143 
had been received through the kindness of Sefior Glaziou 
Director de Passeio publico, Rio de Janeiro. After r reta fair ot 
few the others were distributed to various Botanical Tristititions 
in the Coloni es, Unfortunately none of the seeds sown at Kew 
germinated. 
The following interesting information respecting the tea made 
from the leaves, so largely used in South A America, is taken from 
a Report issued by the Foreign Office (No. 1963, 1897) :— 
* Yerba-maté, or Paraguayan tea, is the most valuable article of 
export. There are two classes sold, but it is only in the mann 
of preparation that they differ. The kind known as * Mboroviré 
is merely dried over a furnace, and then beaten into small pieces 
with sticks. The ' Molida' goes through the same pros but d 
is afterwards pe ina mill The export duty on the form 
was increased in 1895 from 30 c. paper to 10 c. gold, and on the 
Ar from 25 e. paper e E: c. gold per 10 kilos. The revenue 
derived from this sou in 1895 am fhönated to 471,668 dol. 
(16,8457.). The yerba fórésla, called yerbales, were formerly the 
property of the State, but most of them have pes en viu ioi are 
now in the hands of a ae capitalists and compan The 
Industrial Paraguaya Company, w which owns a Ph t half. of the 
yerbales known to exist in the country, exports og, d about 
400,000 arrobas (4,512 tons). |The total Sse of yerba 
exported during the past year is estimated at about 9,024 tons, 
and the average price per arroba (25 lbs.) was 11 dol. 50 e 
paper (7s. 8d.).” 
Paraguay tea is now advertised for sale in this country and 
appears to be in moderate demand ; possibly, as a curiosity more 
than as a regular article of food. 
_ Matingorng in Egypt._The most varied problems are oe 
to Kew, the following is one of the most curiou Un- 
the Jodrell Laboratory, who could only conjecture that they were 
fragments of the pales of some grass. 
EXTRACT from letter from Mr. KENNETH Scott to Royal 
Cc Kew, dated Cairo, Egypt, November 28, 1897. 
* For some time now malingering Egyptian soldiers have been 
sent into the Kasr-el-Aini hospital under my — suffering from 
charge from the eye. 
* The condition i is ien unlike that which they also produce 
by putting in the juice of Euphorbia, slaked lime, seed of 
' melocheeya' (? erorri olitorius) and other thin eode 
* I obtained the specimens sent you by deci e os ea with a 
thick collodion dressing so as to completely seal i The man 
