60 TEA 



to various parts ol the routine-lit ; small quantities are 

 also sent to Europe. 



In the preparation of mate the leaves are not plucked 

 from the plant as in the case of ordinary tea, but large 

 leafy branches are cut from the shrub and placed on 

 1 in idles over a wood fire until sufficiently roasted. The 

 dried branches are then placed on a hard floor, and the 

 withered leaves beaten with sticks, after which they 

 are reduced to a coarse powder in rude mills. The 

 product is then ready for packing in skins and leather 

 bags. There are said to be three principal grades of 

 mate* in the South American market, viz., Caa-Cuys, 

 which is the half-expanded leaf-buds ; Caa-Miri, the 

 unroash (1 leaf from which the principal veins have been 

 removed ; and Caa-Guaza, or Yerba de Palos of the 

 Spaniards, which is prepared from the roasted leaves 

 together with the leaf stalks and smaller twigs. The 

 infusion is prepared for drinking by putting a small 

 quantity of the tea in a cup with a little sugar ; a 

 drinking-tuba or bombilla, with a wire network or per- 

 forations at the bottom, is then placed in the cup and 

 1 x tiling water poured in the rnate. When sufficiently cool, 

 the infusion is sucked up through the tube. Mate has 

 an agreeable,, slightly aromatic odour, and a somewhat 

 bitter taste. It is very refreshing, and is a valuable 

 restorative, especially after great physical exertion, 

 while it also possesses mild diuretic and aperient 

 properties. 



Another species of Ilex (I. cassine) was the source of 

 the famous " black drink " of the North American 

 Indians, which is known under the name of " Youpon." 

 The home of the plant is along the eastern and southern 

 shores of the United States, and it is not found to any 

 great distance inland. It is an elegant shrub ten to 

 fifteen feet high, but sometimes rises into a small tree 



