﻿OCTOBER 
  1 
  TO 
  DECEMBER 
  31, 
  1910. 
  33 
  

  

  whole 
  fruit 
  is 
  planted, 
  three 
  years 
  are 
  necessary. 
  Plant 
  in 
  the 
  nursery 
  first; 
  then 
  

   transplant, 
  spacing 
  10 
  feet 
  apart 
  for 
  square 
  method. 
  When 
  full 
  grown 
  the 
  tree 
  is 
  

   from 
  30 
  to 
  40 
  feet 
  high. 
  The 
  yerba 
  is 
  the 
  leaf, 
  cut 
  and 
  prepared 
  about 
  once 
  every 
  

   three 
  years 
  if 
  you 
  own 
  the 
  tree, 
  once 
  every 
  two 
  years 
  if 
  you 
  rent 
  the 
  yerbal. 
  The 
  

   extra 
  year 
  acts 
  the 
  same 
  on 
  the 
  life 
  of 
  the 
  tree 
  as 
  proper 
  or 
  improper 
  priming 
  does 
  on 
  

   fruit 
  trees. 
  The 
  general 
  method 
  here 
  is 
  to 
  rent 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  yerbales 
  and 
  harvest 
  one 
  

   each 
  year, 
  the 
  picking 
  season 
  of 
  Paraguay 
  being 
  from 
  June 
  15 
  to 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  August. 
  

  

  ' 
  ' 
  As 
  near 
  as 
  I 
  can 
  find 
  out, 
  the 
  method 
  of 
  preparing 
  for 
  market 
  is 
  to 
  pick 
  the 
  leaves, 
  

   partly 
  dry 
  by 
  a 
  fire, 
  finish 
  drying 
  in 
  the 
  sun, 
  and 
  then 
  break 
  up 
  fine 
  with 
  a 
  kind 
  of 
  

   flail, 
  when 
  it 
  is 
  ready 
  to 
  sack 
  and 
  market. 
  The 
  flavor 
  of 
  yerba 
  is 
  regulated 
  by 
  variety; 
  

   the 
  strength, 
  by 
  years 
  of 
  growth 
  and 
  methods 
  of 
  preparation. 
  The 
  yield 
  of 
  yerba 
  is 
  

   about 
  3 
  kilos 
  per 
  tree 
  when 
  three 
  years 
  old, 
  6 
  kilos 
  per 
  tree 
  the 
  second 
  crop, 
  and 
  a 
  grad- 
  

   ual 
  increase 
  then 
  until 
  full 
  grown, 
  when 
  you 
  can 
  cut 
  80 
  to 
  100 
  kilos 
  (this 
  is 
  probably 
  

   incorrect 
  as 
  most 
  authorities 
  agree 
  that 
  only 
  25 
  to 
  35 
  kilos 
  can 
  be 
  cut 
  every 
  three 
  years). 
  

  

  "Mate, 
  or, 
  yerba 
  takes 
  the 
  place 
  of 
  tea 
  and 
  coffee 
  south 
  of 
  Brazil, 
  and 
  its 
  use 
  is 
  being 
  

   widely 
  extended. 
  There 
  are 
  already 
  companies 
  in 
  Britain 
  for 
  exploiting 
  it, 
  and 
  the 
  

   export 
  to 
  Mediterranean 
  countries 
  has 
  attained 
  some 
  volume. 
  It 
  has 
  the 
  general 
  

   reputation 
  of 
  being 
  far 
  less 
  injurious 
  than 
  tea 
  or 
  coffee. 
  When 
  used 
  constantly, 
  

   however, 
  you 
  have 
  the 
  same 
  craving 
  as 
  with 
  the 
  others, 
  and 
  the 
  majority 
  even 
  go 
  so 
  

   far 
  as 
  to 
  endow 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  yerba, 
  especially 
  'amargo' 
  (without 
  sugar), 
  with 
  medicinal 
  

   qualities, 
  though 
  experiments 
  carried 
  on 
  in 
  Buenos 
  Aires 
  go 
  to 
  prove 
  that 
  such 
  claims 
  

   are 
  greatly 
  exaggerated, 
  and 
  the 
  'cup 
  of 
  mate 
  was 
  not 
  so 
  good 
  for 
  Mary 
  Anne' 
  as 
  the 
  

   Buenos 
  Aires 
  Standard 
  expressed 
  it. 
  

  

  "Yerba 
  is 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  the 
  herb, 
  but 
  the 
  tea 
  is 
  always 
  spoken 
  of 
  as 
  mate. 
  Mate 
  

   cocido 
  is 
  boiled 
  yerba; 
  this 
  taken 
  the 
  same 
  way 
  as 
  tea 
  or 
  coffee 
  in 
  cups 
  is 
  the 
  ' 
  gringo 
  ' 
  

   style. 
  For 
  peons, 
  a 
  tin 
  cup 
  of 
  mate 
  and 
  six 
  small 
  biscuits 
  keep 
  their 
  speck 
  of 
  life 
  

   until 
  noontime. 
  The 
  general 
  method 
  of 
  serving, 
  however, 
  is 
  with 
  mate 
  and 
  bom- 
  

   billa, 
  the 
  word 
  'mate 
  ' 
  here 
  meaning 
  the 
  small 
  gourd 
  used 
  to 
  hold 
  yerba 
  and 
  the 
  'bom- 
  

   billa' 
  the 
  thin 
  tube 
  through 
  which 
  mate 
  is 
  sucked. 
  The 
  mate 
  is 
  about 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  a 
  

   small 
  cup. 
  The 
  yerba 
  is 
  placed 
  inside 
  and 
  the 
  resultant 
  tea 
  sucked 
  out 
  through 
  the 
  

   bombilla. 
  The 
  use 
  of 
  sugar 
  is 
  optional. 
  On 
  emptying 
  the 
  mate 
  cup 
  hot 
  water 
  is 
  

   poured 
  in 
  again 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  passed 
  to 
  the 
  next 
  member 
  of 
  the 
  ring 
  around 
  the 
  fire; 
  a 
  

   very 
  unsatisfactory 
  and 
  unsanitary 
  method, 
  to 
  say 
  the 
  least, 
  but 
  the 
  only 
  way 
  accord- 
  

   ing 
  to 
  the 
  natives, 
  even 
  though 
  it 
  is 
  necessary 
  to 
  repeat 
  the 
  operation 
  for 
  about 
  two 
  

   hours 
  to 
  get 
  enough. 
  Mate 
  cocido 
  would 
  be 
  the 
  only 
  method 
  for 
  white 
  people. 
  Yerba 
  

   sells 
  in 
  Buenos 
  Aires 
  for 
  $1.15 
  in 
  silver 
  (about 
  50 
  cents 
  in 
  gold) 
  per 
  kilo." 
  (Mead.) 
  

  

  See 
  No. 
  25529 
  for 
  previous 
  introduction. 
  

  

  29098. 
  Populus 
  tremula 
  L. 
  Poplar. 
  

  

  From 
  Tiflis, 
  Caucasus, 
  Russia. 
  Presented 
  by 
  the 
  Tiflis 
  Botanic 
  Garden. 
  Re- 
  

   ceived 
  December 
  5, 
  1910. 
  

   "The 
  wood 
  of 
  this 
  tree 
  is 
  used 
  almost 
  exclusively 
  in 
  the 
  match 
  industry 
  of 
  Sweden. 
  

   Undoubtedly 
  the 
  other 
  species 
  of 
  Populus, 
  i. 
  e., 
  P. 
  alba 
  and 
  P. 
  canescens, 
  could 
  be 
  

   used 
  to 
  advantage 
  for 
  the 
  same 
  purpose 
  but 
  for 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  latter 
  are 
  not 
  so 
  abun- 
  

   dant 
  as 
  P. 
  tremula. 
  P. 
  tremula 
  does 
  not 
  appear 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  noticed 
  by 
  botanists 
  in 
  

   America, 
  although 
  it 
  is 
  frequently 
  found 
  planted 
  in 
  our 
  parks. 
  It 
  is 
  readily 
  recognized 
  

   by 
  its 
  large 
  dark-brown 
  buds, 
  1 
  centimeter 
  long 
  and 
  half 
  as 
  wide. 
  These 
  are 
  rather 
  

   blunt 
  and 
  not 
  pointed, 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  Lombard 
  y 
  and 
  Carolina 
  poplars. 
  P. 
  

   tremula 
  was 
  in 
  all 
  probability 
  introduced 
  into 
  Maryland 
  by 
  the 
  early 
  settlers, 
  as 
  it 
  and 
  

   other 
  species 
  are 
  frequently 
  found 
  about 
  the 
  old 
  mansions." 
  (Extract 
  from 
  letter 
  of 
  

   Mr. 
  I. 
  Tidestrom, 
  of 
  the 
  Bureau 
  of 
  Plant 
  Industry, 
  September 
  17, 
  1910.) 
  

   227 
  

  

  