296 JOURNAL OF THE TRINIDAD 



is then moulded by hand into the balls or rolls like sausages, 

 which are known to European druggists as ' Guarana paste.' 

 These are then baked in the sun or in an oven, and when 

 thoroughly dry and hard, are sent to market wrapped in Banana 

 leaves or mats, a form in which it keeps remarkably well. In 

 the crop season, each person is said to be able to prepare from 

 150 to 300 lbs. of Guarana. 



In Bolivia and parts of Brazil, Guarana is used in place of 

 tea ; it is grated from the rolls as required, like chocolate, and 

 drunk dissolved in water. The Indians use large quantities as 

 a preventative of fevers. It has been introduced into European 

 Materia Medica, and is employed to special advantage in 

 headaches and disorders of the stomach. Its use has also been 

 suggested instead of quinine for intermittent fevers. 



A gentleman who has recently made some exploring and 

 prospecting trips in Biitish Guiana, informed me that he found 

 a pleasant but bitterish flavoured drink, like chocolate, much 

 used amongst a certain tribe of Indians there. And his 

 descriptions of the substance, and of the plant which produced it, 

 have left no doubt in my mind that what he met with was 

 Guarana made from the beans of P. Cupana. The range of 

 this plant is from Trinidad along the banks to the head waters 

 of the Orinoco (according to Don) I am not aware however of 

 its ever having been found in Trinidad. But there is little or 

 no doubt that both species are found all over the country 

 between the basins of the Amazon and the Orinoco, and most 

 probably both and perhaps yet other species are used in the 

 preparation of Guarana in Brazil. 



Codazzi says that on the Rio Negro P. Cupana is abundant, 

 and from its beans is made an extract or paste called Guarana 

 from which the inhabitants make a bitter stomatic drink. The 

 husks yield a fine and strong yellow dye. 



The writer now begs to suggest that plants of either or both 

 species would be obtainable without difficulty by the Botanic 

 Garden, that they are well worth getting from the value of the 

 product, that if distributed thence they have every chance of 

 being a success here on account of the luxuriance and frequent 

 occurrence of plants of the same order, and that for the extended 

 use of Guarana in the near future no apprehensions need be 

 entertained, for the price for " paste " at Para is said never to 

 have been under 80 cents per lb., while the minimum price at 

 Paris (which is the chief European market for it) keeps according 

 to the most recent authorities at about $1.50 per lb. for first 

 quality " Paste." Spon's Encyclopedia, quotes its value at 

 Santarem (in /82) at /8d. to /9d. per lb., — an obvious mistake for 

 80-90 cents per lb. — while a few lines lower its occasional sale 



