St. Landry democrat., 1893-01-07
TEA GROWN IN SOUTH AMERICA
4 Substitute for the chinese article Csec
by Thousands in This Country.

by Thousands in This Country.
"Taste that said a tea merchant
to New York Tribune reporter the
other day, as lie handed him a curl
GUS shaped bowl. full Of a thin,
brOwnish liquor, with something that
! looked like tobacco pipe resting III
| it, bowl downward. The reporter
put his lips to the stem Of the pipe,
and sucked at it cautiously.
What is it," he asked. "Ittastes
| like weak tca.'
That's Just what it is" answered
the merchant. "but It's q brand Of
tea I'm pretty sure you never tasted
before. That's a genuine American
! tea; grown in America, cured III
America, indigenous to America and
consumed in large quantities for
years by hundreds Of thousands OF
Americans; and yet III be bound You
j never heard Of it.
"Perhaps not" admitted the re.
porter guarledly. 'What state IS it
raised tn' Is some four-story brick
| tea farm down here in Water street
respons lie for it? Willow leaves.
arsenic and patent essence Of
! theme, Or something Ct that sort,
! eh?"
'Not at ALL" said the merchant, a
little indignantly. ITS perfectly
genuine and unauthorized article.
+ It's native state is Paraguay, and that
country raises enough for its own
consumption and 5000, 900 pounds
annually for export to other South
| American cOuntries.'
| ooh, South American exclaimed
the reporter. "You misled me- by
saving Americana
did l?'' said the merchant sur-
castically. ANY why pray? That's
one Of the annoying peculiarities Of
this people. They're too conceited to
get themselves 4 distinctive name.
but in lOrdly way dub themselves
! Americans They speak Of Brazilians,
Canadians, Chileaus, Paragraphs
and the other millions as if they had
no right to that title at all"
But about the tea?" interrupted
!, the reporter apprehenslyely, "What
do you call it?"
Mate is the name Of it," replied
the merchant, pronounced match
And many South Americans are very
fond Of it. You have just had the
pleasure Of drinking it in the native
manner. That curious bowl is not
made Of papier- mache, as you might
think, but is q gourd. trained into
that shape while growing. The ma
tives arc experts in that line, and by
binding the green gOurd here and
there with cords, or bending it one
way or another they made it tahv a
diversity Of shapes before 70 becomes
RIDE enough IA 10 out, dried, scoOped
out o4ss used as a utensil. It will
not stand fire. Of course; but the
mate Is first put in the gourd, and
then boiling water is poured on it.
After few moments pipe or tube
is inserted, and the liquor is drawn
off by suction.
"What looks like the bowl Of the
pipe,' continued the tea merchant, as
he lifted it from the liquid and al
lowed the reporter to examine it, els
in reality a strainer, which prevents
the grounds from reaching the
mouth. 1t is made in tho shape Of .
bulb or ball and this one is a curl
ositv its way, for it is al woven hv
hand, in very fine meshes, from
species Of dried grass. Metal ones are
more common, and the rich have sill
yer straineTo. This is an old styleone
and | value it on that account. 1t is
called bomhilla. The natives like
their mate, as we would say, red hot
Its effect IS much the same as that
Of the tea YOU are accustomed to,
stimulating and restorative, and, Of
course, has its enemies, who pro-
nOunce it slow poison, and its friends,
who call it the Paraguayan equivalent
for 'the cup that cheers, but not,
etc."
"1s 1t real tea, botancally con-
sidered?" persisted the skeptical re.
porter,
swell, if you come down to bot
any," admitted the merchant, tits
really aspecies Of holly, lex Para
guayensis, brit it contains in large
proportions the constituent which |
makes other teas useful. that Of |
theme, It's leaves and green shoots
are collected, dried and ground up
unevenly: that is, some of it gets to
be fine powder in the rough method !
of preparation, and then again you |
will find tWigS in itan inch long. A
large humber Of people get employ
ment in its growth, preparation and
export, but I am not aware that it
finds a market in any but South
American countries y
Animals Nrespass1us.
In recent case tried before Judge
Einletter, in which a person was
;harged with an ofen:e in killing a
cat which annoyed him, it
vas decided that this was perfectly
awful; that in any case where ami
nails trespa5sed to the annoyance Of