A417 
Exclusive of abandoned stacks, the number of completed furnace- 
stacks in the country, at the close of 1875, was 713, but only 293 of 
these were in blast. In the same year 24 new stacks were completed 
and 4 were abandoned; in 1874, 38 new stacks and 2 abandoned; 1873, 
50 new stacks and 5 abandoned. 
Bessemer-steel rails were first made upon orders in this country in 
1867.. In 1869, the net tons manufactured were 9,650; in 1870, 34,000; 
1871, 38,250 ; 1872, 94,070; 1873, 129,015; 1874, 144,944; 1875, 290,863; 
there are also 61,058 net tons of steel other than Bessemer. 
The value of imports of iron and steel in 1875 was $15,273,315, against 
$24,600,720 in 1874; $45,764,670, in 1873; and $61,724,227, in 1872. 
MATE OR PARAGUAY TEA.—Among the novelties presented at the 
Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia is the maté, a decoction of the 
leaves of the maté tree, (Ilex paraguayensis.) This tree grows wild in 
the forests of Brazil and the Argentine Republic, especially upon 
the various tributaries of the Parana and Uruguay; it is also found 
in the valleys of streams whose waters join the Paraguay to the 
northeast. The tree sometimes approaches medium-sized apple-trees in 
height, but the leaves are gathered mostly from smaller shrub-like 
plants. It is stripped of its leaves and branches almost every other 
year. Several varieties of this tree are mentioned, especially two; the 
mild or choice, and the strong. 
At the exposition a pamphlet, in Portuguese, French, English, and 
German, written by Dr. Antonio Joaquin de Macedo Soares, presents 
the claims of the province of Parana, which exports mostly through 
the ports of Paranagu4é and Antonia. The exports of the fiscal year 
ending June 30, 1870, amounted to 31,777,408 pounds, and rose the 
following year to 36,073,713 pounds. The home consumption in Parana 
is almost 9,000,000 pounds per annum and in Rio Grande do Sul nearly 
four times as much, not including large quantities consumed by na- 
tives, without having been marketed. An arroba (32.39 pounds) is esti- 
mated as sufficient for the consumption of a single individual about six 
months, if taken three times per day, and this would cost about $4 per 
annum, whereas an equivalent of coffee or of black or green tea would 
cost much more. 
It is claimed that the maté beverage is very nourishing. It is pre- 
pared either from the powder of dried leaves pulverized or from the 
leaves themselves by infusion. It needs intelligent experiment and 
observation to develop the real qualities of the plant, but it has become 
the favorite beverage of a large portion of the people of South America. 
It is less exciting than either tea or coffee, as it contains less of essential 
oil, while its larger proportion of resin makes it a better diuretic than 
coffee, though it is less rich in this element than either green or black 
tea. It has a pleasant aroma, and when taken with-milk and sugar it 
is a good substitute for tea or coffee. It slightly stimulates the nervous 
system, but not to the point of sleeplessness. It contains as much 
theine as tea and double the quantity found in the same weight of coffee- 
grains. It is sold in Rio Janeiro at about ten cents per pound. 
BRITISH LIVE-STOCK PRODUCTION.—The question of meat-supply is 
still agitating British economists. The decrease of horses and the rise in 
their market value constitute another source of uneasiness. An effort 
was recently made by the Royal Society of England to ascertain whether 
the problem of production in the United Kingdom did not embrace some 
latent conditions the development of which would secure to the British 
farmer a wider margin of profit in the production of horses and beef- 
