194 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 
ities than for its agreeable flavor. It is used as a vermifuge, and is pro- 
nounced to be a good remedy for asthma. The leaves are used in Chili 
for making poultices for wounds, and an infusion of the roots is emetic 
and purgative. The leaves are also dried and smoked like tobaceo. 
Arabian tea.—This is prepared from the leaves of Catha edulis, (Celas- 
tracee,) a small tree or shrub, seldom growing over 8 feet in height, na- 
tive of Arabia. Under the name of cafta, small branches of this plant, 
with the leaves still attached, form a considerable article of commerce 
among the Arabs, who cultivate the plant to a great extent in the inte- 
rior of the country. A decoction of the leaves produces effects similar 
to those following the use of strong green Chinese tea, only that they 
are more pleasant and agreeable. The leaves are also chewed when in 
the green state, and are said to have a tendency to produce great hilar- 
ity of spirits, and also to act strongly as a preventive of sleep. The 
use of cafta in Arabia is supposed to be of great antiquity, and to have 
preceded the use of coffee. 
Bencoolen tea.—A beverage prepared from the leaves of Glaphyria 
nitida, (Myrtacec,) a native “of the Malayan Islands, where it inhabits 
great elevations and attains a great age. The leaves are eagerly sought 
for use in the preparation of a kind of tea. 
Brazilian tea is prepared from the leaves of Stachytarpha Jamaicensis, 
(Verbenacee.) It is not known that any peculiarly tavorable result 
attaches to the use of this as a tea, but it is known that Chinese tea 
is frequently adulterated by mixing with the leaves of this vervain. 
The green leaves are used as an application to ulcers. 
Bush tea.—This is an infusion of the leaves of Cyclopia genittedtes, 
(Leguminose,) a small ‘bush, native of South Africa. Its use seems to 
partake of a medicinal character, and is recommended in cases of con- 
‘sumption and chronic catarrh; it has an agreeable tea-like smell, with 
a@ sweet astringent taste. 
Theezan tea is prepared from the leaves of Sageretia theezans, (Rham- 
macece,) a Chinese plant of shrubby growth, having smooth shining- 
green leaves, somewhat resembling those of the true tea, and is employed 
as a substitute for it by the poorer classes in Southern China. 
Labrador tea.—A preparation of the leaves of Ledum palustre, (Hrica- 
cee,) a small-spreading shrub, native of Labrador. 
Mexican tea.—A name applied to an infusion of the young shoots and 
leaves’of Ambrina ambrosioides, (Chenopodiacee.) It is entirely medi- 
cinal, having antispasmodic, vermifuge, and carminative properties. A. 
Anthelmintica is much used as a vermifuge. 
Mountain tea is the leaf of Gaultheria procumbens, (Ericacec,) a small 
creeping plant familiarly known as winter-green in the United States 
and Canada. All parts of the plant possess a pleasant peculiar aro- 
matic odor and flavor, due to a volatile oil, which, when separated by 
distillation, is known as winter-green oil. The leaves are used either as 
a flavor to genuine tea, or in infusion alone, which partakes of an astrin- 
gent character, and is useful medicinally. 
Cacao.—This important article of food is produced by Theobroma ca- 
cao, (Byttneriacer, ) a plant extensively cultivated in the West Indies 
and tropical America, particularly in Trinidad and Grenada. It forms 
a smal] tree, seldom reaching over twenty feet in height, with large, 
oplone: and pointed leaves, and clusters of flowers, with a rose-colored 
calyx and yellowish petals. The fruit varies from six to ten inches in 
length, and three to five inches in breadth, and is oblong, blunt, and 
marked with ten elevated ribs running lengthwise. Bach fruit contains 
fifty to one hundred seeds, and it is from these that the cacao or choe- 
