62  SELLING  LATIN  AMERICA

mg  the  few  vegetables  and  fruits  required  for
home  consumption.  Sugar-cane,  tobacco,
tropical  fruits  and  cotton  would  thrive  in  this
country.  Each  one  of  these  staples  has  been
successfully  raised,  the  cotton  being  something
like  our  own  famous  Sea  Island  brand.
A  business,  small  in  size,  yet  of  great  importance, ­
  and  restricted  to  this  locality,  is  the
production  of  oil  of  petitgrain,  a  form  of
orange  perfume,  much  in  use  in  European
perfume  houses  as  a  base  for  toilet  and  flavoring ­
  extracts.  The  essential  oil  is  obtained
in  the  most  primitive  manner  and  is  always  in
great  demand.
A  lace  peculiar  to  the  country,  called
“nanduti”  or  spider  lace,  is  made  by  native
women,  and  if  properly  commercialized
might  develop  into  a  paying  trade.
The  growing  and  curing  of  “Yerba  Mate,”
a  native  tea,  used  extensively  in  Paraguay,
Uruguay,  Brazil,  Argentine  and  Chile,  yields
considerable  income,  but  is  never  destined  to
become  an  article  of  great  international  commerce. ­
  The  plant  or  shrub  grows  wild.  The