130 CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. 



weighed and packed for export in large bullock hides, 

 holding from 200 to 250 pounds each and left to dry 

 and tighten in the sun for a few days, becoming mean- 

 while as hard and impervious as stone. This method of 

 curing is very defective, as the stems and other extra- 

 neous matter imparts a " woody " flavor to the infusion 

 which is otherwise very agreeable and refreshing. It is 

 prepared for use in a kind of filter or perforated bowl 

 called Mate, from which it derives its trade name. The 

 infusion is yellowish in color, almost syrupy in body, 

 possessing an " herby" or weedy flavor, bitterish in taste, 

 much disliked at first by those unaccustomed to its use, 

 but nevertheless pleasant, wholesome and refreshing, 

 pleasanter still when cold, and while approaching in its 

 chemical composition to the regular teas of commerce it 

 does not cause the wakefulness or nervousness attributed 

 to the latter. 



In the smaller towns and rural districts of South Amer- 

 ica it is regarded as a regular form of diet, and not, like 

 ordinary tea, a mere accompaniment to the meal, being 

 looked upon as a necessary, as well as a luxury, by the 

 inhabitants, and is the first thing offered a visitor when 

 entering a house, the table being rarely without it. The 

 gaucho of the plains will travel for weeks asking no 

 better fare than a little dried beef, washed down with 

 copious drafts of Mate, the Indian carriers subsisting 

 for days together on it alone, in short, being to them 

 what the tea of China is to its inhabitants, essential and 

 indispensable. The Government has a monopoly of its 

 sale, a heavy duty being imposed on its exportation, 

 forming the principal source of its revenue. The popular 

 method of preparing it in Paraguay is to mix large 

 proportions of raw sugar with a decoction made from the 

 powder or leaves until a thick syrup is produced, when it is 



