572 
Mate  or  Paraguay  Tea. 
/Am. Jour.  Pharm. 
1      Nov.,  1883. 
zilians.  The  last  four  species,  more  especially  J.  amam,  yield  the  "  caa- 
chira  "  of  the  Guaranis  and  the  "  caa-una"  of  the  Brazilians.  Martins,  how- 
ever, in  the  "Flora  of  Brazil,"  states  that  in  the  central  districts  of  Paraguay, 
where  the  I.  paraguariensis  is  especially  abundant,  only  the  leaves  of  this 
species  are  used  ;  in  other  districts  the  various  species  of  Ilex  are  similarly 
employed. 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  I.  paraguariensis  is  the  only  species  in  cul- 
tivation, but  this  is  carried  on  to  a  very  limited  extent  as  the  wild  plant  is 
still  abundant.  The  Jesuits  planted  the  tree  because  they  found  that  under 
cultivation  the  leaves  had  a  milder  and  more  pleasant  taste.  For  cultiva- 
tion the  seeds  are  carefully  freed  by  washing  from  the  glutinous  matter  in 
which  they  are  imbedded,  without  which  treatment  they  would  not  germ- 
inate, this  office  being  probably  performed  in  a  natural  state  by  birds,  since 
the  Indians  believe  that  the  seed  will  not  germinate  unless  they  have  been 
voided  by  birds.  The  young  plants  are  taken  out  of  the  hotbed  when  about 
6  inches  high  and  planted  out  about  12  to  15  feet  apart,  in  a  damp,  some- 
what marshy  ground,  so  as  to  allow  of  a  small  trench  being  made  around 
the  plants  in  which  water  can  collect.  They  must  also  be  grown  under  the 
trees  which  afford  shade,  as  the  young  plants  are  easily  killed  by  a  strong 
sun.  When  they  are  about  3  to  6  feet  high  some  of  the  shade  plants  are 
removed,  and  in  four  years  the  leaf  harvest  can  be  begun.  The  young  trees 
should  not,  however,  be  entirely  deprived  of  their  leaves  lest  they  should 
not  be  able  to  recover.  In  the  seventh  year  they  will  yield  30  to  40  kilos  of 
leaves.  It  is  calculated  that  on  220  square  metres  of  land  one  thousand  six 
hundred  trees  can  be  grown,  yielding  on  an  average  25  kilos  of  leaves  per 
tree,  or  about  25,454  kilos  of  leaves,  valued  at  190,000  marks  per  100  square 
meters.  The  cultivated  plant  remains  a  small  bush  and  never  reaches  the 
stature  or  size  of  the  wild  tree.  The  cultivation  of  mate  has  been  carried 
out  with  much  success  in  the  province  of  Parana  by  Dr.  E.  Westphalen, 
and  it  promises  to  be  successful  in  the  Dutch  colony  of  S.  Leopoldo  in  the 
province  of  Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  where  the  plant  grows  luxuriantly. 
The  tree  has  been  planted  in  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  seems  to  succeed 
well  there,  as  well  as  in  Spain  and  Portugal.  The  quality  of  Paraguay  tea 
depends  upon  the  time  of  year  in  which  it  is  collected,  the  leaves  possessing 
most  aroma  when  the  fruit  is  nearly  ripe.  In  the  Argentine  Bepublic  and 
in  the  Brazilian  province  of  Bio  Grande  do  Sul  the  leaves  are  collected  from 
Februar^^  to  the  end  of  July.  The  new  shoots  are  put  forth  in  August,  but 
at  that  time  it  would  ruin  the  trees  to  gather  the  leaves.  In  the  forest  of 
the  Brazilian  province  of  Parana  and  Santa  Catherina  the  harvest  is  col- 
lected from  March  to  the  end  of  September.  In  Paraguay  it  begins  in 
December  and  continues  till  August.  About  a  month  beforehand  the  col- 
lectors set  out  in  caravans  with  their  wives  and  children  into  the  forests 
where  the  mate  trees  are  abundant,  and  make  their  encampment. 
The  first  operation  is  to  prepare  a  torrefier,  which  is  made  in  the  shape 
of  an  arbor.  The  twigs  are  cut  off  from  the  branches  and  slightly  scorched 
by  drawing  them  quickly  across  the  fire.  The  twigs  are  then  collected 
into  bundles  suspended  over  the  torrefier,  a  small  fire  of  dried  wood  being 
kept  alight  beneath.    In  about  two  days  the  drying  is  completed,  the  ashes 
