CHAPTER XXIV. 



MISCELLANEOUS ECONOMIC PRODUCTS 



1. EDIBLE PRODUCTS 



2. DRUGS 



3. OILS 



4. FIBRES 



5. TANS 



6. VEGETABLE WAX, GUMS 



AND RESINS 

 EDIBLE PRODUCTS: 



Arabian Tea. " Khat," "Cat," or "Cafta." (Catha cditlis. 

 Celastraceae). A small shrub of Arabia and East Tropical Africa, 

 introduced to Peradeniya in 1882, where it flourishes in ordinary 

 soil, without shade. The leaves and young twigs form a consider- 

 able article of commerce among the Arabs, being chewed both 

 in the green and dry state, as a stimulant and to promote wakeful- 

 ness. A decoction resembling tea is made from the leaves, 

 although these are considered by Europeans to contain no trace of 

 caffeine. 



Ayapana Tea. (Eupaiorium Ayapana. Compositae). A lo\v, 

 spreading herbaceous plant, 2 to 3 ft. high, with long narrow 

 leaves, which and the stems are of a bronze tint. It is indigenous 

 to Brazil, and is said to be cultivated to some extent in Mauritius 

 and Reunion for the sake of its medicinal properties. The leaves 

 and young twigs are used for making a decoction like tea, and this 

 is said to be a mild stimulant and a cure for dyspepsia. The plant 

 is also cultivated in parts of India, where it is similarly employed 

 and esteemed. It is easily propagated by cuttings or division or 

 division of the roots, and thrives on ordinary soil, in partial shade, 

 up to 2,000 feet. The plant has a characteristic habit of rooting 

 freely at the nodes ; but it seldom produces seed. 



Mate, Yerba de Mate, or Paraguay Tea. (Ilex paragunyensis. 

 Ilicineae), A small bushy tree, with serrate alternate leaves, not un- 

 like those of the Tea plant proper. It is a native of South America, 

 where it is largely cultivated, the leaves being used as tea. In 

 Brazil and Paraguay the dried leaf forms one of the leading articles 

 of local commerce, being also exported in considerable quantities 



