238 



which is then made palatable with wine or the juices of fruits. The dried Dschin- 

 schan can also be cut into small pieces and thrown into hot soup, where, in the 

 space of a minute, it dissolves, and thus resembles transparent Macaroni. 



We have enlarged upon this subject because latterly much has been said about 

 the Carraghean, which is nothing else than the dried Sphazrococcus crispus, 

 which is found in large quantities on the western and northern shores of England, 

 and which, doubtless, possesses the same qualities as the Sphcerococcus cartilagi- 

 neus, var. cetaceus. We can, however, by no means imagine that the jelly ob- 

 tained from it possesses any other but a highly nutritive quality, which is, at the 

 same time, not at all oppressive to the digestive organs. — Meyen, in Wieg- 

 mann's Archiv. 



Paraguay Tea. — Rengger, in his Travels in Paraguay, confirms the 

 statement of Aug. St. Hilaire, that the Tea of Paragua and the Paraguay Tea are 

 the produce of one and the same plant. The differences of taste are caused by 

 the modes of preparation and preservation. The plant which produces it is the 

 Hex Paraguariensis of St. Hilaire ; it resembles the Pomegranate tree in form 

 and in the shape of its leaves, yet, when full grown, it is considerably larger and 

 thicker. The elliptical leaves are directed upwards, and its small white blossoms 

 hang in bunches. The smaller twigs are cut off and baked over a slow fire, and 

 then broken up by stamping, that the tea may be more closely compressed ; it is 

 then packed in square leathern bags, which are called zurrones or tercios, and 

 containing eight arrobas. The finest kind of Paraguay Tea consists exclusively 

 of the leaves of the tree, which, after being roasted, are coarsely pounded in a 

 wooden mortar, and is called Caa mini. The common sort, which, besides the 

 leaves, contains also the smaller twigs, is called hierba de palos ; and there are 

 several surreptitious or mixed kinds. This tea, which is usually called hierba in 

 Spanish, must be only coarsely powdered, else it loses both smell and taste, and 

 the mouth, in drinking it, is filled with the dust. Nor must it be over-roasted, 

 on account of the resin it contains ; and the dealers have a ready test for this by 

 taking a little in their hands and slightly blowing it, when, if the greater quantity 

 flies off, they condemn it. This tea loses its flavour in a couple of years, even if 

 the tercios be compressed as hard as stones, but where exposed to the air this natu- 

 rally takes place much earlier. When it becomes old and strong it can only be 

 used as a colouring matter for dying black tints. This hierba, or tea, passed cur- 

 rent formerly in Paraguay as money, and its commerce consequently was but a 

 system of barter. 



Thea communis. — The discovery of the tea plant in Upper Assam promises 

 to become of considerable importance to British commerce. That it was cultivated 

 in Ava, the Birman Empire, as well as the eastern frontiers of Thibet, has been 



