CHAPTER XVI

THE MICROSCOPY OF THE COFFEE FRUIT

_How the beans may be examined under the microscope, and what is revealed--Structure of the berry, the green, and the roasted bean--The coffee leaf disease under the microscope--Value of microscopic analysis in detecting adulteration_

The microscopy of coffee is, on the whole, more important to the planter than to the consumer and the dealer; while, on the other hand, the microscopy is of paramount importance to the consumer and the dealer as furnishing the best means of determining whether the product offered is adulterated or not. Also, from this standpoint, the microscopy of the plant is less important than that of the bean.

[Illustration: Fig. 331. Coffee (_Coffea arabica_). I--Cross-section of berry, natural size; _Pk_, outer pericarp; _Mk_, endocarp; _Ek_, spermoderm; _Sa_, hard endosperm; Sp, soft endosperm. II--Longitudinal section of berry, natural size; _Dis_, bordered disk; _Se_, remains of sepals; _Em_, embryo. III--Embryo, enlarged; _cot_, cotyledon; _rad_, radicle. (Tschirch and Oesterle.)]

_The Fruit and the Bean_

The fruit, as stated in