and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



287 



PRODUCTION OF HEffSVA MATE 

 IN* BRAZIL. 



" Paraguayan Tea.'' 

 H.M. Legation in Brazil has forwarded the 

 following memorandum on the production of 

 herva mate in Brazil. It appears that this 

 article took the third place in Brazilian oxports 

 in 1906, and fifth place in 1907, the value of 

 the export each year being nearly 2,000, OPOJ. : — 



"'Ilex Paraguayer.sis ' or Paraguayan tea, 

 known also as 1 Missionaries* tea ' and ' Jesuits' 

 tea,' is to bo found wild in immense quantities 

 in the Brazilian States of Rio Grande do Sul, 

 Santa (Jatharina, Parana, Matto Grosso, Sao 

 Paulo, Goyaz aud Minas Gorans ; but more 

 particularly in Parana. It was first discovered 

 by the early missionaries, who found it in use 

 among thanatives of Paraguay, to which country 

 it is also indigenous. It is met with generally 

 in the form of a tree ranging from 9 to 18 feet 

 in height, there being three varieties of the 

 species known, viz., the ' latifolia ' with broad 

 leaves, the 'longifolia' with loug leaves, and the 

 ' angustifolia ' with small leaves, the last of 

 these being the most appreciated. 



Method of Harvesting. 

 It is gathered between the months of April 

 and September, the leaves being considered 

 more mature for the purpose in June and 

 August, and the trees are allowed from four to 

 five years to recover from tho effects of a very 

 rough harvest. The branches are broken off 

 and the leaves are withered over a smokeless 

 bonfire, to prevent them from turning black, and 

 they are further submitted to a primitive pro- 

 cess of ' curing ' later. 



Making the Brew. 

 " The original method of consuming mate, 

 and the manner still in vogue in South American 

 countries, is to pour hot water on the top of 

 the leaves and sip through a tube— the same 

 leaves serving for innumerable brews if they 

 are not allowed to cool. It is found, however, 

 to give a very good result when prepared like 

 other teas, and, in comparison with the latter, 

 is said to be much more digestible and less 

 harmful to the nerves. It is further stated 

 by writers on the subject to be a stimulant and 

 tonic, its qualities in these respects having been 

 very marked indeed during the Paraguayan 

 war, at which time soldiers were found to be 

 able to endure the greatest hardships and go 

 for days without food if provided with mate. 



"TheFrench Consular Agent in Curityba, some 

 time back, tried to bring herva mate before the 

 notice of his Government for the use of the 

 French colonial army, he being persuaded that 

 it would prove a preventative against abuse of 

 alcohol and tropical diseases. To support his 

 arguments he stated that a German military- 

 medical council had recommended its substitu- 

 tion for ordinary tea generally among the 

 German troops. This may account for tho fact 

 that mate is beginning to find its way now into 

 Germany, and even more so into Italy, though 

 the imports into both these countries at present 



are vory insignificant. It is also becoming 

 known m France and Portugal, whilst the 

 amount sent to England has so far scarcely 

 attained tho proportions of a sample. 



The Natural Supi>ly 

 of the Southern Brazilian forests is reputed to 

 be inexhaustible, and presumably could at any 

 time bo largely increased by planting and culti- 

 vation if there were greater demands for it. In 

 the meantime tho oxports are considerable to 

 Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, with occasional 

 shipments to Paraguay alyo, though none what- 

 ever is exported to any of tho other countries 

 in South America. 



"Mate of course is considerably cheaper in this 

 part of the world than are eastern teas, and 

 those by whom the taste for it has already been 

 acquired are loud in declaring it to be whole- 

 some and refreshing and to be possessed of 

 innumerable medicinal virtues. The mate 

 which is shipped from Rio de Janeiro and the 

 other important ports of Brazil is usually 'in 

 transit,' the natural ports for direct shipments 

 being the little-known places, such as Paranagua, 

 Antouina, Sao Francisco, Porto Murtinho and 

 Porto Alegre. The increase in the export from 

 Porto Alegre in the last few years has been very 

 remarkable. In the year 1902 only 11 tons were 

 shipped, while in 1906 the shipments had in- 

 creased to 11,000 tons, an advance which, while 

 enormous, has at the same time been gradual 

 and has since been maintained. 



"The following statistics show roughly the in- 

 crease in tho foreign exports of mate from 

 Brazil" :- 



To To To To 



Argentina Uruguay Chile Exports 



Tons Tons Tons Tons 



1902 31,01.0 ln.OOO 1,000 42,4100 



1903 29,000 5,"00 3,000 37,000 

 1901 32,000 10,000 2,000 44,000 

 1905 30,000 10,000 1,01)0 41 001) 

 1900 4:i,000 18,0 2,000 03,000 



SHAPBNG YOUNG PARA RUBBER 

 TREES. 



Mr Walter Towgood writes as follows :— It is 

 still an open question whether it is advisable to 

 interfere with nature by forcing young rubber 

 trees to throw out branches. Almost all culti- 

 vated trees are pruned and shaped according to 

 the requirements of tho agriculturist and in 

 some cases a tree's natural habit is entirely 

 altered, as for instance, in tea and coffee. The 

 former of these is, however grown for its leaf 

 and the latter for its fruit, but in Para rubber 

 we have to deal with the products of the bark 

 and therefore the shaping of the stems. 

 Hitherto attempts have been made to force 

 rubber trees to branch by thumbnail pruning or 

 topping, but this has not been attended with 

 success, as the upward growth of the tree being 

 stopped, the place of the main stem is taken, 

 not by truo branches, but by suckers which are 

 very liable to split off and in doing so the stem 

 itself is also frequently split, thereby seriously 

 damaging the tree. Moreover, the tree once 

 having been headed back, the tapping height of 



