se mineral
matters, the pulp also contains about 0.88 percent of caffein and 18 to
37 percent sugars. Accordingly, it has been proposed[107] to extract the
caffein with chloroform, and the sugars with acidulated water. The
aqueous solution so obtained is then fermented to alcohol. The insoluble
portion left after extraction can be used as fuel, and the resulting ash
as fertilizer.

The pulp has been dried and roasted for use in place of the berry, and
has been imported to England for this purpose. It is stated that the
Arabs in the vicinity of Jiddah discard the kernel of the coffee berries
and make an infusion of the husk.[108]

Quality of green coffee is largely dependent upon the methods used and
the care taken in curing it, and upon the conditions obtaining in
shipment and storage. True, the soil and climatic conditions play a
determinative role in the creation of the characteristics of coffee, but
these do not offer any greater opportunity for constructive research and
remunerative improvement than does the development of methods and
control in the processes employed in the preparation of green coffee for
the market.

[Illustration: CROSS-SECTION OF THE ENDOSPERM OR HARD STRUCTURE OF THE
GREEN BEAN]

Storage prior and subsequent to shipment, and circumstances existing
during transportation, are not to be disregarded as factors contributory
to the final quality of the coffee. The sweating of mules carrying bags
of poorly packed coffee, and the absorption of strong foreign aromas and
flavors from odoriferous substances stored in too close proximity to the
coffee beans, are classic examples of damage that bear iterative
mention. Damage by sea water, due more to the excessive moisture than to
the salt, is not so common an occurrence now as heretofore. However, a
cheap and thoroughly effective means of ethically renovating coffee
which has been damaged in this manner would not go begging for
commercial application.

That green coffee improves with age, is a tenet generally accepted by
the trade. Shipments long in transit, subjected to the effects of
tropical heat under closely battened hatches in poorly ventilated holds,
have developed into much-prized yellow matured coffee. Were it not for
the large capital required and the attendant prohibitive carrying
charges, many roasters would permit their coffees to age more thoroughly
before roasting. In fact, some roasters do indulge this desire in regard
to a portion o