THE GUARANA OF BRAZIL. 553 



can be satisfactorily explained. The presence of an alkaloid which he 

 called Guaranine was discovered some years ago in Guarana by Dr. 

 Theodore von Martins, of Erlangen, but its identity with Theine was soon 

 established, and subsequent analyses, especially one by Dr. Stenhouse in 

 1856, proved that not only was the active principle of Guarana identical 

 with Theine, but that as far as is known, no other substance yields it 

 so abundantly, the amount being 5.07 per cent, as against good black 

 tea, which yields 2.13 per cent., and coffee from 0.8 to 1.00. The mode 

 of using the Guarana is eurious and interesting. It is carried in the 

 pocket of almost every traveller, and with it the bony palate of the 

 large fish (Sadas gigas), locally called "pirarucu," the rough surfaces of 

 which form a rasp upon which the Guarana is grated, and a few grains 

 of the powder so formed are added to water and drank as a substitute 

 for tea. The effect is very agreeable, but as there is a large portion of 

 tannic acid also present, it is not a good thing for weak digestions. Its 

 remarkable restorative power has given it a further great reputation as 

 an aphrodisiac. 



Another species oi this genus, Paullinia capana, also enters into the 

 composition of a favourite national diet-drink. Its seeds are mingled 

 with cassava and water, and allowed to pass into a state of fermentation 

 bordering on the putrefactive, in which state it is the favourite drink of 

 the Orinoco Indians. 



We append to the above details the following further information. — 

 Editor. 



The tree is abundant in the new province of Amazonas, where the 

 seeds are collected, reduced, and prepared in mass, and sold to the 

 Bolivians, who use it largely. It is also sent to the provinces in the 

 South. There is exported annually from the city of Santarem, about 

 500 arrobas, or 16,000lbs., valued at 8d. or 9d. per pound. 



Specimens of the Guarand, were exhibited in the Brazilian Court, 

 made by the Indians of the River Amazonas, who not ouly prepare it 

 for their own use, but for conveyence to Para, Matto Grosso, and Goyaz, 

 where it finds a ready market. It is made from the seeds of a low wide- 

 spreading tree, which grows abundantly along the banks of the Upper 

 Tapaj6s, Rio Negro, and other tributaries of the Amazonas, as well as 

 in Guiana and Venezuela. The fruit is scarcely as large as a walnut, 

 and contains five or six seeds ; these are first roasted, then mixed with a 

 little water, moulded into a cylindrical form, the size and shape of a 

 large sausage, and dried in an oven, in which state it is known as an 

 article of commerce. It is grated into a powder by means of a rasp, (the 

 bone before alluded to,) which was shown in the Exhibition. Two spoon- 

 fuls of this powder are mixed in a tumbler of water ; this is considered 

 to be a very refreshing drink, and regarded as a stimulant to the nerves, 

 and like strong tea or coffee, is said to take away the disposition to sleep, 

 It is exported also from the Rio Negro, where it has been purchased for 

 Id. per lb. ; in 1851, 3,500lbs. of Guarana" was exported from Para, 



