 183,000, 218,000; San Domingo, 85,000, 120,000, 115,000, 112,000, 82,000; Maracaibo and Costa Rica, 63,000, 36,000, 82,000, 82,000, 95,000; East Indies, 67,000, 54,000, 56,000, 80,00U, 93,000 ; Other Countries, 313,000, 456,000, 323,000, 354,000, 316,000. In France, a duty of 156 fr. the 100 kilos. (about 65s. 5d. a cwt.) is charged on coffee imported directly, and an additional 20 fr. when it comes through a European entrepbt. The imports (in quintals of nearly 2 cwt.) at Trieste, in 1877-78, were :-from Brazil, 54,000, 74,000; Ceylon, 42,000, 41,000; Java, 9000, 12,000; Mocha, 3850, 4210; Malabar, 6000, 4000 : San Domingo, 3430, 1690; La Guttyra, 50, 1410 ; all others, 5000, 4000.
The imports into the Atlantic States of America were, in 1877, 152,327 tons; in 1878, 147,030 tons. Of the whole imports into the United States, in 1878, New York received 68.74 per cent.; this was contributed (in millions of lb.) as follows :-Bro.zil, 148; Maracaibo, 25; Java and Sumatra, 16 ; Hayti, 16; La Guayra, and Porto Cabello, 9; Costa Rica and New Granada, 5 ; Mexico, Africa, &c., 3 ; Europe (excluding Holland), 3 ; Jaruaica, 1 ; Holland, 0- 6; Singapore, 0.3; Bolivar City, 0.2 ; Curacao, 0.07 ; Ceylon, 0.05; Porto Rico, 0'02 ; Cuba, 0.03 ; Manilla, -; Macassar, -. The imports (in millions of lb.) at San Francisco, in 1876-7-8 respectively, were :-from Central America, 8.5, 15, 14; Manilla, 12, 1, 0.6 ; Java, 1, 0.4, 0.5 ; Hawaii, 0.1, 0.15, 0'1 ; Rio. 0.1, 0.25, 0.4 ; Ceylon, 0.045, —; Tahiti, 0.005,0.015, —; Mocha, 0.005, 0.002, —; Mexico, 0'002, 0.002, 0.008; Peru, —, 0.003, —; Chili, —, 0.0005. In America, there is no duty on coffee imported in berry.
Consumption and Prospects.—The following figuree, taken from the latest official returns, ebow tbe total consumption (in millions of lb.) of coffee in the chief countries where it is. used, and the estimated coneumption per head of the population ; the figures in brackets indicate the estimated per capita coneumption in 1873 :—United States, 310 : 6.5 (7.6); German Empire 2181 : 5.0 (—); France, 120 : 3.25 (2.73); Holland, 70 : 18.0 (21.0) ; Belgium, 50 : 10.0 (13.48); Austro Hungary, 36i : 1.0 (2.13); United Kingdom 341 : 1.0 (1.0); Italy, 28 : 1.0 (I .0); Sweden, 25 : 5.0 (6.11); Switzerland, 18 : 6.0 (7.0); Norway, 13i : 7.0 (9.8); Russia 101 : 0.15 (0.19);
Denmark, 9 : 4.5 (13.89); Greece, : 1.0 (1.42). From this, it would seem that the consump tion of coffee does not increase at the same rate as the population, at least in the non-producing countries. In the East, on the other hand, it is said to be daily gaining favour with the natives. The comparatively trifling consumption in the United Kingdom may probably be ascribed to three causes:—the competition experienced from cocoa, and good cheap tea ; the comparative ease with which these are prepared ; and the extent to which coffee is adulterated. The spread of the coffee house movement, and education of the people in the preparation of the beverage, should effect a revival. Meantime there is abundant scope in foreign markets ; and if the Ceylon planters will only make a real and combined effort to stamp out the leaf diaease, they may reap a double benefit, while Brazil, their great rival, is struggling against a dieturbed labour market.
Adulterants and Substitutes.—Scareely any dietetic article is so persistently adulterated. Its sophistication by means of chicory (see Chicory) seems to be a recognized custom. Recently, a substitute for chicory has been introduced, under the name of " moehara," which is said to consist simply of ripe figs, roasted and pulverized. The preparation is stated to have been for some time in use on the Continent ; but its introduction to English markets was, till now, rendered impossible by Customs restrictions. It is sold at about half the price of coffee. Another illustration of the modern craze for replacing every genuine article by an infelior substitute is to he found in the announcement of a company to work Henley's patent for making coffee out of dates! In New Zealand, the berries of Coprosma Baueriana have been proposed as a coffee substitute. The seeds of Cassia occidentalis have been imported into Liverpool from the River Gambia, under the name of " negro coffee." Coffee-leaves.—A decoction made from the leaves of the coffee shrub has long been used in the Eastern Archipelago, and has more recently been introduced to the coolies in Southern India. A few years since, it attracted eoneiderable notice, and was recommended as a new article of import, to become a cheap substitute for tea. There seems to be no doubt that coffee-Ieaves contain the principle caffeine in sufficient abundance to make a valuable beverage, but the presence of an unpleasant senna-like odour would militate greatly against its popularity. As regards pric,e, it is said that coffee-leaves could be prepared (like tea) and shipped at 2d. a lb., as against teas at 6d. to 10d. There exists, however, the difficulty that depriving the treo of its foliage damages the crop of berries, and injures the tree itself; on berry-producing trees, therefore, only the leaves obtained in the ordinary pruning operations would be available, and these would seem to yield so small a supply ae not to be worth the cost of collection. Growing the shrubs for leaf alone would be a very questionable undertakiog; but there appears to be no valid reason why, in the event of the berry crop failing, a portion at least of the leaves might not be gathered and prepared, if any means can be found for removing the objectionable odour. It has been urged that the product would chiefly be employed to adulterate tea ; but, even if such were the case, it is manifestly better than many of the adulterants now in common use, and it is very doubtful whether the supply or the price would meet the requirements of the case.