Previous to the seventeenth century it had long been the custom in many countries of Europe to make hot infusions of the leaves of various plants, most notably those of the _Salvia_ (sage), which had at one time a high reputation as a “panacæa,” being greatly extolled by the Solieman school of physic, as a potent factor for the preservation of health, and it is the custom at the present time in many other countries where it is difficult or impossible to obtain China tea, to use the seeds or leaves of other plants as substitutes, the active principle of which, in many instances, is analagous, and in others identical with it. Among the former are the leaves of plants destitute of _theine_ (the active principle of tea), but which possesses some other stimulating properties, and among the latter the leaves and seeds of other plants containing that principle, and consequently producing the same exciting effects, these include Coffee, Cocoa and _Yerba Maté_—or “Paraguan tea,” a species of _Ilex_, or holly, the leaves of which yield the same active principle (_theine_) characteristic of the China tea-plant. So closely does it resemble the latter in effect that many authorities claim it to be a species of that shrub, upwards of forty million pounds being annually produced and consumed in Paraguay and other South American countries. _Coca Tea_—used extensively in Peru and Bolivia, composed of the dried leaves of the Coca tree, but though generally chewed, is more frequently prepared as a tea by the natives. In the infusion it possesses somewhat similar properties to China tea, and forms an important article of international trade among the various tribes, not less than thirty million pounds being annually consumed there. _Guarana_—or “Brazilian tea,” prepared from the seeds of the guarana by the inhabitants of the interior of that country, and so rich are they in _theine_ that they have lately been adopted for the purpose of obtaining that principle in larger quantities for medicinal purposes. _Ugni_—or “Chilian tea,” produced from the leaves of that plant, but though generally used as a medicine, is as often prepared as a beverage. _Cenopodium_—or “Mexican tea,” made from an infusion of the leaves and seeds of that plant, but used only as a remedy in the treatment of asthma and bronchitis by the natives of that country. _Pimento_—or “Trinidad tea,” prepared from a decoction of the leaves of the pimento, and is in common use in that and other of the West India islands both as a beverage and a medicine. _Bun-fullup_—or “Jungle tea,” found in the Naga range in eastern Assam, and used by the Singphos in the same manner as the Chinese species and also as a medicine. _Khat_—or “African tea,” produced from an extract of the Khola nut, the active principle of which has recently been ascertained to be identical with that of the tea of commerce, is much used among the nomad tribes of Somali, the Soudan and other African countries.