Chapter V: Part 5

_Cultivation and Preparation for Market._--Coffee plants are grown from seeds, which, as in the case of other crops, should be obtained from selected trees of desirable characteristics. The seeds may be sown "at stake," _i.e._ in the actual positions the mature plants are to occupy, or raised in a nursery and afterwards transplanted. The choice of methods is usually determined by various local considerations. Nurseries are desirable where there is risk of drought killing seedlings in the open. Whilst young the plants usually require to be shaded, and this may be done by growing castor oil plants, cassava (_Manihot_), maize or Indian corn, bananas, or various other useful crops between the coffee, until the latter develop and occupy the ground. Sometimes, but by no means always, permanent shading is afforded by special shade trees, such as species of the coral tree (_Erythrina_) and other leguminous trees. Opinions as to the necessity of shade trees varies in different countries; _e.g._ in Brazil and at high elevations in Jamaica they are not employed, whereas in Porto Rico many look on them as absolutely essential. It is probable that in many cases where shade trees are of advantage their beneficial action may be indirect, in affording protection from wind, drought or soil erosion, and, when leguminous plants are employed, in enriching the soil in nitrogen. The plants begin to come into bearing in their second or third year, but on the average the fifth is the first year of considerable yield. There may be two, three, or even more "flushes" of blossom in one year, and flowers and fruits in all stages may thus be seen on one plant. The fruits are fully ripe about seven months after the flowers open; the ripe fruits are fleshy, and of a deep red colour, whence the name of "cherry." When mature the fruits are picked by hand, or allowed to fall of their own accord or by shaking the plant. The subsequent preparation may be according to (1) the dry or (2) the wet method.

In the dry method the cherries are spread in a thin layer, often on a stone drying floor, or barbecue, and exposed to the sun. Protection is necessary against heavy dew or rain. The dried cherries can be stored for any length of time, and later the dried pulp and the parchment are removed, setting free the two beans contained in each cherry. This primitive and simple method is employed in Arabia, in Brazil and other countries. In Brazil it is giving place to the more modern method described below.

In the wet, or as it is sometimes called, West Indian method, the cherries are put in a tank of water. On large estates galvanized spouting is often employed to convey the beans by the help of running water from the fields to the tank. The mature cherries sink, and are drawn off from the tank through pipes to the pulping machines. Here they are subjected to the action of a roughened cylinder revolving closely against a curved iron plate. The fleshy portion is reduced to a pulp, and the mixture of pulp and liberated seeds (each still enclosed in its parchment) is carried away to a second tank of water and stirred. The light pulp is removed by a stream of water and the seeds allowed to settle. Slight fermentation and subsequent washings, accompanied by trampling with bare feet and stirring by rakes or special machinery, result in the parchment coverings being left quite clean. The beans are now dried on barbecues, in trays, &c., or by artificial heat if climatic conditions render this necessary. Recent experiments in Porto Rico tend to show that if the weather is unfavourable during the crop period the pulped coffee can be allowed to remain moist and even to malt or sprout without injury to the final value of the product when dried later. The product is now in the state known as parchment coffee, and may be exported. Before use, however, the parchment must be removed. This may be done on the estate, at the port of shipment, or in the country where imported. The coffee is thoroughly dried, the parchment broken by a roller, and removed by winnowing. Further rubbing and winnowing removes the silver skin, and the beans are left in the condition of ordinary unroasted coffee. Grading into large, medium and small beans, to secure the uniformity desirable in roasting, is effected by the use of a cylindrical or other pattern sieve, along which the beans are made to travel, encountering first small, then medium, and finally large apertures or meshes. Damaged beans and foreign matter are removed by hand picking. An average yield of cleaned coffee is from 1-1/2 to 2 lb per tree, but much greater crops are obtained on new rich lands, and under special conditions.

_Production._--The centre of production has shifted greatly since
coffee first came into use in Europe. Arabia formerly supplied the
world; later the West Indies and then Java took the lead, to be
supplanted in turn by Brazil, which now produces about three-quarters
of the world's supply and controls the market.

_Brazil._--Coffee planting is the chief industry of Brazil, and coffee
the principal export. The states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas
Geraes and Santos, contain the chief coffee-producing lands. The
annual output ranges from about 10,000,000 to 16,000,000 bags (of 120
lb each), whilst the world's annual consumption is more or less
stationary at about 16,000,000 bags. The overwhelming importance of
the Brazilian output is thus evident. Recently efforts have been made
to restrict production to maintain prices, and the Coffee Convention
scheme came into force in Sao Paulo on December 1, 1906, and in Rio de
Janeiro and Minas Geraes on January 1, 1907. The cultivation in
general is very primitive in character, periodical weeding being
almost all the attention the plants receive. Manuring is commonly
confined to mulches of the cut weeds and addition of the coffee husks.
New lands in Sao Paulo yield from 80 cwt. to 100 cwt. of cleaned
coffee per 1000 trees (700 go to the acre); the average yield,
however, is not more than 15 cwt. The plants are at their best when
from 10 to 15 years old, but continue yielding for 30 years or even
more.

_Other South American Countries._--Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru,
and to a much less degree Bolivia and Paraguay, produce coffee, the
annual crops of the two former countries being each of about
L1,500,000 in value.

_Central America._--Guatemala produces the most in this region; the
coffee estates are mainly controlled by Germans, who have brought them
to a high pitch of perfection. The crop ranges in value from about
L1,000,000 to L1,500,000 per annum. Costa Rica and San Salvador
produce about half this amount. In Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama,
coffee is extensively cultivated, and all export the product.

_West Indies._--Coffee is grown in most of the islands, often only for
local use. Haiti produces the largest amount, the annual value of the
crop being about L500,000. Porto Rico formerly had a flourishing
industry, but it has declined owing to various causes. The interior is
still expected to be devoted largely to coffee, and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture has carried out experiments to improve
methods and ensure the cultivation of better varieties. Jamaica
produces the famous Blue Mountain Coffee, which compares favourably
with the best coffees of the world, and also ordinary or "plain
grown"; the Blue Mountain is cultivated at elevations of from 3000 to
4500 ft. Coffee usually ranks third or fourth in value amongst the
exports of the island.

_Africa_, the native country of the coffees, does not now contribute
any important amount to the world's output. In Liberia, the Gold Coast
and elsewhere on the West Coast are many plantations, but the low
prices ruling of recent years have caused coffee to be neglected for
more remunerative crops. Coffee is, however, still the principal
export of Nyasaland (British Central Africa), where it was introduced
as recently as 1894. The area under coffee has been greatly reduced,
owing partly to more attention being paid to cotton, partly to
droughts and other causes. In Somaliland and Abyssinia coffee
cultivation is of very ancient date. Two kinds are exported, Harrari
and Habashi. The former compares favourably with Mocha coffee. The
industry could be very considerably extended. In Natal, Rhodesia, &c.,
coffee is grown, but not in sufficient quantity to supply the local
demand.

_Arabia._--The name "Mocha" is applied generally to coffee produced in
Arabia. Turkey and Egypt obtain the best grades. Traders from these
countries go to Arabia, buy the crops on the trees, and supervise its
picking and preparation themselves. The coffee is prepared by the "dry
method."

_India_ is the principal coffee-growing region in the British empire,
and produces about one-fifth of the total supply of the United
Kingdom. There are some 213,000 acres under coffee, mostly in southern
India. The official report states that the production of coffee is
restricted for the most part to a limited area in the elevated region
above the south-western coast, the coffee lands of Mysore, Coorg, and
the Madras districts of Malabar and the Nilgiris, comprising 86% of
the whole area under the plant in India. About one-half of the whole
coffee-producing area is in Mysore. In Burma, Assam and Bombay, coffee
is of minor importance. During 1904-1906 there was a reduction of the
area under coffee in India by 21,554 acres.

_Ceylon._--The history of coffee in Ceylon is practically that of the
coffee-leaf disease (see below). The Dutch introduced Arabian coffee
in 1720, but abandoned its cultivation later. It was revived by the
British, and developed very rapidly between 1836 and 1845, when there
was a temporary collapse owing to financial crisis in the United
Kingdom. In 1880 the exports of coffee were of the value of about
L2,784,163. Ten years later they had fallen to L430,633, owing to the
ravages of the coffee-leaf disease. The output continued to decrease,
and the value of the crop in 1906 was only L17,258. Liberian coffee,
which is hardier and more resistant to disease, was introduced, but
met with only partial success.

_Dutch East Indies._--Coffee from this source passes under the general
name of "Java," that island producing the greatest amount; Sumatra,
Borneo and the Celebes, &c., however, also contribute. The Java
plantations are largely owned by the government. Much of the coffee
from these islands is of a high quality.

_Australasia._--Coffee can be cultivated in the northern territories
of Australia, but comparatively little is done with this crop;
Queensland produces the largest amount.

_Hawaii_, &c.--In all the islands of the Hawaiian group coffee is
grown, but nine-tenths or more is raised in Hawaii itself, the Kona
district being the chief seat of production. The exports go mostly to
the United States, and there is also a large local consumption.

Coffee thrives well also in the Philippines and Guam.

_The World's Trade._--The following figures, from the _Year-book_ of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, indicate the relative importance
of the coffee-exporting countries.

1904. 1905.
Country. Exports coffee Exports coffee
in lb. in lb.
_America_--
Brazil 1,326,027,795 1,431,328,038
Colombia 130,000,000 (est.) 70,000,000
Venezuela 128,000,000 " 94,370,090
Haiti 81,407,346 45,244,232
Salvador 75,314,003 61,822,223
Guatemala 71,653,700 81,081,600
Mexico 41,855,368 42,456,491
Costa Rica 27,730,672 39,788,002
Nicaragua 21,661,621 18,171,515
Porto Rico 15,330,590
Jamaica 5,781,440 9,046,464

_Asia_--
Dutch East Indies 77,168,254 72,864,649
British India 36,920,464 40,340,384
Singapore (port of export) 12,367,156 11,935,034

_Other countries_ 216,891,567 220,132,690
------------- -------------
Total 2,268,109,976 2,238,581,412

In 1906 there was an increased total of 2,680,855,878 lb, due to the
Brazil export rising to 1,847,367,771 lb. The aggregate value of the
coffee annually entering the world's markets is about L40,000,000.

_Coffee Consumption._--The United States of America consume nearly one half of all the coffee exported from the producing countries of the world. This might of course be due merely to the States containing more coffee-drinkers than other countries, but the average consumption per head in the country is about 11 to 12 lb per annum, an amount equalled or excelled only in Norway, Sweden and Holland. Whilst one great branch of the Anglo-Saxon stock is near the head of the list, it is interesting to note that the United Kingdom and also Canada and Australia are almost at the foot, using only about 1 lb of coffee per head each year. Germany, with a consumption of about 6 to 7 lb per person per annum uses considerably less than a quarter of the world's commercial crop. France, about 5 lb per head, takes about one eighth; and Austria-Hungary, about 2 lb, uses some one-sixteenth. Holland consumes approximately as much, but with a much smaller population, the Dutch using more per head than any other people--14 lb to 15 lb per annum. Their taste is seen also in the relatively high consumption in South Africa. Sweden, Belgium and the United Kingdom, follow next in order of total amount used.

In many tropical countries much coffee is drunk, but as it is often produced locally exact figures are not available. The average consumption in the United Kingdom is about 50,000,000 lb per annum; about one-fifth only is produced in the British empire, and of this about nineteen-twentieths come from India and one-twentieth from the British West Indies.

_Coffee-leaf Disease._--The coffee industry in Ceylon was ruined by the attack of a fungoid disease (_Hemileia vastatrix_) known as the Ceylon coffee-leaf disease. This has since extended its ravages into every coffee-producing country in the Old World, and added greatly to the difficulties of successful cultivation. The fungus is a microscopic one, the minute spores of which, carried by the wind, settle and germinate upon the leaves of the plant. The fungal growth spreads through the substance to the leaf, robbing the leaf of its nourishment and causing it to wither and fall. An infected plantation may be cleansed, and the fungus in its nascent state destroyed, by powdering the trees with a mixture of lime and sulphur, but, unless the access of fresh spores brought by the wind can be arrested, the plantations may be readily reinfected when the lime and sulphur are washed off by rain. The separation of plantations by belts of trees to windward is suggested as a check to the spread of the disease.

1, Part of leaf showing diseased patches.
2, Cluster of uredospores.
3, Transverse section of a diseased patch in the leaf showing the
hyphae of the fungus pushing between the leaf-cells and tapping
them for nourishment. The hyphae have broken through in the upper
face and are forming a cluster of spores.
4, Ripe uredospores.
5, A teleutospore.
6, A uredospore germinating, the germ-tube is penetrating the leaf.
7, Uredospore germinating.
u, Uredospore.
t, Teleutospore.
2-7, Highly magnified.]

_Microscopic Structure._--Raw coffee seeds are tough and horny in structure, and are devoid of the peculiar aroma and taste which are so characteristic of the roasted seeds. The minute structure of coffee allows it to be readily recognized by means of the microscope, and as roasting does not destroy its distinguishing peculiarities, microscopic examination forms the readiest means of determining the genuineness of any sample. The substance of the seed, according to Dr Hassall, consists "of an assemblage of vesicles or cells of an angular form, which adhere so firmly together that they break up into pieces rather than separate into distinct and perfect cells. The cavities of the cells include, in the form of little drops, a considerable quantity of aromatic volatile oil, on the presence of which the fragrance and many of the active principles of the berry depend" (see fig. 3).

_Physiological Action._--Coffee belongs to the medicinal or auxiliary class of food substances, being solely valuable for its stimulant effect upon the nervous and vascular system. It produces a feeling of buoyancy and exhilaration comparable to a certain stage of alcoholic intoxication, but which does not end in depression or collapse. It increases the frequency of the pulse, lightens the sensation of fatigue, and it sustains the strength under prolonged and severe muscular exertion. The value of its hot infusion under the rigours of Arctic cold has been demonstrated in the experience of all Arctic explorers, and it is scarcely less useful in tropical regions, where it beneficially stimulates the action of the skin.

The physiological action of coffee mainly depends on the presence of the alkaloid caffeine, which occurs also in tea, Paraguay tea, and cola nuts, and is very similar to theobromine, the active principle in cocoa. The percentage of caffeine present varies in the different species of _Coffea_. In Arabian coffee it ranges from about 0.7 to 1.6%; in Liberian coffee from 1.0 to 1.5%. Sierra Leone coffee (_C. stenophylla_) contains from 1.52 to 1.70%; in _C. excelsa_ 1.89% is recorded, and as much as 1.97% in _C. canephora_. Four species have been shown by M. G. Bertrand to contain no caffeine at all, but instead a considerable quantity of a bitter principle. All these four species are found only in Madagascar or the neighbouring islands. Other coffees grown there contain caffeine as usual. Coffee, with the caffeine extracted, has also been recently prepared for the market. The commercial value of coffee is determined by the amount of the aromatic oil, caffeone, which develops in it by the process of roasting. By prolonged keeping it is found that the richness of any seeds in this peculiar oil is increased, and with increased aroma the coffee also yields a blander and more mellow beverage. Stored coffee loses weight at first with great rapidity, as much as 8% having been found to dissipate in the first year of keeping, 5% in the second, and 2% in the third; but such loss of weight is more than compensated by improvement in quality and consequent enhancement of value.

_Roasting._--In the process of roasting, coffee seeds swell up by the liberation of gases within their substance,--their weight decreasing in proportion to the extent to which the operation is carried. Roasting also develops with the aromatic caffeone above alluded to a bitter soluble principle, and it liberates a portion of the caffeine from its combination with the caffetannic acid. Roasting is an operation of the greatest nicety, and one, moreover, of a crucial nature, for equally by insufficient and by excessive roasting much of the aroma of the coffee is lost; and its infusion is neither agreeable to the palate nor exhilarating in its influence. The roaster must judge of the amount of heat required for the adequate roasting of different qualities, and while that is variable, the range of roasting temperature proper for individual kinds is only narrow. In continental countries it is the practice to roast in small quantities, and thus the whole charge is well under the control of the roaster; but in Britain large roasts are the rule, in dealing with which much difficulty is experienced in producing uniform torrefaction, and in stopping the process at the proper moment. The coffee-roasting apparatus is usually a malleable iron cylinder mounted to revolve over the fire on a hollow axle which allows the escape of gases generated during torrefaction. The roasting of coffee should be done as short a time as practicable before the grinding for use, and as ground coffee especially parts rapidly with its aroma, the grinding should only be done when coffee is about to be prepared.

_Adulteration._--Although by microscopic, physical and chemical tests the purity of coffee can be determined with perfect certainty, yet ground coffee is subjected to many and extensive adulterations (see also ADULTERATION). Chief among the adulterant substances, if it can be so called, is chicory; but it occupies a peculiar position, since very many people on the European continent as well as in Great Britain deliberately prefer a mixture of chicory with coffee to pure coffee. Chicory is indeed destitute of the stimulant alkaloid and essential oil for which coffee is valued; but the facts that it has stood the test of prolonged and extended use, and that its infusion is, in some localities, used alone, indicate that it performs some useful function in connexion with coffee, as used at least by Western communities. For one thing, it yields a copious amount of soluble matter in infusion with hot water, and thus gives a specious appearance of strength and substance to what may be really only a very weak preparation of coffee. The mixture of chicory with coffee is easily detected by the microscope, the structure of both, which they retain after torrefaction, being very characteristic and distinct. The granules of coffee, moreover, remain hard and angular when mixed with water, to which they communicate but little colour; chicory, on the other hand, swelling up and softening, yields a deep brown colour to water in which it is thrown. The specific gravity of an infusion of chicory is also much higher than that of coffee. Among the numerous other substances used to adulterate coffee are roasted and ground roots of the dandelion, carrot, parsnip and beet; beans, lupins and other leguminous seeds; wheat, rice and various cereal grains; the seeds of the broom, fenugreek and iris; acorns; "negro coffee," the seeds of _Cassia occidentalis_, the seeds of the ochro (_Hibiscus esculentus_), and also the soja or soy bean (_Glycine Soya_). Not only have these with many more similar substances been used as adulterants, but under various high-sounding names several of them have been introduced as substitutes for coffee; but they have neither merited nor obtained any success, and their sole effect has been to bring coffee into undeserved disrepute with the public.

Not only is ground coffee adulterated, but such mixtures as flour, chicory and coffee, or even bran and molasses, have been made up to simulate coffee beans and sold as such.

The leaves of the coffee tree contain caffeine in larger proportion than the seeds themselves, and their use as a substitute for tea has frequently been suggested. The leaves are actually so used in Sumatra, but being destitute of any attractive aroma such as is possessed by both tea and coffee, the infusion is not palatable. It is, moreover, not practicable to obtain both seeds and leaves from the same plant, and as the commercial demand is for the seed alone, no consideration either of profit or of any dietetic or economic advantage is likely to lead to the growth of coffee trees on account of their leaves. (A. B. R.; W. G. F.)

COFFER (Fr. _coffre_, O. Fr. _cofre_ or _cofne_, Lat. _cophinus_, cf. "coffin"), in architecture, a sunk panel in a ceiling or vault; also a casket or chest in which jewels or precious goods were kept, and, if of large dimensions, clothes. The marriage coffers in Italy were of exceptional richness in their carving and gilding and were sometimes painted by great artists.

COFFERDAM, in engineering. To enable foundations (q.v.) to be laid in a site which is under water, the engineer sometimes surrounds it with an embankment or dam, known as a cofferdam, to form an enclosure from which the water is excluded. Where the depth of water is small and the current slight, simple clay dams may be used, but in general cofferdams consist of two rows of piles, the space between which is packed with clay puddle. The dam must be sufficiently strong to withstand the exterior pressure to which it is exposed when the enclosed space is pumped dry.

COFFEYVILLE, a city of Montgomery county, Kansas, U.S.A., on the Verdigris river, about 150 m. S. of Topeka and near the southern boundary of the state. Pop. (1890) 2282; (1900) 4953, of whom 803 were negroes; (1905) 13,196; (1910) 12,687. Coffeyville is served by the Missouri Pacific, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, the Missouri, Kansas & Texas, and the Saint Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern railways, and by inter-urban electric railway to Independence. It is in the Kansas natural-gas field, ships large quantities of grain, and has a large zinc oxide smelter and a large oil refinery, and various manufactures, including vitrified brick and tile, flour, lumber, chemicals, window glass, bottles, pottery and straw boards. The municipality owns and operates its water-works and electric lighting plant. Coffeyville, named in honour of A. M. Coffey, who was a member of the first legislature of the territory of Kansas, was founded in 1869, but in 1871 it was removed about 1 m. from its original site, now known as "old town." It was incorporated as a city of the third class in 1872 and received a new charter in 1887. Coffeyville became a station on the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston railway (now part of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe), and for several years large numbers of cattle were driven here from Indian Territory and Texas for shipment; in fact, the city's chief importance was as a trade centre for the north part of Indian Territory until natural gas was found here in large quantities in 1892.

COFFIN (from Lat. _cophinus_, Gr. [Greek: kophinos], a coffer, chest or basket, but never meaning "coffin" in its present sense), the receptacle in which a corpse is confined. The Greeks and Romans disposed of their dead both by burial and by cremation. Greek coffins varied in shape, being in the form of an urn, or like the modern coffins, or triangular, the body being in a sitting posture. The material used was generally burnt clay, and in some cases this had obviously been first moulded round the body, and so baked. Cremation was the commonest method of disposing of the dead among the Romans, until the Christian era, when stone coffins came into use. Examples of these have been frequently dug up in England. In 1853, during excavations for the foundations of some warehouses in Hayden Square, Minories, London, a Roman stone coffin was found within which was a leaden shell. Others have been found at Whitechapel, Stratford-le-Bow, Old Kent Road and Battersea Fields, and in great numbers at Colchester, York, Southfleet and Kingsholme near Gloucester. In early England stone coffins were only used by the nobles and the wealthy. Those of the Romans who were rich enough had their coffins made of a limestone brought from Assos in Troas, which it was commonly believed "ate the body"; hence arose the name sarcophagus (q.v.).

The coffins of the Chaldaeans were generally clay urns with the top left open, resembling immense jars. These, too, must have been moulded round the body, as the size of the mouth would not admit of its introduction after the clay was baked. The Egyptian coffins, or sarcophagi, as they have been improperly called, are the largest stone coffins known and are generally highly polished and covered with hieroglyphics, usually a history of the deceased. Mummy chests shaped to the form of the body were also used. These were made of hard wood or _papier mache_ painted, and like the stone coffins bore hieroglyphics. The Persians, Parthians, Medes and peoples of the Caspian are not known to have had any coffins, their usual custom being to expose the body to be devoured by beasts and birds of prey. Unhewn flat stones were sometimes used by the ancient European peoples to line the grave. One was placed at the bottom, others stood on their edges to form the sides, and a large slab was put on top, thus forming a rude cist. In England after the Roman invasion these rude cists gave place to the stone coffin, and this, though varying much in shape, continued in use until the 16th century.

The most primitive wooden coffin was formed of a tree-trunk split down the centre, and hollowed out. The earliest specimen of this type is in the Copenhagen museum, the implements found in it proving that it belonged to the Bronze Age. This type of coffin, more or less modified by planing, was used in medieval Britain by those of the better classes who could not afford stone, but the poor were buried without coffins, wrapped simply in cloth or even covered only with hay and flowers. Towards the end of the 17th century, coffins became usual for all classes. It is worth noting that in the Burial Service in the Book of Common Prayer the word "coffin" is not used.

Among the American Indians some tribes, e.g. the Sacs, Foxes and Sioux, used rough hewn wooden coffins; others, such as the Seris, sometimes enclosed the corpse between the carapace and plastron of a turtle. The Seminoles of Florida used no coffins, while at Santa Barbara, California, canoes containing corpses have been found buried though they may have been intended for the dead warrior's use in the next world. Rough stone cists, too, have been found, especially in Illinois and Kentucky. In their tree and scaffold burial the Indians sometimes used wooden coffins, but oftener the bodies were simply wrapped in blankets. Canoes mounted on a scaffold near a river were used as coffins by some tribes, while others placed the corpse in a canoe or wicker basket and floated them out into the stream or lake (see FUNERAL RITES). The aborigines of Australia generally used coffins of bark, but some tribes employed baskets of wicker-work.

Lead coffins were used in Europe in the middle ages, shaped like the mummy chests of ancient Egypt. Iron coffins were more rare, but they were certainly used in England and Scotland as late as the 17th century, when an order was made that upon bodies so buried a heavier burial fee should be levied. The coffins used in England to-day are generally of elm or oak lined with lead, or with a leaden shell so as to delay as far as possible the process of disintegration and decomposition. In America glass is sometimes used for the lids, and the inside is lined with copper or zinc. The coffins of France and Germany and the continent generally, usually differ from those of England in not being of the ordinary hexagonal shape but having sides and ends parallel. Coffins used in cremation throughout the civilized world are of some light material easily consumed and yielding little ash. Ordinary thin deal and _papier mache_ are the favourite materials. Coffins for what is known as Earth to Earth Burial are made of wicker-work covered with a thin layer of _papier mache_ over cloth.

See also FUNERAL RITES; CREMATION; Burial and Burial Acts; EMBALMING;
MUMMY, &c.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.--Dr H. C. Yarrow, "Study of the Mortuary Customs of the
North American Indians," _Report of Bureau of Amer. Ethnol._ vol. i.
(Washington, U.S.A., 1881); Rev. Thomas Hugo, "On the Hayden Square
Sarcophagus," _Journ. of Archaeol. Soc._ vol. ix. (London, 1854); C.
V. Creagh, "On Unusual Forms of Burial by People of the East Coast of
Borneo," _J.A.I._, vol. xxvi. (London, 1896-1897); Rev. J. Edward
Vaux, _Church Folk-lore_ (1894).

COG. (1) (From an older _cogge_, a word which appears in various forms in Teutonic languages, as in O. Ger. _kogge_ or _kocke_, and also in Romanic, as in O. Fr. _cogue_, or _coque_, from which the Eng. "cock-boat" is derived; the connexion between the Teutonic and the Romanic forms is obscure), a broadly built, round-shaped ship, used as a trader and also as a ship of war till the 15th century. (2) (A word of obscure origin, possibly connected with Fr. _coche_, and Ital. _cocca_, a notch; the Celtic forms _cog_ and _cocas_ come from the English), a tooth in a series of teeth, morticed on to, or cut out of the circumference of a wheel, which works with the tooth in a corresponding series on another wheel (see MECHANICS). (3) (Also of quite obscure origin), a slang term for a form of cheating at dice. The early uses of the word show that this was done not by "loading" the dice, as the modern use of the expression of "cogged dice" seems to imply, but by sleight of hand in directing the fall or in changing the dice.

COGERS HALL, a London tavern debating society. It was instituted in 1755 at the White Bear Inn (now St Bride's Tavern), Fleet Street, moved about 1850 to Discussion Hall, Shoe Lane, and in 1871 finally migrated to the Barley Mow Inn, Salisbury Square, E.C., its present quarters. The name is often wrongly spelt Codgers and Coggers; the "o" is really long, the accepted derivation being from Descartes' _Cogito, ergo sum_, and thus meaning "The society of thinkers." The aims of the Cogers were "the promotion of the liberty of the subject and the freedom of the Press, the maintenance of loyalty to the laws, the rights and claims of humanity and the practice of public and private virtue." Among its early members Cogers Hall reckoned John Wilkes, one of its first presidents, and Curran, who in 1773 writes to a friend that he spent a couple of hours every night at the Hall. Later Dickens was a prominent member.

See Peter Rayleigh, _History of Ye Antient Society of Cogers_ (London,
1904).

COGHLAN, CHARLES FRANCIS (1841-1899), Irish actor, was born in Paris, and was educated for the law. He made his first London appearance in 1860, and became the leading actor at the Prince of Wales's. He went to America in 1876, where he remained for the rest of his life, playing first in Augustin Daly's company and then in the Union Square stock company, during the long run of _The Celebrated Case_. He also played with his sister, and in support of Mrs Langtry and Mrs Fiske, and in 1898 produced a version of Dumas' _Kean_, called _The Royal Box_, in which he successfully starred during the last years of his life. He died in Galveston, Texas, on the 27th of November 1899.

His sister, the actress ROSE COGHLAN (1853- ), went to America in 1871, was again in England from 1873 to 1877, playing with Barry Sullivan, and then returned to America, where she became prominent as Countess Zicka in _Diplomacy_, and Stephanie in _Forget-me-not_. She was at Wallack's almost continuously until 1888, and subsequently appeared in melodrama in parts like the title-role of _The Sporting Duchess_.

COGNAC, a town of south-western France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Charente, on the left bank of the river Charente, 32 m. W. of Angouleme on the Ouest-Etat railway, between Angouleme and Saintes. Pop. (1906) 18,389. The streets of the old town--which borders the river--are narrow and tortuous, but the newer parts are well provided with open spaces. The chief of these is the beautiful Parc Francois 1er overlooking the Charente. In one of the squares there is a statue of Francis I., who was born here. The chief building is a church of the 12th century dedicated to St Leger, which preserves a fine Romanesque facade and a tower of the 15th century. A castle of the 15th and 16th centuries, once the residence of the counts of Angouleme, now a storehouse for brandy, and a medieval gate stand in the older part of the town. Cognac is the seat of a subprefect and has tribunals of first instance and of commerce, a council of trade arbitrators, a chamber of commerce, and consulates of the United States, Spain and Portugal. Its most important industry is the distillation of the brandy (q.v.) to which the town gives its name. Large quantities are carried, by way of the river, to the neighbouring port of Tonnay-Charente. The industries subsidiary to the brandy trade, such as the making of cases and bottles, occupy many hands. Ironware is also manufactured, and a considerable trade is maintained in grain and cattle. In 1526 Cognac gave its name to a treaty concluded against Charles V. by Francis I., the pope, Venice and Milan. Its possession was contested during the wars of religion, and in 1570 it became one of the Huguenot strongholds. In 1651 it successfully sustained a siege against Louis II., prince of Conde, leader of the Fronde.

See _Le Pays du Cognac_, by L. Ravaz, for a description of the
district and its viticulture.

COGNITION (Latin _cognitio_, from _cognoscere_, to become acquainted with), in psychology, a term used in its most general sense for all modes of being conscious or aware of an object, whether material or intellectual. It is an ultimate mode of consciousness, strictly the presentation (through sensation or otherwise) of an object to consciousness; in its complete form, however, it seems to involve a judgment, i.e. the separation from other objects of the object presented. The psychological theory of cognition takes for granted the dualism of the mind that knows and the object known; it takes no account of the metaphysical problem as to the possibility of a relation between the ego and the non-ego, but assumes that such a relation does exist. Cognition is therefore distinct from emotion and conation; it has no psychological connexion with feelings of pleasure and pain, nor does it tend as such to issue in action.

For the analysis of cognition-reactions see O. Kulpe, _Outlines of
Psychology_ (Eng. trans., 1895), pp. 411 foll.; E. B. Titchener,
_Experimental Psychology_ (1905), ii. 187 foll. On cognition
generally, G. F. Stout's _Analytic Psychology and Manual of
Psychology_; W. James's _Principles of Psychology_ (1890), i. 216
foll.; also article PSYCHOLOGY.

COGNIZANCE (Lat. _cognoscere_, to know), knowledge, notice, especially judicial notice, the right of trying or considering a case judicially, the exercise of jurisdiction by a court of law. In heraldry a "cognizance" is an emblem, badge or device, used as a distinguishing mark by the body of retainers of a royal or noble house.

COHEN (Hebrew for "priest"), a Jewish family name, implying descent from the ancient Hebrew priests. Many families claiming such descent are, however, not named Cohen. Other forms of the name are Cohn, Cowen, Kahn.

See J. Jacobs, _Jewish Encyclopedia_, iv. 144.

COHN, FERDINAND JULIUS (1828-1898), German botanist, was born on the 24th of January 1828 at Breslau. He was educated at Breslau and Berlin, and in 1859 became extraordinary, and in 1871 ordinary, professor of botany at Breslau University. He had a remarkable career, owing to his Jewish origin. He was contemporary with N. Pringsheim, and worked with H. R. Goeppert, C. G. Nees von Esenbeck, C. G. Ehrenberg and Johannes Muller. At an early date he exhibited astonishing ability with the microscope, which he did much to improve, and his researches on cell-walls and the growth and contents of plant-cells soon attracted attention, especially as he made remarkable advances in the establishment of an improved cell-theory, discovered the cilia in, and analysed the movements of, zoospores, and pointed out that the protoplasm of the plant-cell and the sarcode of the zoologists were one and the same physical vehicle of life. Although these early researches were especially on the Algae, in which group he instituted marked reforms of the rigid system due to F. T. Kutzing, Cohn had already displayed that activity in various departments which made him so famous as an all-round naturalist, his attention at various times being turned to such varied subjects as _Aldorovanda_, torsion in trees, the nature of waterspouts, the effects of lightning, physiology of seeds, the proteid crystals in the potato, which he discovered, the formation of travertin, the rotatoria, luminous worms, &c.

It is, however, in the introduction of the strict biological and philosophical analysis of the life-histories of the lower and most minute forms of life that Cohn's greatest achievements consist, for he applied to these organisms the principle that we can only know the phases of growth of microscopic plants by watching every stage of development under the microscope, just as we learn how different are the youthful and adult appearances of an oak or a fern by direct observation. The success with which he attempted and carried out the application of cultural and developmental methods on the Algae, Fungi and Bacteria can only be fully appreciated by those familiar with the minute size and elusive evolutions of these organisms, and with the limited appliances at Cohn's command. Nevertheless his account of the life-histories of _Protococcus_ (1850), _Stephanosphaera_ (1852), _Volvox_ (1856 and 1875), _Hydrodictyon_ (1861), and _Sphaeroplea_ (1855-1857) among the Algae have never been put aside. The first is a model of what a study in development should be; the last shares with G. Thuret's studies on _Fucus_ and Pringsheim's on _Vaucheria_ the merit of establishing the existence of a sexual process in Algae. Among the Fungi Cohn contributed important researches on _Pilobolus_ (1851), _Empusa_ (1855), _Tarichium_ (1869), as well as valuable work on the nature of parasitism of Algae and Fungi.

It is as the founder of bacteriology that Cohn's most striking claims to recognition will be established. He seems to have been always attracted particularly by curious problems of fermentation and coloration due to the most minute forms of life, as evinced by his papers on _Monas prodigiosa_ (1850) and "Uber blutahnliche Farbungen" (1850), on infusoria (1851 and 1852), on organisms in drinking-water (1853), "Die Wunder des Blutes" (1854), and had already published several works on insect epidemics (1869-1870) and on plant diseases, when his first specially bacteriological memoir (_Crenothrix_) appeared in the journal, _Beitrage zur Biologie_, which he then started (1870-1871), and which has since become so renowned. Investigations on other branches of bacteriology soon followed, among which "Organismen der Pockenlymphe" (1872) and "Untersuchungen uber Bacterien" (1872-1875) are most important, and laid the foundations of the new department of science which has now its own laboratories, literature and workers specially devoted to its extension in all directions. When it is remembered that Cohn brought out and helped R. Koch in publishing his celebrated paper on _Anthrax_ (1876), the first clearly worked out case of a bacterial disease, the significance of his influence on bacteriology becomes apparent.

Among his most striking discoveries during his studies of the forms and movements of the Bacteria may be mentioned the nature of Zoogloea, the formation and germination of true spores--which he observed for the first time, and which he himself discovered in _Bacillus subtilis_--and their resistance to high temperatures, and the bearing of this on the fallacious experiments supposed to support abiogenesis; as well as works on the bacteria of air and water, the significance of the bright sulphur granules in sulphur bacteria, and of the iron oxide deposited in the walls of _Crenothrix_. His discoveries in these and in other departments all stand forth as mementoes of his acute observation and reasoning powers, and the thoughtful (in every sense of the word) consideration of the work of others, and suggestive ideas attached to his principal papers, bear the same characteristics. If we overcome the always difficult task of bridging in imagination the interval between our present platform of knowledge and that on which bacteriologists stood in, say, 1870, we shall not undervalue the important contributions of Cohn to the overthrow of the then formidable bugbear known as the doctrine of "spontaneous generation," a dogma of despair calculated to impede progress as much in its day as that of "vitalism" did in other periods. Cohn had also clear perceptions of the important bearings of Mycology and Bacteriology in infective diseases, as shown by his studies in insect-killing fungi, microscopic analysis of water, &c. He was a foreign member of the Royal Society and of the Linnean Society, and received the gold medal of the latter in 1895. He died at Breslau on the 25th of June 1898.

Lists of his papers will be found in the _Catalogue of Scientific
Papers of the Royal Society_, and in _Ber. d. d. bot. Gesellsch._,
1899, vol. xvii. p. (196). The latter also contains (p. (172)) a full
memoir by F. Rosen. (H. M. W.)

COHN, GUSTAV (1840- ), German economist, was born on the 12th of December 1840 at Marienwerder, in West Prussia. He was educated at Berlin and Jena universities. In 1869 he obtained a post at the polytechnic in Riga, and in 1875 was elected a professor at the polytechnic at Zurich. In 1873 he went to England for a period of study, and as a result published his _Untersuchungen uber die englische Eisenbahnpolitik_ (Leipzig, 1874-1875). In 1884 he was appointed professor of political science at Gottingen. Cohn's best-known works are _System der Nationalokonomie_ (Stuttgart, 1885); _Finanzwissenschaft_ (1889); _Nationalokonomische Studien_ (1886), and _Zur Geschichte und Politik des Verkehrswesens_ (1900).

COHOES, a city of Albany county, New York, U.S.A., about 9 m. N. of Albany, at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. Pop. (1890) 22,509; (1900) 23,910, of whom 7303 were foreign-born; (1910) 24,709. It is served by the New York Central & Hudson River and the Delaware & Hudson railways, by electric lines to Troy and Albany, and by the Erie and Champlain canals. It is primarily a manufacturing city. Hosiery and knit goods, cotton cloth, cotton batting, shoddy, underwear and shirts and collars are the principal products, but there are also extensive valve works and manufactories of pulp, paper and paper boxes, beer, pins and needles, tools and machinery, and sash, doors and blinds. The value of the factory products in 1905 was $10,289,822, of which $4,126,873, or 40.1%, was the value of hosiery and knit goods, Cohoes ranking fifth among the cities of the United States (of 20,000 inhabitants or more) in this industry, and showing a higher degree of specialization in it than any other city in the United States except Little Falls, N.Y. The Falls of the Mohawk, which furnish power for the majority of the manufacturing establishments, are 75 ft. high and 900 ft. broad, a large dam above the falls storing the water, which is conveyed through canals to the mills. Below the falls the river is crossed by two fine iron bridges. The city has a public library, a normal training school and the St Bernard's (Roman Catholic) Academy. Cohoes was a part of the extensive manorial grant made to Killian Van Rensselaer in 1629 and it was probably settled very soon afterwards. It was incorporated as a village in 1848 and was chartered as a city in 1870.

COHORT (Lat. _cohors_), originally a place enclosed: in the Roman army, the name of a unit of infantry. The troops of the first grade, the legions, were divided into cohorts, of which there were ten in each legion: the cohort thus contained 600 men. Among the troops of the second grade (the _auxilia_) the cohorts were independent foot regiments 500 or 1000 strong, corresponding to the _alae_, which were similar regiments of cavalry; they were generally posted on the frontiers of the Empire in small forts of four to eight acres, each holding one cohort or _ala_. The special troops of Rome itself, the Praetorian Guard, the Urbanae Cohortes, and the Vigiles (fire brigade), were divided into cohorts (see further ROMAN ARMY). The phrase _cohors praetoria_ or _cohors amicorum_ was sometimes used, especially during the Roman republic, to denote the suite of the governor of a province; hence developed the Praetorian cohorts which formed the emperor's bodyguard.

In biology, "cohort" is a term for a group of allied orders or families of plants or animals.

COIF (from Fr. _coiffe_, Ital. _cuffia_, a cap), a close-fitting covering for the head. Originally it was the name given to a head-covering worn in the middle ages, tied like a night-cap under the chin, and worn out of doors by both sexes; this was later worn by men as a kind of night-cap or skull-cap. The coif was also a close-fitting cap of white lawn or silk, worn by English serjeants-at-law as a distinguishing mark of their profession. It became the fashion to wear on the top of the white coif a small skull-cap of black silk or velvet; and on the introduction of wigs at the end of the 17th century a round space was left on the top of the wig for the display of the coif, which was afterwards covered by a small patch of black silk edged with white (see A. Pulling, _Order of the Coif_, 1897). The random conjecture of Sir H. Spelman (_Glossarium archaiologicum_) that the coif was originally designed to conceal the ecclesiastical tonsure has unfortunately been quoted by annotators of Blackstone's _Commentaries_ as well as by Lord Campbell in his _Lives of the Chief Justices_. It may be classed with the curious conceit, recorded in Brand's _Popular Antiquities_, that the coif was derived from the child's caul, and was worn on the advocate's head for luck.

COIMBATORE, a city and district of British India, in the Madras presidency. The city is situated on the left bank of the Noyil river, 305 m. from Madras by the Madras railway. In 1901 it had a population of 53,080, showing an increase of 14% in the decade. The city stands 1437 ft. above sea-level, is well laid out and healthy, and is rendered additionally attractive to European residents by its picturesque position on the slopes of the Nilgiri hills. It is an important industrial centre, carrying on cotton weaving and spinning, tanning, distilling, and the manufacture of coffee, sugar, manure and saltpetre. It has two second-grade colleges, a college of agriculture, and a school of forestry.

The DISTRICT OF COIMBATORE has an area of 7860 sq. m. It may be described as a flat, open country, hemmed in by mountains on the north, west and south, but opening eastwards on to the great plain of the Carnatic; the average height of the plain above sea-level is about 900 ft. The principal mountains are the Anamalai Hills, in the south of the district, rising at places to a height of between 8000 and 9000 ft. In the west the Palghat and Vallagiri Hills form a connecting link between the Anamalai range and the Nilgiris, with the exception of a remarkable gap known as the Palghat Pass. This gap, which completely intersects the Ghats, is about 20 m. wide. In the north is a range of primitive trap-hills known as the Cauvery chain, extending eastwards from the Nilgiris, and rising in places to a height of 4000 ft. The principal rivers are the Cauvery, Bhavani, Noyil, and Amravati. Numerous canals are cut from the rivers for the purpose of affording artificial irrigation, which has proved of immense benefit to the country. Well and tank water is also largely used for irrigation purposes. Coimbatore district was acquired by the British in 1799 at the close of the war which ended with the death of Tippoo. In 1901 the population was 2,201,782, showing an increase of 10% in the preceding decade. The principal crops are millet, rice, other food grains, pulse, oilseeds, cotton and tobacco, with a little coffee. Forests cover nearly 1-1/2 million acres, yielding valuable timber (teak, sandalwood, &c.), and affording grazing-ground for cattle. There are several factories for pressing cotton, and for cleaning coffee, oil-cake presses, tanneries and saltpetre refineries. Cereals, cotton, forest products, cattle and hides, and brass and copper vessels are the chief exports from the district. The south-west line of the Madras railway runs through the district, and the South Indian railway (of metre gauge) joins this at Erode.

COIMBRA, the capital of an administrative district formerly included in the province of Beira, Portugal; on the north bank of the river Mondego, 115 m. N.N.E. of Lisbon, on the Lisbon-Oporto railway. Pop. (1900) 18,144. Coimbra is built for the most part on rising ground, and presents from the other side of the river a picturesque and imposing appearance; though in reality its houses have individually but little pretension, and its streets are, almost without exception, narrow and mean. It derives its present importance from being the seat of the only university in the kingdom--an institution which was originally established at Lisbon in 1291, was transferred to Coimbra in 1306, was again removed to Lisbon, and was finally fixed at Coimbra in 1527. There are five faculties--theology, law, medicine, mathematics and philosophy--with more than 1300 students. The library contains about 150,000 volumes, and the museums and laboratories are on an extensive scale. In connexion with the medical faculty there are regular hospitals; the mathematical faculty maintains an observatory from which an excellent view can be obtained of the whole valley of the Mondego; and outside the town there is a botanic garden (especially rich in the flora of Brazil), which also serves as a public promenade. Among the other educational establishments are a military college, a royal college of arts, a scientific and literary institute, and an episcopal seminary.

The city is the seat of a bishop, suffragan to the archbishop of Braga; its new cathedral, founded in 1580, is of little interest; but the old is a fine specimen of 12th-century Romanesque, and retains portions of the mosque which it replaced. The principal churches are Santa Cruz, of the 16th century, and San Salvador, founded in 1169. On the north bank of the Mondego stand the ruins of the once splendid monastery of Santa Clara, established in 1286; and on the south bank is the celebrated _Quinta das lagrimas_, or Villa of Tears, where Inez de Castro (q.v.) is believed to have been murdered in 1355. The town is supplied with water by means of an aqueduct of 20 arches. The Mondego is only navigable in flood, and the port of Figueira da Foz is 20 m. W. by S., so that the trade of Coimbra is mainly local; but there are important lamprey fisheries and manufactures of pottery, leather and hats.