"The natives pass the cup and tube from one to another, but the European residents generally carry tubes of their own, and only the cup is passed around. The tube may be a reed or a straw, or of metal or glass, according to the fancy of the owner; ours are of glass, and we carry them in cases to prevent their being broken.
"Everybody drinks maté, and the Europeans who come here take to it with the greatest readiness. It has the same refreshing qualities as are found in tea and coffee; the chemists say it contains caffeine and theine, together with caffeo-tannic acid, and it is sometimes recommended by physicians for their patients. We are told that there is no part of the world where Chinese tea is consumed by the inhabitants in as great a proportion as is maté by the South Americans. It is taken at meals and between meals; at all hours of the day and night, and also between those hours.
"And now for the plant. Its scientific name is Ilex Paraguayensis; it is a species of holly, growing on the banks of rivers in Paraguay and in the mountains of Brazil and Bolivia. It reaches a height of fifteen or twenty feet, and its leaves are four or five inches long, with serrated edges. The leaves are dried by artificial heat on a network of small poles, over a hard, earthen floor; when thoroughly roasted they are beaten with sticks until reduced to the powder I have already mentioned, when they fall through the network to the floor.
"This powder is collected and packed in bags of hide; each bag holds about two hundred pounds of maté, and in this condition it is shipped to market. About five million pounds of maté are sent every year from Paraguay to other South American countries, but very little goes to North America or to Europe. The outside world has not yet learned of its virtues to any appreciable extent.
"'Do you sweeten it as you do Chinese tea?' I hear some one asking.
"Generally you do not. The natives almost never do, but some of the Europeans, who were accustomed to sweetened tea in their old homes, put a little sugar in the maté. Others put in a slice of lemon, just as the Russians do with their tea; Fred and I have taken our maté plain, and like it very much."
"During our return to Buenos Ayres," continued Frank, "we went a short distance up the Parana, which is longer than the Paraguay River, but smaller in volume. Its banks are higher and more picturesque, but the country bordering the two streams appears to be pretty much the same. The river can be ascended a long distance; in the upper part it can only be navigated by boats of light draught, as it spreads over sand-bars, and is shallow in many places.
