98 
THE TROPICAL 
AGKICULTUELST. [Aug. 1, 1901. 
drying, the leaves are reduced to coarse 
powder in mortars formed of pits in the 
eartli well rammed. Mate so prepared is 
called caa garm or yerva do polos, and is chiefly 
used in Brazil. In Paraguay and the province 
of Parana in the Argentine _ Republic the 
leaves are deprived of the midrib before roast- 
ing ; tliis called caa miri. A very superior 
quality, or cau ctii/s, is also j^repared in Para- 
guay from tlie scarcely expanded buds. More 
recently a different method of drying mate 
has been adopted, the leaves being heated in 
large cast iron pans set in brickwork, in the 
same way that tea is driad in China ; it is 
afterwards powdered by machinery. 
The dilFeient methods of preparation influence 
to a certain extent the value of the product, the 
mate prepareil in Paraguay being considered the 
best, that of Oran and Paranagua very inferior. 
The leaves when dried are packed tightly in 
serons or oblong packages made of raw hides, 
which are then carefully sewed up. These shrink 
by exposure to the sun, and in a couple of days 
form compact parcels each containing about 200 lb 
of tea ; la this form it keeps well. The tea is 
generally prepared for use in a small silver-mounted 
c.ilabash, made of the fruit of Crcsceniia Curcte 
(Cuca) or of Cucurbila lagcnaria Cahaco), 
usually about the size of a larr;e orange, the 
tapering end of the latter serving for a handle In 
the top of the calabash, or mati',* a circular hole 
about the size of a tiorin is made, and through 
this opening the tea is sucked by means of a 
bombilla . Tliis instrument consists of a small 
tube G or 7 inches long, formed either of metal or 
reed, which has at one end a bulb made either of 
extremely fine basket- vvoi k or of metal perforated 
with u)inute holes, so as to prevent the particles 
of the tea leaves from being drawn up into the 
mouth. Some sugar and a little hot water are 
first placed in the L'ourd, the yerva is then added, 
and finally the vessel is filled to the brim with 
boiled water, or milk previously heated by a spirit 
lamp. A little burnt sugar or lemon juice is 
sometimes added instead of milk. The beverage 
is then handed round to the company, each person 
being furnished with a bombilla. The leaves will 
bear steeping about three tinges. The infusion, if 
not drunk soon after it is made, rapidly turns 
black. Persons who are fond of mate drink it 
before every meal, and consume about 1 oz. of the 
leaves per day. In the neighbourhood of Parana 
ic is prepared and drunk like Chinese tea. Mate 
is geiierally considered disagreeable by those un- 
accustomed to it, havirig a bomewhat bitter taste; 
moreover, it is the custom to drinlc it so hot as to 
be unpleasant. But in the south-eastern republics 
it is a nnich-prized article of luxury, and is the 
first thing olieredJ;o visitors. The g'aucho of the 
l)lains will travel on horseback for weeks, asking 
no better fare than dried beef wasiied down with 
copious draughts of mate, and for it he will forego 
any other luxury, such as sugar, rice, or biscuit. 
Mate acts as a restorative after great fatigue in 
the same manner as tea. Since it does not lose its 
flavour so quickly as tea by exposure to the air 
and damp, it is more valuable to travellers. 
* The word caa sit;nifled the plant in the native 
Irjdim lati^'uaco. The Spaniards gave it a similar 
nam'i, yerha. M'llc comes from the Unguage of the 
IncaH, and originally means a calabash. The Paraguay 
tea w-iM called at lir-it ycrva dt maU, and then, the 
H'i'rva being dropped, the name mate came te signify 
the eamc thing, ^ 
Some writers attribute deleterious effects to its 
use, while others praise it to an almost incredible 
degree. Its phy.siologieal action does not appear 
to have been carefudy worked out, but its extensive 
use in coin tries where tea and cortl'e are known 
seems to indicate that it may possess virtues pe- 
culiar to itself. 
Its properties appear to be chiefly due totheine or 
caffeine. Analysed by Ur H Byasson, 100 grains 
were found to yield. Grains. 
Caffeine ... 1-850 
Glutinous substance or peculiar fatty mat- 
ter and colouring matter ... 3*870 
Complex glucoside ... ... 2*380 
Resin ... ... 0 6S0 
Inorganic salts, including iron ... 3 920 
Malic acid not estimated. 
According to analyses m.ade by Alonzo Robbing 
it also contains about P5 of a peculiar tannin which 
does not precipitate potassiotartrate of antimony, 
nor tan leather. The glutinous substance resembles 
in consistence common birdlime, and is considered 
by Byasson to be a com pound ether, the alcohol of 
which would be near cholestcrin. Since the begin- 
ning of the 17tli century mate has been drunk by 
all classes in Paraguay, and it is now used through- 
out Brazil and the neighbouring countries. la 1855 
the amouot of mate annually consumed in South 
America was estimated by Von Bibra at 15,000,000 
lb, and the consumption is now probably three or 
four times as great; in Brazil it brings in a revenue 
of about £410,000. In the Argentine Republic 
alone the consumption is not less thaa 27,000,000 
lb per annum, or about 13 lb per head, while the 
proportion of tea and coffee consumed is only 
about 21b of the former and \ lb of the latter 
per head. The export of mate from Brazil to 
foreign countries has al.?o increased from 2,720,475 
kilos in 1840 to 5,2.16,480 kilos in 1850, 6,808,056 
kilos in 1860, 9.507,086 kilos in 1870, and 14,063,731 
kilos in 1879-80. 
«. 
TEA SEED OIL. 
We are much indebted to Mr. Collett for 
his opportune letter on the subject of tea 
seed oil. We had rather more than a little 
doubt as to the prospect of its proving a more 
pa7/ing product than tea in even a few cases ; 
iDut Mr. Collett finds from practical experi- 
ence tnat not only is it not advisable to 
change non-paying tea-fields into seed-bear- 
ing plots for the pui'pose of oil production, 
hut that even the plucking of the seed and 
production of oil from abandoned fields will 
not yield a profitable return. It will, in 
view of these results in Ceylon, much sur- 
prise us if Mr. Drummond Deane obtains 
satisfactory returns and we await the news 
of haw his forthcoming shipment of tea-seed 
oil is received, with considerable interest. 
The Encyclopwdia Brifanniza speaks of the 
qil as follows : — 
Tea-seed oil is a commfircial product in China, 
where it is used for food, lighting, and soap-making. 
It is said to yield a tine hard soap. The oil con- 
tains 75 per cent, of olein and 25 parts of stearin, 
has a yellow colour, and is destitute of taste mi 
smell. 
