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DESCKIPTIVE BOTANY. 



There are many species to this genus, and as it is propagated from the seed 

 it has many varieties The I. Paraguayensis is very constant, and is the only 

 species whose leaves furnish tea. 



Geography. — This plant is indigenous to Paraguay, and forms entire forests, 

 extending over large tracts throughout the central, eastern, and northern 

 parts of the republic. It is also found under cultivation, but no observations 

 have been made to justify a statement as to the comparative value of the culti- 

 vated plants. The Jesuits, previous to their expulsion from Paraguay in 

 1867, gave great attention to its cultivation, and instructed the natives in its 

 preparation. It grows also in Paranagua, but that found in Paraguay yields 

 four times the strength. The Government monopolizes the sale, buying cheap 

 and selling at a high price, thus securing a large revenue. 



Ilex Paraguayensis (Paraguay Tea). 



Statistics. — Europeans do not usually relish its peculiarly bitter taste. The 

 inhabitants of South America, on the other hand, prize it highly, and have 

 come to consider it, not as an article of luxury, but as one of necessity. In 

 harvesting, the work is so carelessly and slovenly done that the plant in a 

 wild state is rapidly undergoing destruction. Its increasing demand will 

 bring about a more careful method of harvesting. In Parana about 10,000,000 

 pounds are annually produced. About 6,000 persons are employed in Brazil 

 in the preparation of Mate ; and about 3,000,000 pounds are shipped annually 

 at Itaguy, a town on the Uruguay. 



Etymology. — Ilex received its generic name from the resemblance of its leaf 

 to that of the Quercus Ilex. The specific name is from the country where it 

 is found indigenous (Paraguay). Holly, the common name of the genus, is 

 a corruption of the word holy. Holly bush, or Holly tree, — that is, holy- 

 tree, because the evergreen leaves of the Ilex opaca are used for decoration at 

 the holy time of Christmas. 



Chemistry. — The leaf of the I. Paraguayensis yields to chemical analysis 

 about the same percentage of Theine as the leaves of the Thea viridis. 



