Review oj Reviews, 1/10/13. 



LEADING 



ARTICLES. 



795 



stimulant mate and to preparations of 

 what may be called denatured coffee, 

 i.e., coffee with a large percentage of its 

 caffein extracted, but retaining its 

 aroma. 



Efforts are everywhere being directed 

 to the production of non-injurious sub- 

 stitutes for well - known favourite 

 " tipples." 



The most promising of these substi- 

 tutes is the infusion of mate, the dried 

 leaves of a South American shrub. An 

 infusion of this yields a drink which is 

 said to be refreshing and restorative, 

 with no injurious after effects. 



This contains an alkaloid similar to 

 caffein but milder in its physiological 

 effects. The stimulant qualities are, how- 

 ever, not lacking. Hunger and thirst are 

 abated and a sense of refreshment pro- 

 duced without harmful after effects even 

 with very copious use. 



The taste is distinctive and is said to 

 be " hearty and strong," due to the quan- 

 tities of tannin and aromatic substances 

 contained. A liking for it must be ac- 

 quired, and it is then very agreeable to 

 European and Australian palates. The 

 beverage has long been warmly trea- 

 sured in South American homes. 



Modern methods have improved the 

 harvests both in quantity and in flavour, 

 so that mate will shortly find wide ap- 

 preciation ; n Europe also, especially 

 since the prce of this stimulant is lower 

 than that of any other. 



The simplest form of mate, the dried 



twigs and leaves, sells at 3d. a lb., and 

 a second drawing may be made from it, 

 as from tea leaves, with the advantage 

 that this second brew is not of inferior 

 quality. It is expected, therefore, to 

 find wide acceptance among soldiers, 

 labourers, and the poorer classes. 



But another form of mate, designed 

 to please more sophisticated palates, 

 has very recently been produced after 

 much experiment. Besides the alkaloid, 

 mate contains a volatile oil, to which its 

 effects are partly due. Any artificial 

 preparation must contain both these es- 

 sential constituents. This involved seri- 

 ous difficulties of manufacture, which 

 have only recently been overcome in the 

 preparation Sekt-Brouten, in which the 

 process of "extraction," i.e., rendering 

 soluble all the valuable qualities — has 

 been successfully achieved. It is a well- 

 known fact that similar difficulties were 

 encountered when cocoa was first intro- 

 duced, and were first solved by the Hol- 

 land manufacturers. . . . 



But other troubles were met in the 

 elimination from mate of the mucil- 

 aginous substance copiously present in 

 it and injuring its stability. 



It was also desired to produce a drink 

 which should consist entirely of natural 

 substances — unlike the non-alcoholic 

 lemonades or soft drinks, and this was 

 accomplished. As in the case of choco- 

 late, these mate extracts are combined 

 with other foods-products to form at- 

 tractive delicacies. 



VAGRANT VEGETATION. 



A cleverly illustrated article by 

 Leonard Bastin in the Royal tells of 

 the extraordinary way in which dif- 

 ferent species of vegetation have spread 

 over the w r orld during the last few 

 hundred years. In some cases man has 

 taken great trouble to assist this dis- 

 semination ; in others it has taken place 

 through him' in spite of his efforts to 

 prevent it. The burweed, for instance, 

 journeyed from Britain to this country 

 ■on the backs of some sheep and was ac- 

 cidentally introduced to South Africa 

 by means of a shipwrecked cargo of 

 wool from Australia. 



By some unknown means the Cana- 



dian water weed has been introduced 

 into the United Kingdom, where it has 

 spread to almost every piece of water 

 in the land. In many cases it blocks up 

 canals entirely. 



One of the most remarkable journeys 

 has been accomplished by certain 

 lichens. These little plants have wan- 

 dered all the way from the North to 

 the South Polar regions. Between these 

 two extremes the plants occur at high 

 altitudes, showing the pathway over 

 which they have travelled. During the 

 last hundred years the English thistle 

 has travelled almost to the limits of the 

 earth, and is now a serious pest all over 



