80 TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



MAT^ 



Mate, or Paraguay tea, is a common South American drink 

 prepared from the leaves of Ilex paraguayensis. This is a 

 common bush in South America occurring in particular abun- 

 dance in Brazil and Paraguay. The leaves of the bush are 3 

 to 4 inches long, serrate, and somewhat resemble tea leaves. 

 The crop is taken largely from wild plants, but is cultivated 

 to some extent. Like coffee and tea, the beverage contains 

 some cafifein. The consumption of Paraguay tea in South 

 America is enormous and there is a small export trade with 

 Europe. Elsewhere the habit of drinking Paraguay tea has 

 not taken root. 



Brazil is the chief producing country and exports about 140,- 

 ooo.ocx) pounds of mate annually to Argentina. Paraguay ex- 

 ports about 5,000,000 pounds of this product every year. In 

 preparing the material, young twigs are cut from the bushes 

 and thoroughly dried over a fire of aromatic wood, after 

 which the dry leaves are beaten off, ground to a coarse powder, 

 and packed for the market. There are three recognized grades 

 of mate, the caa-cuys made from the partly expanded leaf 

 buds, the caa-miri prepared from the unroasted leaf, and the 

 caa-guaza prepared from roasted leaves and leaf stalks. 



KOLA NUTS 



The seeds of Cola acuminata are used to some extent in the 

 preparation of a drink which carries a high content of caffein. 

 The tree is a native of West Africa from Loango to Sene- 

 gambia. It attains a height of 20 to 40 feet and bears warty 

 pods 4 to 6 inches long with 4 to 10 white or pink seeds, which 

 turn brown on drying. The seeds contain about 2j^ per cent, 

 of cafifein and some theobromin and are chewed or used as a 

 beverage for the stimulating effect. The tree begins bearing 

 at the age of about 6 or 7 years and yields two crops annually. 



