cuneiform, from 4 to 5 inches long, thick, glossy, crenated, of a dark green above, and paler below.
The petiole is of a dark red, and half an inch long. Its flowers are produced in umbells of -30 or 40 flowers
each with 4 petals with the same number of stamens. The berry is red, very smooth, and of the size of a
pepper.
The practice adopted generally for procuring the leaves, is for the merchant to provide himself with a
quantity of such goods as are best suited to the natives; mules, hides, and matchetes, or hatchets, which are
used to lop off the boughs, and a few axes. After obtaining the permission of the Governor, he goes to the
quarter where the natives understand the work, and there he gives public notice of his design. The cutters
collect, and having received advances in goods, he provides them with mules; and then conducts them to
whatever yerval or grove promises the best harvest. The first object is to form small cabins for their
dwellings. Every morning the cutters disperse on foot in search of trees, from which each cuts as many
branches as he can carry; and after scorching them over a fire, he brings them to the general deposit.
A hurdle of long poles is there prepared, in the shape of a cylindrical vault, which they call barbaqua; on this
the branches are placed, and under, a large fire is made, on which they dry the leaves. This done, they remove
the fire, and on the hard and hot platform, after being swept clean, they throw the branches, which they beat
to separate the leaves. In this each is assisted by a boy called a quayno, wdio receives the proportion of 25lbs.
of leaves for every bundle of branches he cleans.
The leaves being separated from the branches, and prepared sufficiently, are next put into a large bag made
of hides, which has the four upper corners fixed to four large stakes placed in the ground fitted to support a
considerable weight, into which they put the leaves, and beat them down with a pole, in the same way as
the negroes of the West Indies pack their cotton bags. When the bag is filled and packed hard, the mouth
is sewed up, and in this state, without further preparation, the leaves are fit for use, but not considered as
seasoned till they are a few months old.
This constitutes the daily labour of one of the workmen employed, who delivers in to the overseer
the quantity he has been able to prepare, which is noted down to his credit, and received at the price
agreed upon; but it often happens that a dry magazine is formed, into which the bags are emptied: when
the leaves are deposited in a large quantity, they are thought to improve by bein«- left in that state six
months. It is then packed in bags of 7 or 8 arrobas. The leaves are generally passed through a cribble
to take away the small pieces of stick, which preparation is called caamiri, the mode always adopted
by the Jesuits. It is then generally picked to make two qualities, called J'uerte and electa,.
The latter, which is the best, is consumed in the provinces of La Plata to the amount of 50,000 arrobas,
1,250,000 lbs., where it is worth half a dollar more than the other per arroba; and the rest, which is
the second quality, goes to the provinces of Chili, Peru and Quito.
Out of the same magazine or deposit, which is called perchel, the quality of the leaf is not all the
same, which arises from the labourers working iu all kinds of weather; when this is wet, the leaf must
of consequence be inferior.
We find in the beginning of the 17th century, that this plant was in common use throughout Paraguay,
and there can be no doubt but that the Indians of Monday taught it to the conquerors, from their being’
the natives who lived in the vicinity of the Forests. The quantity used by a person who is fond of it is an
ounce, and that daily gathered by a labourer is from 4 to 12, and sometimes more arrobas. There are,
among the Creoles or Mestizoes, many who falsely charge the Paraguayians with having exterminated the
Indians by making them work at this labour.
These leaves are used in Paraguay, La Plata, Chili, Peru and Quito indistinctly at all hours of the day, by
putting a handful into a kind of tea pot called mate, (which has given its name to the herb) and from the spout
of this the hot liquid is imbibed. Some mix sugar with it, and others add a few drops of lemon juice;
and by pouring fresh boiling water, the infusion may be renewed. 200,000 arrobas, equal to S millions lbs.’
are annually obtained from Paraguay, 110 arrobas of which go to Chili, from whence Lima and Quito are
supplied; the rest is expended in the vice-royalty of Buenos Ayres.
The Jesuits planted a great number of these trees round all their towns and settlements; but their example
has been since little followed, nor has the Government adopted those provident measures, which might ensure
the propagation and preservation of so valuable a tree. It might even be extended to other parts of the continent,
for, to carry it as far as Assumption, now costs as much as its primary value. At present the groves are
situated in deserts often exposed to the invasions of the uncivilized tribes: these have sometimes destroyed the
labourers, who also frequently contract disorders and undergo severe hardships. By plantations being formed
in inhabited parts, such difficulties would be avoided, the gathering would cost less from women and children
being employed, and the destructive mode of collecting the leaves might be improved.
T he Tea, or Herb of Paraguay, is the leaf of a species of Ilex, about the size of a middling apple-tree.
It tastes, when green, like mallow-leaves; and in shape it nearly resembles the leaf of the orange-tree. The
seeds are like those of the ivy. The leaves are roasted or dried, and almost pulverized, before they are packed
up. There are three kinds of it in its prepared state, though produced but by one plant. Caa is the dis-
tinctiie Indian appellation of the plant; and the three sorts are called caa-cuys, caa-mini, and caa-guazu, the
last being denominated by' the Spaniards, yerva de palos. The caa-cuys is the first bud of the leaf, when
scarcely developed; the caa-mini is the full-grown leaf stript off from its ribs before roasting; and the caa-
guazu is that roasted without any preparation. The caa-cuys will not bear transportation, nor will it keep so
long as the other two sorts, which are sent in great quantities from Paraguay to Tucuman, Peru, and Chili.
The aromatic bitterness which the herb possesses, when prepared, is more powerful on the spot where it
grows, and is partly dissipated by carriage. The principal harvest of this herb is made in the eastern part of
Paraguay, and about the mountains of Maracayu, but it is cultivated in the marshy1 valleys that intervene
between the hills, and not on the eminences themselves. The people of South America boast of innumerable
virtues, which they attribute to this plant. It is certainly aperient and diuretic; but the other qualities
ascribed to it are doubtful. It is used by infusion. Few of the chapetones use it, but the creoles are passionately
fond of it, and never travel without a supply of it. They never fail to drink the infusion at every meal,
and never eat till they have taken some of this favourite beverage. It is not drunk in the same manner as tea
in Europe: the herb is put into a calabash, which is fixed upon a stand, and generally mounted with silver :
this they call maté. They most usually sweeten it with sugar, but they sometimes add lemon-juice. Boiling
water is then poured on it, and it is drunk off directly, for, if suffered to remain long, the liquor would
become as black as ink. To avoid swallowing the pulverized herb itself, which swims on the surface, they
use a silver pipe called bombilla, the top of which is perforated with several holes, through which they suck
the liquor. A whole party is supplied by handing round the same bowl and pipe from one to another, and
filling up the vessel with hot water as fast as it is drunk out. The repugnance of Europeans to drink after all
sorts of people, in a country where syphilitic diseases are very prevalent, has occasioned the introduction of
small glass pipes, with which each person is sometimes provided. In the mine-countries the use of this herb
is more particularly universal, from the opinion that prevails amongst the Spaniards, that the wines there are
prejudicial to health. Like opium, it produces some singular and contrary effects; it gives sleep to the restless,
and spirit to the torpid. Those who have once contracted the habit of taking it, do not find it an easy
matter to leave it oft, or even to use it in moderation, though, when taken to excess it brings on similar disorders
to those which are produced by the immoderate use of strong liquors.”— Wilcocke's History o f Buenos
Ayres, p. 494.