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THfi TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST^ [Aua 2, 1886. 



sun partially drying them. An arch called an " em- 

 ramada,'" by some "barbagua," is then made, upon 

 which the sun-dried branches with the leaves attached 

 to them are placed. A fire is lit under this arch and 

 is constantly kept brisk till the leaves are completely 

 dried. Orent precaution is always taken to prevent 

 the leaves from roasting or igniting. This operation 

 terminated, the branches with the leaves still adhering 

 are placed on the mallet-beaten space of ground and 

 beaten with stick.s, the leaves of course falling off 

 partly in powder. Portions of the stalks get detached 

 also, this being the reason that they generally consti- 

 tute a ])ortion of the yerba. (';ire must be taken 

 not to deprive the young trees entirely of their leaves, 

 as otherwise they will not grow, but remain mere 

 bushes. Other more advanced methods for the pre- 

 paration of yerba have lately been in use in some 

 parts of South America; in one locality largo ovens 

 are used to dry the leaves, which are afterwards 

 reduced to power by stone mills. Large iron di.shes 

 are also employed occasionally for the purpose of 

 drying the leaves. These advanced processes yield a 

 yerba that unquestionably is contaminated with less 

 mineral matter than the yerba prepared by the pri- 

 mitive process. 



The final operation is the packing. The mode 

 almost e.\clusively in use is : bullock hides are steeped 

 in water and sewn at the sides and bottom, the upper 

 part remaining open for the introduction of the yerba. 

 This package, which resembles a bag, is called a 

 "tercio" or "seron," the latter being the name used 

 by the Spanish. Yerba is rammed into one of these 

 packages ; when full the aperture is sewn up. The 

 " tercio " is then pounded with mallets till it acquires 

 an oval shape, and left to dry in the sun, becoming 

 in a few hours as bard as stone. In this quaint en- 

 closure, in which it is very well preserved, yerba is 

 exported to the different South American markets. 

 From Brazil, and occasionally from Paraguay, it is 

 packed in barrels. A " tercio " full of yerba generally 

 weighs 200 to 300 pounds. 



The expeditions are fatal to many. The heat in 

 the " yerbales " is extremely excessive, cau.sing death 

 from sun-stroke very frequently. 



Three sorts of yerba are prepared, namely, caa-cuy, 

 caa-mirim and caa-guaza ; the prefix " caa " denoting 

 leaf in the Guarani language. Caa-cuy. — The new leaves 

 from the small branches, dried in the sun. It is 

 consumed on a very small scale, is of a yellowish- 

 green colour, and is rarely exported, as it invariably 

 loses its aroma very rapidly, consequently being of 

 little value on reaching its destination. This variety 

 contains no stalks. Caa-mirim. — The leaf carefully 

 separated from the stalks and dried. It preserves its 

 aromatic properties longer than caa-cuy, but the de- 

 naand for it is as limited in one case as in the other. 

 Oaa-guaza, or "Yerba de Palos " (yerba of stalks, 

 Spanish;, is the third and last sort, and is composed 

 of leaves and stalks, which have passed through the 

 drying processes. Is the variety known all over South 

 America on account of preserving its aroma for a 

 considerable length of time. 



In Brazil a tea resembling yerba, called congonha, 

 is prepared from the Ilex conyunha in a similar manner 

 to yerba ; but its use has not become very general 

 yet. Other teas from different species of Ilex are 

 prepared in South America, but their use is limited 

 to the inhabitants of the localities in which they are 

 prepared. 



Paraguay tea is often called " mate." This, however, 

 is not correct. Yerba, the Spanish word for herb, is 

 the only name the tea has, whilst mate is the name 

 of the vessel in which the infusion is made ; this 

 probably accounting for the tea being erroneously 

 called mate. This receptacle is like a pumpkin, though 

 smaller, and is the fruit of a creeper common to 

 Brazil, Uruguay, Argentine Republic and several other 

 countries in South America. A hole is bored on top 

 of the mate, which has been dried in the sun, and 

 the seeds extracted. It is used as a cup for the tea. 

 The infusion is called mate, deriving its name froni 

 the cup. Porcelain mates, wooden mates inlaid with 



silver, and polished coconut shells are also used as re- 

 ceptacles for the tea, in several cities. 



Mode of Infudon. — Three or four tea-spoonfuls of 

 yerba are put into the mate, and boiling water poured 

 up to the brim of the cup. A tube, made of silver or 

 electroplate, having one end widened out and perfor- 

 ated with small holes, is placed in the mate. Through 

 this tube, called " bombilla," the infusion is taken, or 

 rather imbibed as hot as possible. Most So\ith Ameri- 

 cans use no sugar, perferring the characteristic bitter 

 taste; some, on the contrary, like it sweetened, while 

 a third lot make the infusion with boiling milk, sugar 

 being used in this instance. 



Yerba has a very sustaining effect on persons who 

 constantly drink its infusion. Conflicting opinions how- 

 ever, respecting its effects on the constitution are held 

 by eminent men. M. Sellieu recommends Paraguay 

 tea as being pleasanter to the taste and le.ss injurious 

 to health than China tea, whilst Professor Bentley 

 affirms it to be more exciting, and when taken to ex- 

 cess to produce a kind of intoxication. It may never- 

 theless be said, that the sober portion of the inhabit- 

 ants of South American Republics cherishes yerba as 

 the great natural beverage, deriving nutriment and 

 the greatest comfort from its use. It has been at- 

 tempted to introduce yerba into this country, but, 

 probably owing to the want of knowledged as to its 

 preparation, the attempt has, so far, not been success- 

 ful. I think it can be safely predicted, that were it 

 brought systematically before the British public, it 

 would soon become a favourite beverage, and prove a 

 valuable rival to other imported teas. 



I will now endeavour to give an approximate idea 

 of the quantity of yerba which is annually consumed 

 in some South American countries, with which I am 

 more or less intimately acquainted. The figures I give 

 are gathered from ofKcial sources, and therefore, should 

 be considered reliable. The total imports of yerba to 

 the Argentine Republic in 1880 (notwithstanding its 

 own production) were about 14,000,000 kilos. Towards 

 this Brazil contributed 9,000,000 and Paraguay 5,000,000. 

 One thousand kilos, within a small fraction being equal 

 to an English ton, the preceding figures represent as 

 near as possible 14,(M)0 tons. If now we consider that 

 only 280,000 kilos of China and Indian tea were im- 

 ported during the same period, it will be evident that 

 for every pound of tea fifty pounds of yerba are con- 

 sumed in the Argentine Republic. The consumption 

 of yerba is larger in the country than in the towns. 

 European habits of different sorts, owing to the mixed 

 population of the large towns, have gradually made 

 even the natives acquainted with not very wholesome 

 beverages, at any rate far less so than yerba. 



The Argentine Republic produces yerba only in its 

 most northern latitude, comprising the province of 

 Corrientes and the territory of Misiones ; the former 

 province even importing 500 tons annually from Para- 

 guay. Entre Rios, not self-producing, imports nearly 

 1,000 tons per annum from Paraguay. Santa Fe, the 

 great agricultural centre of the Republic, consumes 

 over 4,000 tons yearly. The provinces towards the west, 

 separated from the Republic of Chili by the Andes 

 chain of mountains, are the smallest consumers of 

 yerba, owing especially to their distance from the 

 producing districts. The Republic of Uruguay, with 

 a population of about six hundred thousand, imports 

 annually an average of 6,000 tons, against only 80 to 

 100 tons of China and Indian tea ; ergo, for every 

 pound of tea over sixty pounds of yerba are consumed. 

 This shows that the average annual consumption is 23 

 pounds per head, most of which is of Brazilian 

 growth ; 5 to I as compared with Paraguay yerba. 



Although the consumption of yerba in the Argentine 

 Republic (population three million) is apparently less 

 than in the Republic of Uruguay, it should be borne 

 in mind I have not taken into consideration its own 

 production, which though inferior in quality to the 

 Paraguayan or Brazilian, is largely used by the inhabit- 

 ants of the northern provinces. 



Like tea in England, yerba is almost exclusiuely the 

 hot beverage at a family table in the countries men- 

 tioned ; only it is taken in larger quantities, A visitor 



