26 



GUAR ANA. 



In 1727 a hurricaiie destroyed at a single blast the important cacao 

 plantations of Martinique, which had been created by long years of 

 extraordinary care. The same thing happened at Trinidad. 



Travellers in America say that a well-kept cacao plantation is a very 

 picturesque sight. In the Philippines, however, or at any rate in East 

 Luzon, the closely-packed, lifeless-looking, moss-covered trees present 

 a dreary spectacle. Their existence is a brief one. Their oval leaves, 

 sometimes nearly a foot long, droop singly from the twigs, and form 

 no luxuriant masses of foliage. Their blossoms are very insignificant ; 

 they are of a reddish yellow, no larger than the flowers of the lime, 

 and grow separately on long weedy stalks. The fruit ripens in six 

 months. When it is matured it is of either a red or a yellow tint, and 

 is somewhat like a very large, rough gherkin. Only two varieties 

 appear to be cultivated in the Philippines, although eighteen kinds 

 are spoken of.* 



According to F. Engel, a floui'ishing cacao plantation requires less 

 outlay and trouble, and yields more profit than any other tropical 

 plant ; yet its harvests, which do not yield anything for the first five 

 or six years, are very uncertain, owing to the numerous insects which 

 attack the plants. In short, cacao plantations are only suited to large 

 capitalists, or to very small cultivators who grow the trees in their 

 own gardens. 



GUAKANA. 



A product, allied to cocoa in some respects, may be incidentally 

 mentioned here, made from the seeds of a Brazilian plant, and highly 

 esteemed there, although it has not appeared much in Em'opean com- 

 merce. This is guarana, the product of a tree, the Paullinia sorhilis^ 

 Mart., belonging to the order Sa/pindacece. The tree grows abundant 

 in the province of Amazonas, along the banks of the Tapagos, Rio 

 Negro, &c., as well as in Guiana and Venezuela. The genus indeed is 

 a large one, and it is probable that the seeds of P. Cupana of the 

 Orinoco and many other species are used for a like purpose. 



It is manufactured by the Muras, Mondrucas, and other tribes of 

 Indians. The fruit, scarcely as large as a walnut, contains five or six 

 seeds ; it is gathered when ripe, and roasted intact. The seeds are 

 then taken out, and, after being pounded between stones or mallets, 

 are formed into a thick paste with water, and moulded into cakes, 

 fanciful shapes, or cylindrical rolls, something like a large sausage, 

 and then finally dried in the sun or by the fire, when it becomes 

 extremely solid and difficult to fracture. In this form it will keep 

 good for any length of time, and is always ready when required. 



Guarana is used extensively in Brazil, Guatemala, Costa Eica, and 

 other parts of South America, as a nervous stimulant and restorative. 

 It is included in the French Pharmaceutical Codex, and also among 

 the non-ofiicinal substances of the United States Dispensatory. Be- 

 sides its medicinal properties, this substance has a reputation for 

 affording a refreshing beverage, similar in its effects to tea and coffee. 



* Jcagor's ' Travels in the Philippines,' 



