124 



TEA. 



case be determined by practice ; for beyond the recapitulation of the 

 process as given, little more is known. I have frequently proposed 

 the analysis of the leaves of tea in their raw state to the Government 

 chemists in India, but I believe it has not yet been undertaken ; con- 

 sequently the effect of exposure, heat, and pressure upon the leaves 

 can only be conjectured. It would probably aid the inquiry very 

 materially if a good manipulator could co-operate with a carefid 

 analytical chemist, who, for the sake of science, would be willing to 

 investigate the various changes produced by manufacture. 



The business of the farmer, after rolling and expressing his tea in 

 various ways, suited to his fancy or convenience, will be finally to dry 

 it over charcoal fires or on the iron pan. The latter will invariably 

 produce a tea of stronger quality, partaking more or less of the cha- 

 racteristics of a green tea, even though black in colour. When the 

 tea is thoroughly dry it may be packed in wooden or in tin boxes, 

 always taking care they are perfectly dry and air-tight. 



YERBA MATE, OR PARAGUAY TEA. 



Yerba mate is a product which, although it does not enter into 

 European commerce, deserves notice from its extensive consumption 

 in many of the South American States. In the former edition of the 

 work full details were given of the mode of collecting and preparing 

 the leaves, &c., and it is therefore only necessary now to give a more 

 abridged description. The yerba mate is obtained from some species 

 of holly, which have been well described by Mr. J. Miers in a paper 

 on the history of the mate plant, in the ' Transactions of the Linnean 

 Society.' * He shows that besides the Ilex Paraguariensis, St. Hil., 

 there are several other species and varieties employed. Dr. H. 

 Demessey also published a good account of it in his ' History, Phy- 

 sical, Economic, and Political, of Paraguay,' two vols., Hachette, Paris, 

 1865. The portion relating to mate or Paraguay tea was also pub- 

 lished as a separate treatise, with illustrations, during the Paris 

 Exhibition, 1867, by Bouchard-Huzard. Robertson, in his ' Letters 

 on Paraguay,' London, 1839, vol. ii. p. 134, gives some interesting 

 details, but it is unnecessary to go back to former years, I prefer to 

 give the j)resent aspect of the trade. 



In their wild state the trees are about the size of orange trees. 

 The trunk is about 2 to 3 feet in circumference, and has a 

 smooth whitish bark, and the boughs, which resemble those of the 

 laurel, are leafy and tufted. The leaves are evergreen, and when 

 full grown are about 4 inches long, thick, glossy, and crenate at the 

 edges, of a dark-green colour above, and paler underneath. The flowers 

 are small and white, growing in clusters. The berries are red, very 

 smooth, and similar to the Christmas holly. The leaves of this Hex 

 yield the same bitter principle, theine, which is found in the Chinese 

 tea plant. Although the former may not afford so much of the agree- 

 able narcotic oil as the latter, in consequence of the careless and 



* Also in 'Annals and Magazine of Natural History,' 1861, No. xlvii., p. 389, 



