L51J5L5L5L5L5LblJb li Lb UTLb University of California • Berkeley JOSEPH M. BRANSTEN COFFEE & TEA COLLECTION Acquired in memory of JOSEPH M. BRANSTEN TEA -ITS- HISTORY AND MYSTERY -BY- JOSEPH M. WALSH, AUTHOR OF 'COFFEE. ITS HISTORY, CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION." PHILADELPHIA: HENRY T. COATES & CO. COPYRIGHTED, 1892, BY JOSEPH M. WALSH. All Rights Reserved. PREFATORY. Utility, not originality, has been aimed at in the compilation of this work. The obstacles and difficulties its author had met with in his endeavors to learn something of the article he was commissioned to sell when he first entered the Tea trade, the almost total lack of knowledge displayed by the average dealer in the commodity, allied to the numerous inquiries for a work con- taining " all about tea," first prompted the undertaking. The material was collated at intervals, in a fragmentary manner, covering a period of over twenty years, and arranged amid the many interruptions incident to an active business life, subjected to constant revisions, repeated prunings and innumerable corrections, due mainly to the varying statements and conflicting opinions of admitted authorities in every branch of the subject. Still, as careful and judicious an arrangement of the data has been given as possible, a faithful effort being made to omit nothing that may prove useful, instructive or profitable to the expert, the dealer or general reader. Aware that many facts have been omitted, and many errors committed in its preparation, he still trusts that the pains he has taken to avoid both have not been in vain, that the former may be few, and the latter of no great importance. The work was com- piled under impulse, not under inducement, a single line not being intended originally for the market, and is now being published solely for the benefit of those " whom it may concern." PHILADELPHIA, December, 1892. CONTENTS. Chapter Page I. — EARLY HISTORY 9-28 II. — GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION . . . 29-35 III. — BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND FORM . 37-49 IV. — CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION . . 51-68 V. — CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION . 69-132 VI. — ADULTERATION AND DETECTION . . 133-157 VII. — TESTING, BLENDING AND PREPARING , 159-204 VIII. — CHEMICAL, MEDICAL AND DIETICAL PROPERTIES 205-235 IX. — WORLD'S PRODUCTION AND CONSUMP- TION 237-252 X. — TEA CULTURE, A PROBABLE AMERICAN INDUSTRY 253-265 (Branch of Tea Plant.) r. EARLY HISTORY* 'HE history of Tea is intimately bound up with that of China, that is, so far as the Western world is concerned, its production and consumption £>eing for centuries confined to that country. But, having within the past two centuries become known and almost indispensable as an article of diet in every civilized country of the globe, it cannot but prove interesting to inquire into the progress, properties and effects of a com- modity which could have induced so large a portion of mankind to abandon so many other articles of diet in its favor, as well as the results of its present enormous con- sumption. Although now to be found in a wild state in the mountain-ranges of Assam, and in a state of cultivation through a wide range from India to Japan, the original country of Tea is not definitely known, but from the fact of its being in use in China from the earliest times it is commonly attributed to that country. Yet though claimed to have been known in China long anterior to the Christian era, and even said to have been mentioned in the Sao-Pao, published 2700 B. c., and also in the Rye, 600 B. c., the exact date or manner of its first discovery and use in that country is still in doubt. One writer claims that the famous herb was cultivated and classified in China 2000 B. c., almost as completely as it is to-day, and that it was used as a means of promoting amity between Eastern monarchs and potentates at this early period, 10 EARLY HISTORY. Chin-Nung, a celebrated scholar and philosopher, who existed long before Confucius, is claimed to have said of it: "Tea is better than wine, for it leadeth not to intoxication, neither does it cause a man to say foolish things and repent thereof in his sober moments. It is better than water, for it doth not carry disease ; neither doth it act as a poison, as doth water when the wells contain foul and rotten matter," and Confucius admon- ishes his followers to : " Be good and courteous to all, even to the stranger from other lands. If he say unto thee that he thirsteth give unto him a cup of warm Tea without money and without price." A Chinese legend ascribes its first discovery to one Darma, a missionary, famed throughout the East for his religious zeal, who, in order to set an example of piety to his followers, imposed on himself various privations, among which was that of forswearing sleep. After some days and nights passed in this austere manner, he was overcome and involuntarily fell into a deep slumber, on awakening from which he was so distressed at having violated his vow, and in order to prevent a repetition of allowing " tired eyelids to rest on tired eyes," he cut off the offending portions and flung them to the ground. On returning the next day, he discovered that they had undergone a strange metamorphosis, becoming changed into a shrub, the like of which had never been seen before. Plucking some of the leaves and chewing them he found his spirits singularly exhilarated, and his former vigor so much restored that he immediately rec- ommended the newly discovered boon to his disciples. Tradition, on the other hand, never at a loss for some marvelous story, but with more plausibility, claims that the use of Tea was first discovered accidentally in China by some Buddhist priests, who, unable to use the brackish EARLY HISTORY. II water near their temple, steeped in it the leaves of a shrub, growing in the vicinity, with the intention of correcting its unpleasant properties. The experiment was so successful that they informed the inhabitants of their discovery, subsequently cultivating the plant extensively for that express purpose. While another record attributes its first discovery about 2737 B. c. to the aforementioned Chin-Nung, to whom all agricultural and medicinal knowledge is traced in China. In replen- ishing a fire made of the branches of the Tea plant, some of the leaves fell into the vessel in which he was boiling water for his evening meal. Upon using it he found it to be so exciting and exhilarating in its effects that he continued to use it; imparting the knowledge thus gained to others, its use soon spread throughout the country. These accounts connected with the first discovery of the Tea plant in China are purely fabulous, and it is not until we come down to the fourth century of the Chris- tian era that we can trace any positive allusion to it by a Chinese writer. But, as the early history of nearly every other ancient discovery is more or less vitiated by fable, we ought not to be any more fastidious or less indul- gent towards the marvelous in the discovery of Tea than we are towards that of fire, iron, glass or coffee. The main facts may be true, though the details be in- correct; and, though the accidental discovery of fire may not have been made by Suy-Jin in the manner claimed, yet it probably was communicated originally by the friction of two sticks. Nor may it be strictly correct to state that Fuh-he made the accidental discovery of iron by the burning of wood on brown earth any more than the Phoenicians discovered the making of glass by burning green wood on sand, yet it is not improbable that some such accidental processes first led to these 12 EARLY HISTORY. discoveries. Thus, also, considerable allowances are to be deducted from the scientific discoveries of Chin-Nung in botany, when we read of his having, in one day, dis- covered no less than seventy different species of plants that were poisonous and seventy others that were anti- dotes against their baneful effects. According to some Chinese authorities, the Tea plant was first introduced into their country from Corea as late as the fourth century of the present era, from whence it is said to have been carried to Japan in the ninth. Others again maintaining that it is undoubtedly indigenous to China, being originally discovered on the hills of those provinces, where it now grows so abundantly, no date, however, being named. While the Japanese, to whom the plant is as valuable as it is to the Chinese, state that both countries obtained it simultaneously from Corea, about A. D. 828. This latter claim not being sustained by any proof whatever — Von Siebold, to the contrary — who, relying on the statements of certain Japanese writers to this effect, argues in support of their assertions, the improbability of which is unconsciously admitted by Von Siebold himself when he observes " that in the southern provinces of Japan the tea plant is abundant on the plains, but as the traveler advances towards the moun- tains it disappears," hence inferring that it is an exotic. The converse of this theory holding good of China, a like inference tends to but confirm their claim that with them the plant is indigenous. That the Japanese did not originally obtain the plant from Corea but from China is abundantly proven by the Japanese themselves, many of whom admit that it was first introduced to their country from China about the middle of the ninth century. In support of this acknowledgment it is interesting to note, as confirming the Chinese origin EARLY HISTORY. 13 of tea, that there is still standing at Uji, not far from Osaka, a temple erected on what is said to have been the first tea plantation established in Japan, sacred to the traditions of the Japanese and in honor of the Chinese who first introduced the tea plant into the Island empire. Another more authentic account states that the Tea- seed was brought to Japan from China by the Buddhist priest Mi-yoye, about the beginning of the thirteenth century, and first planted in the southern island of Kiu- siu, from whence its cultivation soon spread throughout that country. Some English writers go so far as to claim that As- sam, in India, is the original country of tea, from the fact that a species has been discovered there in a wild state as well as in the slopes of the Himalaya moun- tains. But though found in both a wild and cultivated state in many countries of the East at the present time, all its Western traditions point to China, and to China only, as the original country of Tea, and that the plant is native and indigenous to that country is indisputably beyond question. It was not known to the Greeks or Romans in any form ; and that it could not have been known in India in very early times is inferred from the fact that no refer- ence to the plant or its product is to be found in the Sanscrit. But that the plant and its use, not only as an agreeable and exhilarating beverage, but as an article of traffic worthy of other nations, must have been known to the Chinese as early as the first century of the Christian era, the following extract from an ancient work entitled the " Periplous of the Erythraen Sea," may serve to prove. The author, usually supposed to be Arryan, after describ- ing " a city called Thinae," proceeds to narrate a yearly mercantile journey to the vicinity of "a certain people 14 EARLY HISTORY. called Sesataei, of short stature, broad faces, and flat noses " — evidently natives of China — adds " that the arti- cles they bring for traffic outwardly resemble vine leaves, being wrapped in mats, which they leave behind them on their departure to their own country in the interior. From these mats the Thinae pick out a haulm, called petros, from which they draw the fibre and stalks ; spread- ing out the leaves, they double and make them up into balls, passing the fibre through them, in which form they take the name of Malabathrum, and under this name they are brought into India by those who so prepare them." Under any interpretation this account sounds like a remote, obscure and confused story. Still one of the authors of the able " Historical Account of China," published in 1836, has ventured to identify this Mala- bathrum of the Thinae with the Tea of the Chinese. Vossius Vincent and other authors, while admitting the difficulty of understanding why it should be carried from Arracan to China, and from China back to India, unhesi- tatingly assert that Malabathrum was nothing more than the Betel-leaf, so widely used in the East at the time as a masticatory. Horace mentions Malabathrum, but only as an ointment. Pliny refers to it both in that sense and as a medicine. Dioscorides describing it as a mas- ticatory only. While the author of the " Historical Ac- count " prefers to consider the passage in the Periplous as a very clumsy description of a process not intelli- gently understood by the describer, but as agreeing far better with the manipulation of Tea than with that of the Betel-leaf, and his conjecture, unsupported as it is, merits citation if only for its originality. The first positive reference to Tea is that by Kieu- lung in the fourth century, who not only describes the plant, but also the process of preparing it, of which the EARLY HISTORY. 15 following is a free and condensed translation : " On a slow fire set a tripod, whose color and texture show its long use, and fill it with clear snow-water. Boil it as long as would be sufficient to turn cray-fish red, and throw it upon the delicate leaves of choice Tea. Let it remain as long as the vapor arises in a cloud and only a thin mist floats on the surface. Then at your ease drink the pre- cious liquor so prepared, which will chase away the five causes of sorrow. You can taste and feel, but not de- scribe the state of repose produced by a beverage thus prepared." It is again mentioned by Lo-yu, a learned Chinese, who lived during the dynasty of Tang, in 618, who became quite enthusiastic in its praise, claiming that " It tempers the spirits, harmonizes the mind, dispels las- situde and relieves fatigue, awakens thought and clears the perceptive faculties," and according to the Kiang- moo, an historical epitome, an impost duty was levied on Tea as early as 782 by the Emperor Te-Tsing, and continued to the present day. McPherson, in his " History of European Commerce with India," states that Tea is mentioned as the usual beverage of the Chinese by Solieman, an Arabian mer- chant, who wrote an account of his travels in the East about the year 850. By the close of the ninth century t however, Tea was found in general use among the Chi- nese, the tax upon it at that time being a source of con- siderable revenue as recorded by Abuzeid-el-Hazen, an Arabian traveler cited by Renaudot in a translation of his work. There is also independent evidence furnished by two other Arabian travelers in a narrative of their wanderings during the latter half of the ninth century, admitting their statements to be trustworthy as to the general use of Tea as a beverage among the Chinese at that period. Moorish travelers appear to have intro- 1 6 INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE. duced it into Mohammedan countries early in the tenth century, and other travelers in China in the seventeenth give most extravagant accounts of its virtues, which ap- pears to have been in very general use throughout the greater part of Asia at that time. Father de Rhodes, a Jesuit missionary, who entered China in 1633, states that "the use of Tea is common throughout the East, and begins, I perceive, to be known in Europe. It is in all the world to be found only in two provinces of China, where the gathering of it occupies the people as the vintage does us." Adding that he found it in his own case to be an instantaneous remedy for headache, and when compelled to sit up all night to hear confessions its use saved him from drowsiness and fatigue. Adam Olearius, describing the travels of an embassy to Persia in 1631, says of the Persians : " They are great frequenters of taverns, called Tzai Chattai, where they drink Thea or Cha, which the Tartars bring from China, and to which they assign extravagant qualities, imagining that it alone will keep a man in perfect health, and are sure to treat all who visit them to this drink at all hours." These strong expressions as to the use of Tea, applying as they do to a period not later than 1640, are sufficient to prove that the ordinary accounts place the introduction of that beverage as regards Europe, particularly the Continent, as too late. INTRODUCTION INTO ETJROPIE. The earliest European notice of Tea is that found in a work by Ramusio, first printed in 1550, though written several years prior to that year. In it he quotes Hazzi Mohamed in effect, "And these people of Cathay (China) do say that if these in our parts of the world only knew INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE. 17 of Tea, there is no doubt that our merchants would cease altogether to use Ravino Cini, as they call rhu- barb." Yet no accounts at present accessible establish the date of its first introduction into Europe, and it is also a difficult matter to determine to which of the two nations — Portugal or Holland — the credit of first introducing it belongs. Some writers claiming that the Dutch East India Company brought Tea to Am- sterdam in 1600, while the Portuguese claim the honor of its first introduction prior to that year. An indis- putable argument in favor of the latter is the notice given of it by Giovani MafFei in his " History of India," published in 1559. " The inhabitants of China, like those of Japan," he writes, "extract from an herb called Chia a beverage which they drink warm, and which is ex- tremely wholesome, being a remedy against phlegm, languor and a promoter of longevity." While Giovani Botero, another Portuguese, in a work published in the same year, states that " the Chinese have an herb from which they press a delicate juice, which they use instead of wine, finding it to be a preservative against these dis- eases which are produced by the use of wine amongst us." Taxiera, also a native of Portugal, states that he saw the dried leaves of Tea at Malacca some years prior to 1600, and the article is also mentioned in one of the earliest privileges accorded to the Portuguese for trading in 1558; yet it was not until nearly a century from the beginning of that trade that we find the first distinct account from a European pen of the use of Tea as a beverage. In a " Dissertation upon Tea, by Thomas Short," printed in London, in 1730, the author gives the follow- ing account of its first introduction into Europe : " The Dutch East India Company on their second voyage 1 8 INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE. to China carried thither a good store of Sage and ex- changed it with the Chinese for Tea, receiving three to four pounds of the last for one pound of the first, by calling it a wonderful European herb possessed of as many virtues as the Indians could ascribe to their shrub- leaf. But because they exported not such large quan- tities of Sage as they imported of Tea they also bought a great deal of the latter, giving eight- to tenpence a pound for it in China. And when they first brought it to Paris they sold it for thirty livres the pound ; but thirty years ago the Chinese sold it at threepence, and never above ninepence a pound at any time, frequently mixing it with other herbs to increase the quantity." Macaulay also states in the history of his embassy to China that " early in the seventeenth century some Dutch adventurers, seeking for such objects as might fetch a price in China, and hearing of a general use there of a beverage produced from a plant of the coun- try, bethought themselves of trying how far a European plant of supposed great virtues might also be appreci- ated by the Chinese ; they accordingly introduced to them the herb Sage, the Dutch accepting in exchange the Chinese Tea, which they brought back with them to Holland." These statements but tend to confirm the Portuguese claim, the efforts of the Dutch to open up trade with the Chinese in Tea being evidently made many years subsequent to its introduction by the former; in still further support of which the following may be noted : — In 1662 CHARLES II. married the Portuguese princess, Catharine of Braganza, who, it is said, was very fond of Tea, having been accustomed to it in her own country. Waller, in a poem celebrating the event, ascribes its first introduction to her country in the appended lines : — INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE. 1 9 ' ' Venus her myrtle has — Phoebus her bays ; Tea both excels, which she vouchsafes to praise. The best of Queens and best of herbs we owe To that proud nation which the way did show." The earliest mention made of Tea by an Englishman is that contained in a letter from a Mr. Wickham, agent of the East India Company at Firando, Japan, and dated June 27, 1615, to a Mr. Eaton, another officer of the Company, resident at Macao, China, asking for " a pot of the best Cha." How the commission was executed does not appear, but in Mr. Eaton's subsequent account of expenditures occurs this item, "Three silver por- ringers to drink Tea in." The first person, however, to advocate the use of Tea in Europe was Cornelius Bottrekoe, a professor of the Leyden University, who, in a treatise on " Tea, Coffee and Chocolate," published in 1649, strongly pronounces in favor of the former, denying the possibility of its being injurious even when taken in immoderate quantities. Tea was evidently known in England previous to its direct importation there, small quantities having been brought from Holland as early as 1640, but used only on rare occasions. The earliest mention made of it, however, is that contained in a copy of the "Mercurius Politicus" at present in the British Museum, and dated September, 1658, in which attention is called to "that excellent, and by all Physitians approved, China drink, called by the Chineans Tcha, by other nations Tay, sold at the Sultaness Head, a Cophee-house by the Royal Exchange, London." The most famous house for Tea at this early period, however, was Garway's, more pop- ularly known for upwards of two centuries as " Garra- way's," being swept away only a few years ago by the march of improvement. Defoe refers to it as being " fre- 20 INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE. quented only by people of quality, who had business in the city and the wealthier citizens " ; but later it be- came the resort of speculators, and here it was that the numerous schemes which surrounded and accompanied the " Great South Sea Bubble " had their centre, and, appropriately enough, " Garraway's " was also the head- quarters of that most remarkable but disastrous Tea speculation of 1842. A singular handbill issued by its founder is still ex- tant, being discovered by accident in a volume of pamph- lets found in the British Museum, where it may still be inspected. Although the document bears no date, there is ample internal evidence to prove that it must have been printed about 1660. It is a quaint and extraor- dinary production, purporting to be "An exact descrip- tion of the leaf Tea, made according to the directions of the most knowing merchants and travelers in those Eastern countries, by Thomas Garway," setting forth that :— "Tea is generally brought from China, growing there on little shrubs, the branches whereof are garnished with white flowers of the bigness and fashion of sweetbriar, but smell unlike, and bear- ing green leaves of the bigness of myrtle or sumac, which leaves are gathered every day, the best being gathered by virgins who are destined for the work, the said leaves being of such known virtues that those nations famous for antiquity, knowledge and wisdom do frequently sell it among themselves for twice its weight in silver. That it hath been used only as a regalia in high treatments and entertainments, presents being made thereof to grandees." Proceeding at considerable length to enumerate its " virtues," many of which are decidedly apocryphal, and attributing to the beverage, among its other properties, that of— INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE. 21 "Making the body active and lusty, helping the headache, giddiness and heaviness, • removing the difficulty of breathing, clearing the sight, banishing lassitude, strengthening the stomach, causing good appetite and digestion, vanishing heavy dreams, easing the frame, strengthening the memory, and finally prevent- ing consumption, particularly when drank with milk." Many other remarkable properties being credited to this wonderful " Chinese herb," the advertiser closes his great encomiums by suggesting — "That all persons of eminence and quality, gentlemen, and others who have occasion for tea in the leaf may be supplied. These are to give notice that the said Thomas hath the same to sell from sixteen to fifty shillings the pound." If the article had possessed but a tithe of the virtues and excellencies accorded to it by the celebrated Garway it must have been recognized at the time as the coming boon to man. Up to 1660 no mention is made of Tea in the English statute books, although it is cited in an act of the first parliament of the Restoration of the same year, which imposed a tax of " eightpence on every gallon made and sold, to be paid by the maker thereof." This was sub- sequently increased to five shillings per pound in the Leaf, which at the time was stated to be " no small preju- dice to the article, as well as an inconvenience to the drinker." Ever since that year the duty on Tea has been one of the hereditary customs of the Crown, though Parliament has at sundry times, by different acts, fixed divers duties upon it. Pepys alludes to Tea in his Diary, under date of Sep- tember 25, 1 66 1, the entry reading : " I did send for a cup of Tee, a China drink, of which I never drank before " ; and again, in 1667, he further mentions it. " Home, and there find my wife making of Tee, a drink which Mr. 22 INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE. Felling, the Potticary, says is good for her cold." But that it still must have continued "rare, is veiy evident, as in 1664, it is recorded that the East India Company made the king what was then considered " a brilliant present of 2 Ibs. of Tea, costing forty shillings," and two years later another present of 22 Ibs., both parcels being pur- chased on the Continent for the purpose. It was not until 1668 that the East India Company is credited with the direct importation of Tea into England, which, although chartered in 1600, for the first time con- sidered Tea worthy their attention as an article of trade. The order sent to their agents in that year was : " for 100 Ibs. of the best Tey they could procure to the amount of ^25 sterling." Their instructions must, how- ever, have been considerably exceeded, as the quantity received was 4,713 Ibs., a supply which seems to have " glutted the market " for several years after. Up to this time no alarm had been excited that the use of Tea was putting in peril the stalwarthood of the British race. But in the very year of this large importation we find Saville writing to his uncle Coventry, in sharp reproof of certain friends of his " who call for Tea, instead of pipes and wine," stigmatizing its use as "a base, un- worthy Indian practice," and adding, with an audible sigh, " the truth is, all nations are getting so wicked as to have some of those filthy customs." Whether from sympathy of the public with these indignant reprehen- sions or other causes, the whole recorded imports for the six following years amounted to only 410 Ibs., the quan- tities imported continuing small and consisting exclus- ively of the finer sorts for several years thereafter. The first considerable shipment of tea reached London about 1695, from which year the imports steadily and rapidly increased until the end of the seventeenth cen- INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE. 23 tury, when the annual importations averaged 20,000 pounds. In 1703 orders were sent from England to China for 85,000 pounds of Green Tea and 25,000 pounds of Black, the average price at this period ranging from 1 6 to 20 shillings ($4 to $5) per pound. The Company's official account of their trade did not commence before 1725, but according to Milburn's "Oriental Commerce" the consumption in the year 1711 had increased to up- wards of 142 million pounds, in 1711 to 121 millions, and in 1720 to 238 million pounds. Since which time there has been nothing in the history of commerce so remarkable as the growth and development of the trade in Tea, becoming, as it has, one of the most important articles of foreign production consumed. For above a century and a half the sole object of the English East India Company's trade with China was to furnish Tea for consumption in England, the Company during that period enjoying a monopoly of the Tea trade to the exclusion of all other parties. They were bound, however, " to send orders for Tea from time to time, provide ships for its transportation, and always to keep at least one year's supply in their warehouses," being also compelled to " bring all Teas to London, and there offer them at public sale quarterly, and to dispose of them at one penny per pound advance on the gross cost of importation, the price being determined by add- ing their prime cost in China to the expenses of freight, insurance, interest on capital invested, and other charges." But in December, 1680, Thomas Eagle of the "King's Head," a noted coffee-house in St. James, inserted in the London Gazette the following advertisement, which shows that Tea continued to be imported independently of the East India Company : " These are to give notice to per- sons of quality that a small parcel of most excellent 24 INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE. Tea has, by accident, fallen into the hands of a private person to be sold. But that none may be disappointed, the lowest price is 30 shillings in the pound, and not any to be sold under a pound in weight." The persons of quality were also requested to bring a convenient box with them to hold it. The East India Company enjoyed a monopoly of the trade in Tea up to 1834, when, owing to the methods of calculation adopted by the Company, and the heavier ex- penses which always attend every department of a trade monopoly, the prices were greatly enhanced. Much dis- satisfaction prevailing with its management, this system of importing Teas was abolished, the Company being deprived of its exclusive privileges, and the Tea trade thrown open to all. In all probability Tea first reached America from England, which country began to export' in 1711, but it is claimed to have been previously introduced by some Dutch smugglers, no definite date being given. The first American ship sailed for China in 1784, two more ves- sels being dispatched the following year, bringing back 880,000 pounds of Tea. During 1786-87, five other ships brought to the United States over 1,000,000 pounds. In 1844, the "Howqua" and " Montauk " were built expressly for the Tea trade, being the first of the class of vessels known as " Clippers," in which speed was sought at the expense of carrying capacity, and by which the average passage was reduced from twenty to thirty days for the round trip. The trade in tea was entirely transacted at Canton until 1842, when the ports of Shanghai, Amoy and Foo-chow were opened by the treaty of Nankin, the China tea trade being mainly conducted at the latter ports. As late as 1850, all vessels trading in tea carried considerable armament, a necessary TEA AND AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 25 precaution against the pirates who swarmed in the China seas during the first half of the last century. The progress of this famous plant has been something like the progress of Truth, suspected at first, though very palatable to those who had the courage to taste it, resisted as it encroached, and abused as its use spread, but establishing its triumph at last in cheering the world, from palace to cottage, by the resistless effect of time and its own virtues only; becoming a beverage appreciated by all, as well as an agent of progress and civilization. TEA. AND Although Tea may be claimed to be in all its associa- tions eminently peaceful, growing as it does on the hill- sides of one of the most peaceful countries in the world, coming to us through the peace-promoting ways of com- merce, until it reaches its ultimate destination, that cen- tre of peace — the family table — and like peaceful sleep, " knitting up the raveled sleeve of care," yet it has been the occasion of several wars and political problems, the latest of which is the precipitation of the great Chinese exodus, which at present threatens such vital results, not only to our own country, but possibly to the world at large. It was destined — as in all social and political affairs, the greatest and most important events are curiously linked with the smallest and most insignificant — to be the final crisis of the American Revolutionary movement. Think of it ! The birth of the greatest nation of all time due to a three-penny tax on tea! It was the article chosen above all others to emphasize the principles that 26 TEA AND AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. " all men are born free and equal" and that " taxation wit/wnt representation is tyranny" and for the establish- ment of which principles a war was fought, that when judged by the law of results, proves to have been the most important and fruitful recorded on history's pages. Who, in looking back over the long range of events conserving to create our now great country, can fail to have his attention attracted to what has been termed, with a characteristic touch of American humor, "The Boston Tea Party of 1773"? Who could have then predicted the marvelous change that a single century of free government would have wrought ? Who could have dreamed that Tea would have proved such an im- portant factor in such a grand result ? What a lesson to despotic governments ! A dreary November evening ; a pier crowded with excited citizens ; a few ships in the harbor bearing a hated cargo — hated not of itself, but for the principles involved ; on the decks a mere handful of young men — a few leaders in Israel — urged on by the fiery prescience of genius, constituting themselves an ad- vance guard to lead the people from out the labyrinth of Remonstrance into the wilderness of Revolution. It is true that previously other questions had been fac- tors in the dispute, but a cursory glance at the history of the time will show that heated debates had been followed by periods of rest, and acts of violence by renewed loy- alty. The " Navigation laws " had caused much indigna- tion and many protests, but no violence to mention. As early as 1768 the famous "Stamp Act" was passed and repealed. The period intervening between its passage and repeal gave opportunity for public opinion to crys- tallize and shape itself. It sifted out of the people a mod- ern Demosthenes, gifted with the divine power of draping the graceful garment of language round the firm body of TEA AND AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 2"J an IDEA! George III. would not profit by the example of Caesar or of Charles, and while North had avowed his willingness to repeal the tax on all other articles, he promised the king that " he would maintain this one tax on Tea to prove to the Colonists his right to tax'.' The trade in Tea at this time was a monopoly of the English East India Company, which just then had ac- quired an immense political prestige, but lost heavily by the closing of the American market, the Company's warehouses in London remaining full of it, causing their revenue to decline. North was induced to offer them a measure of relief by releasing from taxation in England the Tea intended for America, but he still persisted in maintaining the duty of threepence to be paid in Ameri- can ports, and on the loth of May this farcical scheme of fiscal readjustment became a law. The Company obtained a license for the free-duty exportation of their Tea to America in disregard of the advice of those who knew that the Colonists would not receive it. Four ships laden with Tea were despatched to the ports of Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Charleston. The Colonists prepared for their expected arrival, public meetings being held in Philadelphia and Boston, at which it was resolved that the Tea should be sent back to England, and so notified the Company's agents at these ports. The Boston consignees refused to comply with the popu- lar demand, all persuasion failing to move them. The matter was then referred to the Committees, who imme- diately resolved to use force where reason was not heeded. When the vessels arrived, a meeting was held in the Old South Church, at which it was resolved, "come what will, the Tea should not be landed or the duty paid" Another appeal was made to the Governor, which was also denied ! Upon this announcement Samuel Adams 28 TEA AND AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. arose, saying, " This meeting can do nothing more to save the country'' The utterance of these words was a preconcerted signal ; the response, an Indian war- whoop from the crowd outside. A band of young men, not over fifty, disguised as, and styling themselves, " Mohawks," rushed down to the wharf where the vessels lay; the ships were boarded, the Tea chests broken open and emptied' into the river. From the moment that the first Tea-leaf touched the water the whole atmosphere surrounding the issues involved changed ! In that instant, with the rapidity of thought, the Colonies vanished and America arose / When the news of these proceedings reached England, it provoked a storm of anger, not only among the adher- ents of the government, but also among the mercantile and manufacturing classes, they having suffered heavy losses by the stoppage of trade with America. The commercial importance and parliamentary influence of the East India Company swelled the outcry of indigna- tion against which they termed the outrage of destroying its property. All united in the resolve to punish the conduct of Boston for its rejection of the least onerous one of an import duty on tea. What followed has been told in song and story — Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Valley Forge and Yorktown. A new nation sprang into existence, taking its stand upon the pedestal of "EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL," under a new government "OF THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE." GEOGRAPHICAL DISXRIBXJ- TIOPOT, ESIDES the character of the different varieties of tea and other information connected with the plant and its product, we have to notice the dif- ferent parts of the world in which it is now or may be grown in the future, as many practical questions of considerable importance are dependent on the subject. For upwards of two centuries and a half the world's supply of tea was furnished exclusively by China, and it was not until well into the middle of the nineteenth cen- tury that China and Japan were the only two tea-produc- ing countries in the world, their product reaching the western markets through the narrowest channels and under the most oppressive restrictions. Its cultivation however, has in that time been extended to other coun- tries, most notably into Java, India and Ceylon. Tea is more or less cultivated for local consumption in all the provinces of China, except the extreme northern. But to what exact degree of latitude it is difficult to be precise, as we are without definite information from those regions, and the vast empire of China not being suffici- ently explored by botanists to warrant the assertion that the plant is not to be found in other parts of the country, at least in a wild state. So far, however, it has not been discovered there, except in a state of cultivation, or as having evidently escaped from cultivation on roadsides or other out-of-the-way places. We know that it is cultivated in Tonquin and Yunnan, but only to a limited extent, the product of these 29 30 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. provinces being also of a very inferior quality. It is grown in Cochin-China and the mountain ranges of Ava, but only for local consumption, and that, while it is indige- nous to the mountains, separating China from Burmah, it is not cultivated there for either export or profit, and although claimed by some authorities to be grown all over the Chinese empire, its cultivation for commercial pur- poses is confined to the region lying between the 24th and 35th degrees of north latitude, the climate between these parallels varying to a considerable extent, being much warmer in the southern than in the northern provinces. The districts in which it is chiefly cultivated, however, and from which it is principally exported, are embraced in the southwestern provinces of Che-kiang, Fo-kien, Kiang-see, Kiang-nan, Gan-hwuy Kwang-tung, some little being also produced for export in the western province of Sze-chuan. It is cultivated for commercial purposes all over the Japanese islands, from Kiu-siu, in the south, to Niphon, in the extreme north, but the zone found most favorable to its most profitable production in these islands is that lying between the 3Oth and 35th degrees, more especially in the coast provinces of the interior sea. It is also grown to some extent in Corea, from which country — although claimed by some to be the original country of tea — none is ever exported. In the year 1826 some tea seeds were sent from Japan to Java and planted as an experiment in the residency of Buitzenorg, where they were found to succeed so well that tea-culture was immediately commenced on an extensive scale in the adjoining residencies of Cheribon, Preanger and Krawang, the number of tea trees in the former district amounting to over 50,000 in 1833. The several other districts of the island to which it had been GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 31 extended, now containing upwards of 20,000,000 trees from which over 20,000,000 pounds of prepared tea are annually delivered to commerce, tea-culture forming one of the chief industries of the island at the present day. A species of the tea plant has been found growing in a truly wild state in the mountain ranges of Hindostan, particularly on those bordering on the Chinese province of Yunnan, from which fact it is claimed by some writers as probable that these mountains are the original home of tea. Recent explorations also show that the tea plant is to be found growing wild in the forests of Assam, Sylhet and the Himalaya hills, as well as over the great range of mountains extending thence through China to the Yang-tse river. At an early period the British East India Company, as the principal trade intermediary be- tween China and Europe, became deeply interested in the question of tea cultivation in their eastern possessions, but without much success until in 1840, when the Assam Tea Company was formed, from which year the successful cultivation of tea in India has been carried on, the tea districts of that country including at the present time, in the order of their priority, Assam, Dehradun, Kumaon, Darjeeling, Cachar, Kangra, Hazarila, Chittagong, Bur- mah, Neilghery and Travancore. Various efforts were made to introduce tea-culture into Ceylon, under both Dutch and British rule, no permanent success being attained until about 1876, when the dis- astrous effects of the coffee-leaf disease induced the planters to give more serious attention to tea. Since that period tea cultivation has developed there with marvelous rapidity, having every prospect at the present time of taking first rank among Ceylon productions. Dr. Abel highly recommends the Cape of Good Hope as furnishing a fitting soil and climate for the beneficial 32 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. production of tea, stating that "there is nothing improb- able in a plant that is so widely diffused from north to south being grown there." Tea of average quality being now shipped from Natal to the London market. Besides Java, India and Ceylon, where tea culture has been introduced and profitably demonstrated, numerous attempts have and are being made to colonize the plant in other countries than these of the East, but beyond the countries above enumerated, the industry has so far never taken root, for while the cultivated varieties of the tea- plant are comparatively hardy, possessing an adaptability to climate excelled alone among plants only by that of wheat, the limits of actual tea cultivation extend from the 39th degree of north latitude in Japan, through the tropics to Java, Ceylon, India and China, and while it will live in the open air in many of the countries into which it has been introduced and withstand some amount of frost when it receives sufficient summer heat to harden its root, but comparatively few of those regions are suited for practical tea-growing. As far back as 1872, some tea plants were sent from China to the Kew gardens in England, for the purpose of testing the possibility of its growth in that country. The attempt, however, ended in failure, the seeds never germinating, later efforts under more careful training meeting with the same fate. Considerable success attended its introduction into the islands of Bourbon and Mauritius, in 1844, the tea produced being pronounced as " excellent in flavor, but lacking in that strength and aroma so characteristic of the Chinese variety." Its cultivation has been recently attempted in the Philippines by the Spanish, in Sumatra and Borneo by the Dutch, and by the French in Cochin-China, nearly all of which experiments so far proving failures, GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 33 the only success reported being from the latter country, where the soil is good and moisture equable. Tea plantations have also been lately opened up in Malay, Singapore, and other of the Straits settlements by the English ; some teas of fair quality, but insufficient quan- tity, having already produced in many of them. Its cultivation forms one of the industries of the Fiji islands at the present time ; the soil and climate of the latter being found eminently adapted to its successful propaga- tion, land and labor, the chief difficulties in other countries, being particularly available there. Extra- ordinary efforts are now also being made to introduce the plant into the warmer parts of Australia. Some ten years ago specimens of the Chinese tea- plant were introduced into the Azores, where they soon became acclimated, expert Chinese tea-makers being sent there specially a few years later to teach the natives how to manipulate the leaves. The industry has made such rapid progress there that regular shipments of " Madeira tea " are now being made to the London market, where it is affirmed that in strength and flavor it closely ap- proaches that of China tea. But while it has been found to flourish luxuriantly on the hilly parts of St. Helena, the quantity and quality are insufficient to justify its cul- tivation for either profit or export on that island. The Economic Society of St. Petersburg warmly advocates its cultivation in the Caucasus, while French and German naturalists declare that there is no region more suitable for the profitable cultivation of tea than the shores of the Black Sea, the climate being warm, moist and equable, and tea of more than average quality have already been produced between Batoum and Kiel, samples of which were exhibited at the exhibition recently held in Tiflis, the report on which was so 34 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. encouraging that the society ventures the opinion " that in time Russia may compete with China and India in supplying the Western nations with tea." Efforts are also being made to introduce it into southern Italy, but while the soil and climate of those countries may be found admirably adapted for the purpose, there is no skilled labor lo prepare it properly. The cultivation of tea was attempted in the warmer parts of Brazil in 1850, some tea of very fair quality being produced in the vicinity of Rio Janeiro, and while the plant was found to flourish exceedingly well in the adjoining provice of Sao Paolo, the tea when prepared for use was found to be entirely too bitter and astringent for practical purposes. The lack of skilled labor and high cost of manufacture preventing its cultivation for profit, it was inferred that with everything else in its favor, tea as produced in Brazil would never be able to compete with that of China even for home consumption. Some few years since plantations were opened for the cultivation of tea in Mexico, Guatemala, and in some of the West India islands, but to the present no reports favor- able or otherwise, have been received regarding its pro- gress in these countries. Still, in the face of all draw- backs, with the example of the many failures and final success achieved in India and Ceylon, much may yet be accomplished in Brazil and other South American coun- tries by intelligent cultivation, modern machinery and perseverance in solving the problem of growing at least their own tea. With regard to the efforts to introduce the tea-plant into the United States, the earliest notice which comes under observation is that contained in the Southern Agriculturist, published in 1828, and in which it is stated that " the tea-tree grows perfectly in the open air near GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 35 Charleston, where it has been raised for the past fifteen years, in the nursery of M. Noisette. But as imported from China it would cost too much to prepare for com- mercial use." Another historical effort was that made in 1848, by Dr. James Smith, at Greenville, S. C, but although commenced with great enthusiasm the plantation never was increased to any appreciable extent. Neither was it brought to a condition, as far as can be ascertained, to warrant the formation of any reliable opinion as to the practicability of tea-culture in this country as an indus- try. Nevertheless, the circumstances of its failure are quoted as a proof that tea cannot be produced for com- mercial purposes or even for home consumption in this country. While the truth is that as a test for the pur- poses named, the attempt was of no value whatever, and never was so considered by those conversant with its cultivation or management. But while the. plant barely survives the winter north of Washington, it has been found to thrive successfully a little south of that district. It bears fruit abundantly on the Pacific coast, where the soil and climate are especially favorable to the growth of broad-leaved ever- greens, both native and exotic, and will flourish much further north there than in the Eastern states. Still the progress of these efforts to grow tea in other countries than China, Japan and India, must necessarily prove interesting as being calculated to make the world more independent of these countries for its supplies. Yet it is an established fact that the finest varieties of tea are best cultivated in the warmer latitudes and on sites most exposed to air and sunshine. ^p^HERE are few subjects in the vegetable kingdom II ~\ that have attracted such a large share of public notice as the tea plant. Much error for a long time existed regarding its botanical classification, owing to the jealousy of the Chinese government pre- venting foreigners from visiting the districts where tea was cultivated ; while the information derived from the Chinese merchants at the shipping ports, scanty as it was, could not be depended on with any certainty. So that before proceeding to discuss the question of the species which yield the teas of commerce it may be well to notice those which are usually described as distinct varieties in systematic works. Tea is differently named in the various provinces of China where it is grown. In some it is called Tcha or chat in others Tha or thea, in Canton Tscha, and finally Tia by the inhabitants of Fo-kien, from whom the first cargoes are said to have been obtained, and so pro- nounced in their patois as to give rise to the European name TEA. By botanists it is termed Thea, this last name being adopted by Linnaeus for the sake of its Greek orthography, being exactly that of Oex — a goddess — a coincidence doubtless quite acceptable to those who use and enjoy the beverage as it deserves. The species of the genus Thea are few in number, some botanists being of opinion that even these are of a 38 BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND FORM. single kind — Camillia — and is by them classed as Thea- Camillia. Others asserting that no relation whatever exists between these two plants, maintaining that the Thea and 'Camillia are widely different and of a distinct species. Yet, though the Camillia bears the same name among the Chinese as Thea and possesses many of its structural characteristics, distinctions are made between them by many eminent botanists, who hold that they differ widely and materially and are mostly agreed in the statement that the true Tea-plant is distinguished from the Camillia in having longer, narrower, thinner, more serrated and less shiny leaves, and that a marked difference is also noticeable in the form and contents of the fruit or pod. Davis argues that they constitute two genera^ closely allied but yet different, the distinctions consisting prin- cipally in the fruit or seed. The seed-vessel of the Thea being a three-lobed capsule, with the lobes strongly marked, each the size of a currant, containing only a single round seed, the lobes bursting vertically in the middle when ripe, exposing the seed. The capsule of the Camillia is triangular in shape, much larger in size, and though three-celled is but single-seeded. Ben- tham and Hooker, who have thoroughly revised the "genera plantatum" say they can find no good reason by which they can separate the Tea-plant as a genus dis- tinct from the Camillia, and so class it as Thea- Camillia. While Cambesedes contends that they are widely sepa- rated by several intervening genera, the difference being entirely in the form of the fruit or pod ; and Griffin, who is well qualified to form a correct opinion, states that, from an examination of the India Tea-plant and two species of the Camillia taken from the Kyosa hills, he found no difference whatever. The dehiscence in both BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND FORM. 39 plants is of the same nature, the only noticeable differ- ence really existing being of a simply specific value. The fruit of the Tea-shrub is three-celled and three-seeded while that of the Camillia is triangular in form and single-seeded only. Linnaeus, while recognizing the Tea-plant as belonging to the same family as the Camillia, Latinizes its Chinese name, classing it as Thea Sinensis, and dividing it into two species — Thea Viridis and Thea Bohea; DeCandolle, while indorsing Linnaeus' classification, adds that " in the eighteenth century when the shrub which produces tea was little known Linnaeus named the genus Thea Sinensis, but later judged it better to distinguish two species which he believed at the time to correspond with the distinctions existing between the Green and Black teas of commerce." The latest works on botany, also, make Thea a distinct genus — Thea Sinensis — divided into two species — Thea viridis and Thea bohea — these botanical terms having no specific relation to the varieties known to commerce as Green and Black teas. It having also been proven that there is but one species comprehending both varieties, the difference in color and character being due to a variation in the soil, climate, as well as to different methods of cultivation and curing, from either or both of which Green or Black tea may be prepared at will according to the process of manufacture. In a wild state is large and bushy, ranging in height from ten to fifteen feet, often assuming the proportions of a small tree. While in a state of cultivation its growth is limited by frequent prunings to from three to five feet, forming a polyandrous, shrub evergreen with bushy stem and numerous leafy branches. The leaves are alternate, large, elliptical and obtusely serrated, varied and placed in smooth short-channeled foot-stalks, the calyx being small, BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND FORM. and divided into five segments. The flowers are white, axilary and slightly fragrant, often three together in separate pedicils, the corolla having from five to nine petals, cohering at the base with filaments numerous and inverted at the base of the corolla. The anthers are large, Thea Sinensis. yellow and tre-foil, the capsule three-celled and three- seeded; and like all other plants in a state of cultivation, it has produced marked varieties, two of which Thea viridis and Thea bohea are critically described as distinct species, distinguished from each other in size, color, form and texture of the leaves, as well as other peculiarities. BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND FORM. 41 a, — Gunpowder. I — Young Hyson, c — Imperial, d— Hyson, t — Twankey. Thea Viridis, Is a large, hardy, strong-growing shrub, with spreading branches and leaves one to two inches long, thin, weavy and almost membraneous, broadly lanceolate, but irregu- larly serrated and light-green in color. The flowers are large, white, solitary and mostly confined to the upper axil, having five sepals and seven petals, the fruit or pod being purple, nodding and three-seeded. It thrives with- out protection in the open air during winter, and is undoubtedly the species yielding the bulk of the Green teas of commerce. 42 BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND FORM. a — Firsts, b— Seconds, c— Thirds, d— Fourths. Thea Bohea, Is a much smaller variety, with branches stiff, straight and erect, the leaves are also smaller, flat, oblong and coriaceous, but evenly serrated and dark-green in color. The flowers or blossoms are usually two to three, situated at the axils, having from five to seven sepals and petals, and possessing a slight fragrance. It is more tender and prolific than the green variety, not standing near as cold a climate, and yields the Black teas of commerce principally. Considerable mystery and confusion for a long time existed regarding the species yielding the varieties known to commerce as Green and Black teas, many authorities claiming that the former were produced from the green tea-plant exclusively, and the latter solely from the black BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND FORM. 43 tea variety. While, again, it was erroneously held by others that both were prepared at will from a single species, the difference in color, flavor and effect was due entirely to a disparity in soil, climate, age and process of curing ; also, that Green teas were produced from plants cultivated on the plains or low lands, in a soil enriched with manure, and Black teas from those grown on hill sides and mountain slopes. Later and more careful investigation disprove these " opinions," the eminent botanical traveler, Robert Fortune, having satisfactorily and definitely set this much-vexed question at rest by examining the subject on the spot, finding that in the district of Woo-e-shan, where Black teas are principally prepared, the species Bohea only is grown ; and that in the province of Che-Kiang, where Green teas are exclu- sively prepared, he found the species Viridis alone culti- vated. But that the Green and Black teas of commerce may be produced at will from either or both species he found to be the case in the province of Fo-kien, where the black tea-plant only is grown, but that both the commercial varieties were prepared therefrom at the pleasure of the manufacturer and according to the demand. Yet while it is admitted now even by the Chinese themselves, that both varieties may be prepared at will from either species, it is a popular error to imagine that China produces the two commercial kinds in all districts, the preparation of the greater proportion of the respective varieties being carried on in widely separated districts of the empire, and from the corresponding species of the tea-plant, different methods being pursued in the process of curing; from the first stage, Green teas being only distinguished from Black in such instances by the fact that, the former are not fermented or terrified as high by excessive heat, or fired as often as the latter. 44 BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND FORM. It was also a commonly received opinion at one time that the distinctive color of Green teas was imparted to them by being fired in copper pans. For this belief there is not the slightest foundation in fact, as copper is never used for the purpose, repeated experiments by unerring tests having been made, but in not a single case has any trace of the metal been detected. -Pekoe, b — Souchong, c — Congou, d — Souchong-Congou, Thea Assamensis, BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND FORM. 45 Which has lately attracted so much attention, partakes somewhat of the character of both the foregoing varieties. Some botanists, however, claim that it is a distinct species, while others who recognize but one genus, contend that the India plant is but a wild type of the Chinese variety, and that any difference existing between them is the result of soil, climate and special culture. Planters on the other hand distinguish many points of difference between the China and India tea-plants. The leaf of the latter when full grown measures from three to five inches in length, while that of the former seldom exceeds three; again, the leaC of the India species does not harden as quickly during growth, which is an important consid- eration in picking. The inflorescence of the latter also varies from that of the Chinese variety, its usual state being to have the flower solitary, and situated in the axils of the leaves, the number varying from one to five. In general, it is more prolific and matures quicker, which renders it more profitable, as it affords a greater number of pickings during the season ; but it is still doubtful if it is a true tea. In its geographical distribution, so far as latitude is concerned, the India tea-plant approximates most to the Black tea species of China, yet in its botanical characteristics and general appearance as well as in the size and texture of its leaves, it approaches nearer to the Green tea variety. Two other species described by Loureiro, but un- known to commerce, are classed as Thea Cochinchinensis. found in a wild state in the north of Cochin-China, where it is also extensively cultivated, but used medicinally by the natives as a diaphoretic. And Thea Oleosa (oil tea), grown in the vicinity of Canton, the seeds of which yield an oil used for illuminating purposes as well as an article of diet by the inhabitants. In addition to these there 46 SUBSTITUTES IN USE FOR TEA. are also two doubtful species, known as Cankrosa and Candata, referred to by Wallach, as growing in Silhet and Nepaul. IIV 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 " panacae," 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 con- taining that principle, and consequently producing the same exciting effects, these include Coffee, Cocoa and Yerba Mate — 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 SUBSTITUTES IN USE FOR TEA. 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 bron- chitis by the natives of that country. Pimento — or " Trinidad tea," prepared from a decoc- tion 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. Cathadules — or "Arabian tea," prepared from the leaves of that shrub in the same manner as ordinary tea, and extensively cultivated there for that purpose, as much attention being bestowed on it by the natives as on coffee. The leaves are also chewed, when green, like SUBSTITUTES IN USE FOR TEA. those of the Coca in South America, being highly intoxi- cating in effect, particularly in the wild state. Saxifraga — or "Siberian tea," produced from a decoction of the leaves of that plant, but used only as a beverage in the same manner as those of China tea. Epilobium — or " Russian tea," is prepared from the dried leaves of the common willow, and are also exten- sively used for mixing with the regular teas of commerce, commanding as high as four roubles a pound in the dried state, for that purpose; being also in common use among the poorer classes of that country as a substitute for China tea. Buxifolium — or " Labrador tea," is made from an infusion of the leaves of that plant, and used extensively as a beverage by the natives of that country and adjoining provinces. Appalachian — or " Pennsylvania tea," is prepared from an infusion of the Punos plant found growing in a wild state on the Allegheny mountains, and used as a bev- erage as well as for the purpose of imparting heat ; and while very closely resembling the tea-plant of China in its structural character, of its merits or drinking qualities as a tea nothing definite has as yet been ascertained. Ceanothus — or " New Jersey tea," known to the Indians as " pong-pong," is prepared from the leaves of Red-root, and was at one time in general use and very popular among the natives of Virginia and the Carolinas, and was also extensively used in Revolutionary times as a. substitute for China tea when refusal was made to pay the tax upon the latter. Chimonanthus — or " English tea," recently obtained from the leaves of that plant, and used as a substitute for China tea, as well as for mixing with it. Originally a native of China and Japan, it has been acclimatized in that SUBSTITUTES IN USE FOR TEA. 49 country, where it is at present extensively used alone and as an adulterant. Coffee-leaf Tea — in use in many of the Coffee-grow- ing countries, most notably in Arabia, Sumatra and the West India islands. It is prepared from the roasted leaves of the coffee-tree in the same manner as China tea, the natives of these countries particularly preferring it to any decoction made from the berries of the latter. Strawberry-leaf Tea — obtained from the leaves of the common strawberry shrub, carefully dried and cured after the manner of the China plant. They are prepared and used in Germany particularly as a tea ; they yield a very close imitation of the liquor and flavor of the regu- lar tea of commerce, so much so that quite an industry has sprung up in their cultivation and preparation as a substitute for tea in that country. The celebrated " Faham tea" of the Mauritius being still another remarkable sub- stitute for the tea of China. But as with many of the foregoing should be regarded in the light of medicine rather than that of a regular beverage. That this characteristic element Theine should be pres- ent not only in the Tea-plant of China and Coffee-plant of Arabia, but also in so many others widely differing, so remote in situation, and so unlike in appearance, and from which millions of people in all parts of the world draw a refreshing and exhilarating beverage, is a striking and beautiful fact in nature. Under such a fact there may be more significance than science has yet elicited. I\T. Chinese, from time immemorial, have been accustomed to raising their tea on every available space of ground ; on barren hill-side, marshy plain and other patches of land unsuited for other purposes. Most of the gardens are, however, situated in hilly districts, but in almost all of them the soil is poor and sandy, varying considerably, even in districts alike famous for the perfect growth of the plant. The soil of the gardens situated on the hills is com- posed chiefly of a brownish clay, containing large pro- portions of vegetable matter intermixed with fragments of slate, quartz and sand-stone, held together by a calcareous basis of granite. A soil, in fact, very similar to that which produces pine and scrub-oak, while on the plains it is darker, but containing a still greater proportion of vegetable matter, enriched by sewerage but invariably well underdrained by natural declivities. Yet while many of the gardens are situated on the tops of mountains, among pine trees in some districts, and along river banks on others, the Chinese, as a rule, prefer ground that is only moderately elevated, in sunny sites, everything else being favorable. Many of the latter yield more abun- dantly, but the product of the former is invariably the finest in quality. 52 CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. With regard to climatic essentials the plant endures a tropical temperature well, at the same time accommodat- ing itself to the cold of winter without injury. But when cultivated for commercial uses in such latitudes the seasons are found too short for its profitable production there, and while it is successfully grown at zero cold in some districts, it is nevertheless most lucratively culti- vated in climates where the thermometer rarely falls more than six degrees below the freezing point. The climate varies to a considerable extent in the different districts of China where tea is grown, being excessively warm in the southern, and intensely cold in the northern provinces, snow being on the ground for days together in the latter or green tea producing districts. And though it has been proved by experiment that this variety will bear a greater degree of cold than the black, considerable snow falls annually in the province of Fo-kien, where Black teas are grown. The most important climatic consider- ation, however, is the amount of rain-fall, a dry climate being altogether unfit for tea cultivation ; a hot, moist or damp one being proved the best. The rain-fall in the most profitable tea districts ranges from 80 to 100 inches per annum, the more falling in the spring months the better, and that too must be equally diffused. But where irrigation can be systematically introduced, this is of less importance. PLANTING AKD PICKING. Tea is invariably raised from seed, in China, collected in the fall after the last crop has been gathered and placed in sand to keep them fresh during the winter months, and sown the following spring in nurseries. In sowing the seed from six to eight are put in pots about an inch below the surface, usually four feet apart, and covered with CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. 53 rice-husks or parched earth. In growing, many of the seeds prove abortive, scarcely one in five germinating. When the nurslings have attained a height of from four to six inches they are transplanted to the beds of the gardens in which they are to grow four to five feet apart. The plants are never manured in China, nor does it appear to be customary to prepare the ground for their reception, it being claimed by many authorities that manure, while it increases the yield, invariably spoils the flavor of the tea. Chinese growers in general asserting that teas produced without the aid of manure are always the most fragrant and aromatic. The plantations are laid out in the early spring, and being well watered by the copious rains which fall during this season, the young plants establish themselves, requir- ing very little care thereafter. Until they have attained a height of about 18 inches, the weeds are pulled regu- larly, not raked, and the leading shoots pinched to induce them to become numerous and bushy. When the season is dry they are saturated with rice-water and the roots covered, and if severely cold they are protected by a wrapping of straw, rising up in a cluster when the rains come and become firmly established, after which they require very little more attention except occasional weed- ing, until they are three years old. In some districts the branches are periodically pruned, the constant abstrac- tion of the foliage having a tendency to reduce the height and expand laterally, making them resemble a collection of plants rather than single shrubs, the size of the leaves in such cases being* smaller than when the plants are suffered to grow at will, but covering the branches so thickly as to prevent the hand being thrust through. An eastern exposure is avoided when near the sea, and care is also taken not to overshadow them by huge trees 54 CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. or noxious plants, certain notions prevailing concerning the injurious influence of such trees when growing too near the tea plants. When the soil is good and the season favorable the leaves can be picked when the plants are two years old, but if poor and dry, three years are usually required for them to mature. On the larger plantations three years are generally allowed before beginning to gather the first crop or picking. A tea plantation at this age when seen at a distance resembles a shrubbery of evergreens, the view being very pictur- esque, the gardens representing a series of terraces descending to the plain, and the rich dark-green leaves affording a pleasing contrast to the strange and oft-times barren scenery with which they are so frequently sur- rounded. There is a close analogy between the tea plantations of China and the vineyards of France, the quality of the tea varying according to the situation of the sites, the nature of the soil and their exposure to climatic changes. Thus, there are in China plantations of tea enjoying reputations equal to those of the best vineyards of Burgundy, Champagne and Bordeaux. There are three regular pickings in the course of a year. The first known as the Shon-cheun or " Early spring," occurring about the middle of April or begin- ning of May, according to the district, the product of which is termed Taou-cha or " head tea," a very supe- rior kind, consisting of the youngest, tenderest, and most delicate leaves and leaf-buds just expanding. The quan- tity obtained from this picking is limited in quantity but simply superb in quality, the very finest teas known to commerce, being prepared from them. The leaves are selected with the greatest care and picked with the utmost caution, such pains being taken to insure its excellence that for weeks before the harvest commences, CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. 55 the packers, who have been previously trained are pro- hibited from eating fish or other food considered unclean, lest by their breath they should contaminate the leaves, being also compelled to bathe two or three times daily in the picking season, as well as wear gloves during the operation. The second picking, called Er-chuen or " Second spring," takes place between the end of May and begin- ning of June, when the branches are literally covered with leaves, and yielding what is known in China as Tzu- cha or " filial tea," from the fact of its producing the largest quantity, constituting the most important crop of the season and forming the principal one exported, but being greatly inferior to the first in point of quality. The San-chuen, or " third crop," is gathered in July when the shrubs are searched for leaves, and the product converted into what is termed Wu-kua-cha or "tea without aroma," and though still more inferior to the preceding ones in quality and quantity, is nevertheless an important one commercially, forming the bulk of that exported as well as for blending with and reducing the cost of the preceding crop. A few leaves of the first picking will support five successive immersions, yielding five cups of moderately strong tea ; the second supplying only two and the third but one of the same strength to a like quantity. A fourth picking or rather " gleaning," termed the Chiu-lu or " Autumn dew," is made in the more prolific districts in September and October, the product of which is known as Ta-cha or " old tea," but of little value commercially. The leaves being large, coarse and almost sapless, are generally retained for home con- sumption by the poorer Chinese or for dyeing purposes, and still another grade is sometimes made by chopping 56 CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. up the stems and twigs of the foregoing with a shears, a practice, however, much to be condemned. The opera- tion of picking is one of the greatest nicety, only women and children being employed in its performance. A small basket is strung by a cord around the neck of each picker, in such a manner as to leave the hands free, a larger basket being placed near for general use. The branch is held by one hand while the leaves are carefully plucked with the other, for, except in the latter gatherings, no portion of the stem or stalk must be broken off with the leaves. The quality of the tea largely depends on the exact time of picking, as the choicest leaves may be changed into an inferior grade of tea on a single night if the exact proper time to pick them be neglected. The practice of picking the young leaf-buds just as they are beginning to unfold would also prove greatly injurious to the plants, were it not for the copious rains that fall during the season of picking, causing fresh leaves to sprout out and elaborate the sap necessary to constitute the further growth of the shrub. The weather also exerts a great influence upon the character of the tea, as, for instance, when the rains fall equably and a bright sun appears after heavy showers, the plants become thick and flourishing, the leaves bright green in color, elastic in texture and much richer in flavor. Whereas, when too much falls at one time, they become mildewed, broken and less flexible and limited, stunted and sapless when too little falls during the season of growth. The product of single plants vary so much that it is difficult to estimate the average quantity. A plant of three years' growth yielding only about 8 ounces of green leaves to a picking, equivalent to about 80 pounds per acre, while at five years' growth the same plant wlil CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. 57 produce five times that quantity, but the quality of the tea will not be near so good. One Chinese authority states that 2 catties, about 2 pounds, of green leaves are obtained from the more celebrated trees, but that the average quantity was between 10 taels and I cattie, or from i pound to 22 ounces annually, adding that a single mou (acre) of land contained from 300 to 400 plants. From these varying statements it is evident that no definite amount can be fixed on as an average product per plant, per acre or per annum. The average collection for each picker is from 14 to 16 pounds of raw leaves per diem, the average wages varying from four to eight cents per day, according to the skill of the picker. CURING AND FIRING. As a general rule in China the small growers do not prepare the tea for market, simply curing them up to a certain point in which condition they dispose of it to the merchant or commission man, locally known as " tea- men/' who send agents into the country and who buy it in small quantities from the growers and carry it to hongs or warehouses established at different points in the tea districts. In this preliminary preparation the leaves when first collected by the grower are spread out in light layers on straw mats and exposed to the sun until they are thoroughly withered, when they are gathered up and placed on bamboo trays and triturated until a large por- tion of the sap or juice is pressed out. After this opera- tion they are again exposed to the sun and then dried in rattan cylinders, separated in the middle by a partition, covered on top, and underneath of which is a chafing vessel of ignited charcoal. The leaves when thrown into 58 CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. this concavity are constantly agitated until the process is completed, finishing the cultivator's work, the leaves being delivered to the merchant or factor in this state. The quantity for a " chop " or shipment being selected according to the quality of the leaf and the district pro- ducing it. The merchant or factor has them picked over by women and children to remove the stems and fibre which still remain attached to the young sprouts before completing its final preparation for the foreign market. The drying, buying and transporting of the leaves from the gardens to the hongs occupies considerable time, during most of which the but partially prepared tea is very much at the mercy of the elements. Tea leaves, when first picked, possess none of the color, odor or flavor of the tea of commerce, these properties being developed by the numerous processes to which they are subjected in the operation of curing and firing, and for which the Chinese have a long vocabulary of technical terms. The definition of which, as vouchsafed to the "outside barbarians," are intended more to mystify rather than elucidate the art. The operations of Tea manufacture may, however, be classified in the following sequence: Evaporating — Fermenting — Sun- ning— Firing — Rolling; each process having to be carried to a certain specific point, or if under or over- done, the leaf is spoiled and the tea correspondingly injured. The partially withered leaves are packed in small cot- ton bags, loosely tied at mouth, and placed in open wooden troughs or boxes perforated at the sides with numerous holes, in which they are pressed and kneaded by the feet, to expel all superfluous moisture, the object being to extract all excess of tannin the principle to which tea owes its bitterness and astringency. If CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. 59 leaves be fermented without previously going through this process, the tea will be too pungent and bitter. The fluid driven out through the holes is of a green- ish, semi-viscid nature, the quantity expelled from the leaves being considerable. Properly evaporated, the leaves when pressed in the hand return to their regular shape, the stem bending double without breaking. The process of fermentation is accomplished by next emptying the leaves into bamboo baskets and covering them with cotton or felt mats, to cause a retention of heat and hasten the fermentive changes. Having been allowed to stand in this condition, the time requisite for this process, being learned only by experience, being more rapid in dry, warm weather than in cool and damp. If the leaves be allowed to remain in a heap after evaporat- ing, so that heating by natural fermentation should occur, the tea will be greatly injured. The process is stopped by emptying the leaves and spreading them out on large mats, exposed to the sun's rays. The effect of proper fermentation is to make the tea richer, smoother and more pleasing in flavor. Tea in this respect being like tobacco, which if dried over a fire when first cut, becomes so sharp and bitter as to sting the tongue. During the process of " sunning " the leaves are tossed up and turned over repeatedly, so that the whole may be diffused and thoroughly permeated by the sun. With bright sunshine one hour's exposure is sufficient, after which they are ready for the final processes of firing and curling. One of the results of the sunning process is to evaporate in a greater degree the properties that produce nervousness or wakefulness in the tea. As in the case of its botanical classification, much error and confusion for a long time existed with regard to the production of the varieties known to commerce as Green 60 CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. and Black teas. It was claimed at one time that the former were prepared exclusively from the species botanically termed Thea Viridis, and the latter came from Thea Bohea. It was also stated that the difference in color was due to a variation in the soil, climate and methods of cultivation, and again that Black teas were prepared only from plants grown on hilly sites, and Green teas solely from those cultivated on the plains in a soil enriched by manure. These botanical names and groundless conjectures have for a long time misled the public, later and more careful investigation fully dis- proving such erroneous impressions. But while it is now admitted that the greater portion of the respective com- mercial varieties known as Green and Black teas are pre- pared from the corresponding botanical species in their respective districts, it is more from custom, convenience or demand than from any other cause. The manu- facturers cater to the latter, the workmen also preferring to make that kind best with which they have the most experience. Chinese tea men now admitting that both kinds are prepared at the will or pleasure of the manu- facturers in the Black and Green tea districts. At Canton and other treaty ports in China it is an open secret that both varieties are prepared from either species according to the demand, the difference in color being entirely due to the different methods of preparation from the first stage. In the PREPARATION OF GREEN TEAS. When the leaves are brought in from the gardens, they are spread out thinly on flat bamboo trays, where they are allowed to remain exposed from one to two hours, in order to evaporate any superfluous moistures, CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. 6 1 the time depending much on the state of the weather, after which they are removed to terraces or verandahs built expressly for the purpose of firing and curling, and containing from ten to twenty small furnaces about three feet high, each having at the top a series of shallow pans, termed Kuo, built into brick-work, low in front, but rising gradually at the sides and back, having a flue beneath and a fireplace at one end. The pans are heated to a certain degree by a charcoal fire made in the furnaces underneath. Charcoal being used exclusively for the purpose, as smoke of any kind would injure the flavor of the tea. A limited quantity of raw leaves are thrown into the Kuo at a time, rapidly moved about and shaken up with both hands until they become affected by the heat, making a cracking noise and give out considerable vapor, the freshest and juciest cracking first. The operators meantime continue to stir them rapidly as possible with their bare hands until they become too hot to be endured, the object being to expose them equally to the action of the heat, and at the same time prevent them from burning or scorching. When the heat becomes too intense they are lifted rapidly above the Kuo and allowed to fall gradually to cool them, any burned leaves being instantly removed. After being allowed to remain in this state from four to five minutes, during which they become moist and flaccid, they are quickly removed with a shovel resembling a fan and transferred to a long, low table made of split bamboo and covered with matting and surrounded by several Sat- hoos, who divide the leaves among them, each taking as many as he can hold in his hands, rolling them from left to right with a circular motion into the form of a ball, which is compressed and rolled upon the table, to rid them of any excess of sap or moisture, and at the same 62 CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. time curl or twist the leaves. During this process they are frequently shaken out and passed from hand to hand with a rapid motion, until they reach the head workman, who examines them carefully to see if they have attained the requisite twist, after which they are separated and spread out in bamboo trays until the remainder have undergone the same process. A second set of operatives now collect them and turn them over and over, toss and retoss them in the air to a considerable height, while a third keeps fanning them in order that they may cool more speedily and retain their curl longer, those contain- ing the most sap curling quickest, tightest and retaining it the longer. When the firing and curling operations are completed, the leaves are again exposed to the action of the air, so as to admit the passing away of the expressed moisture and at the same time impart a crisp appearance. When a sufficient quantity of leaves has been rolled they are again placed in the Kuosy under which a slow but steady charcoal fire has been kept burning and stirred with a rapid motion by the hands of the Saihoo until they become thoroughly dried and the green color per- manently fixed, that is, until there is no longer any dan- ger of them turning black. At this stage the leaves are of a dull-green color, becoming brighter as they cool, in which state they are termed by the Chinese Mao-cha or '* Cat tea." The next and last process consists of win- nowing or passing the leaves through sieves of varying sizes to free them from stems, dust and other extraneous matter, and separate them into the different kinds of Green Tea known to commerce. After which they are again refired, the coarser leaves once and the finer grades three to four times in order to bring out the color more fully and make them retain their curl longer. In the CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. 63 PREPARATION OF BLACK TEAS. The leaves undergo the same process of evaporation and fermentation as with the green, but for a much longer period. They are spread out thinly on large mats and allowed to lie in this condition for at least twenty-four hours, after which they are gathered up and thrown in the air and allowed to fall back again in order to separate them. They are next turned and returned for a consid- erable time, being slightly beaten or patted with the hands meantime until they become soft and pliable, when they are again heaped and allowed to lay in this state for about an hour, and when examined, at the end of this time they are found to have undergone a slight change, becoming darker in color, moist and flaccid in texture and emitting a sweet, fragrant odor. At this stage they are placed in the Kuos and fired for about five minutes, rolled on bamboo tables and shaken out thinly on sieves placed outside the " hong " and exposed to the oxidiz- ing action of the atmosphere for about three hours, dur- ing which the operatives are employed in going over the sieves, turning and separating the leaves from each other. After the leaves have lost considerable sap and become correspondingly reduced in size they are next removed into the factory and placed a second time in the pans for three or four minutes, rolled as before and put into tubu- lar bamboo baskets, narrow in the middle and wide at both ends, and suspended over charcoal fires for from five to six minutes, during which they are carefully stirred and watched until they begin to assume a dark color, the operations of heating and twisting being repeated from three to four times, the heat being gradually reduced at each operation, and during which the operators make holes with their hands through the centre of the leaves in order to equally diffuse the heat and give vent to any 64 CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. smoke or vapor from the charcoal. They are then covered up, placed aside until they become perfectly dry and their black color firmly established, improving in appearance as they cool. When there is no longer any danger of their becoming green, the final processes of sifting, sorting and grading is performed at the conveni- ence of the workmen. With four Kuos and six Sai-hoos only from 400 to 500 pounds of prepared tea can be cured in a single day, it requiring 400 pounds of raw leaves to produce 100 pounds of cured tea. The leaves of the earlier pickings being smaller, more tender and juicy, the yield is cor- respondingly less, the leaves containing the most sap curling quickest, tightest and retaining it longer. It may here be observed in regard to the preparation of Green and Black teas that the leaves intended for con- version into the latter variety are allowed to lie exposed to the action of the sun and air for a considerably longer time than those of the former, that they are raked and tossed about until they become more soft and pliant, and that they are allowed to ferment longer before firing. And, again, that after firing and curling they are exposed to the oxydizing influence of the atmosphere in a moist state for hours previous to being fired a second time and finally dried in baskets over a slow fire. While the leaves intended for Green teas are immediately fired and curled after being picked, and dried as quickly as pos- sible after the rolling process has been completed. The differences in the methods of preparation are therefore most marked, and satisfactorily accounts for the differ- ence in their color, flavor and aroma, as well as for the effects — nervousness and wakefulness — produced in some constitutions by Green teas, due to the greater amount of sap contained in the leaves. CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. 65 But, for the at one time commonly-received opinion that the distinctive color of Green teas was imparted by curing in copper pans, there is not the slightest founda- tion in fact, since copper is never used for the purpose, repeated experiments by unerring tests having failed to find a single trace of that metal in any Green teas. Later investigations proving that the hue of Green teas is due as much to their manipulation as to the degree of heat at which they are fired. It has been found that at equal temperatures the leaves of both will turn black if allowed to lie as long before or during firing, the green color being retained only by the exces- sive motion, the latter tending to accelerate the power of evaporation of the juices, and which is further augmented by incessant fanning. GRADING AND PACKING. The final grading of Green teas also differs from that of Black, there being two distinct styles or " makes" of the tea — rolled and twisted. They are first separated and then sifted, in which operation four sieves are used, two to separate the small from the large round or rolled leaves, and two for the curled or twisted. After being sorted or separated they are again fired into deeper pans at a much higher temperature, and winnowed while hot in large circular bamboo trays, to free them from any remaining chaff or dust, the choicer grades being hand- picked previous to being sent to the Twa-tu^tia (Tea market), which is held in the nearest town or village to the district of production. The inferior grades are generally disposed of in an unassorted condition to the native factors or foreign merchants, who afterwards sort, grade and pack them fqr export. 66 CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. The grading or classing of Black teas for their first market is performed differently in the different districts. The most common custom, however, is to sort the dried leaves at the Hongs, according to their size, style and quality, by collecting them in heaps or large layers, and rake them down so as to mix them well together and make them uniform in grade and average cost ; the leaves being more often the product of different plantations, and even districts. The product of each plantation is brought by coolies in cotton bags or bamboo baskets to the tea market, and when disposed of are removed to the " Go-downs," or warehouses, situated in the adjacent villages, where the teas of a district are stored until they are disposed of to the native factors or foreign agents, who travel through the country in the interest of com- mission houses or merchants at the treaty ports, and by whom they are again fired, graded and winnowed to free them from any remaining impurities. When the orders are filled the teas are transported across the country on the shoulders of coolies, or sent down by river or canal in "junks" to the shipping ports, the time occupied in transit varying according to means, being usually from six to eight weeks. Previous to being packed for export in the lead-lined chests in which they are received in this country, the teas are again subjected to a still further firing, with the object of totally evaporating any moisture they may have absorbed in transit from the interior or by laying exposed in the storehouses, as well as to better fit them for the long sea voyage, after which the tea is weighed in " catties," and placed in the chests, the packer pressing it down with his hands. When another cattie is put in he steps on top, places his hands behind his back and throwing his head forward goes through a sort of a CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. 67 tread-mill dance, until the leaves are tightly compressed into the smallest possible compass. More tea is then put in and pressed down in the same manner until the chest is filled, when the leaden lid is put on and soldered, the chest being nailed, clamped, matted and rattaned later, numerous hands, men and women, being employed in its final packing. . Before matting a Chinese character termed a " Chop- mark " is placed on the side of each chest, ostensibly to denote the packer or picking, but although the same " crop " or brand is received year after year from the same shipper it does not necessarily follow that the grade or quality will be the same or even equal to that of the preceding ones. The term " chop " in Chinese means contract, and does not, as is claimed, refer to the crop or picking of any par- ticular garden or season. In trade it is applied to a quan- tity of tea frequently composed of the product of differ- ent gardens, or piens (localities) and even districts aver- aged or made uniform in the piens of the Twa-tu-tia by the factors before forwarding to the shipping ports. When a sufficient quantity of a certain specified grade has been secured from several growers to make up a chop, it is carried to a warehouse in the adjacent vil- lage, where it is all mixed together, averaged, refired and packed for the foreign market. The quantity for a chop being selected according to the quality of the leaf and the district producing it, and considering how chops are made up — a few piculs from several gardens, often widely apart, they are wonderfully uniform in grade. Still, although year after year the same " chops " are received from the same shippers, it does not follow that the chops of one year or season will be as fine as those of the pre- ceding or of equal quality. It being by no means an 68 CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. unusual practice for the packers in the interior to leave the chests unmarked until they reach the shipper, who, knowing the chops must be in demand at that particular season in the consuming countries, supplies them to order, or, at least, not to use one of bad repute. The average cost of medium to fine grades of tea is 40 taels (about $20) per picul (i33X pounds) laid down at the port of shipment is as follows at the present time: The refiring, packing, leading, chests, matting and rattaning varying from $3 to $4 per picul more. \T. O I* A. » » 1 1^ I O A. OF X O P* as it occurs in commerce is the dried leaves of the tea-plant, and is generically classified as Green and Black under, which names it is best known to the public. Commercially, they are classed as China, Japan, India, Ceylon, and Java teas, but are again divided into numerous varieties and grades, having terms derived from the districts and localities of production, or indicative of age, form, or quality, from the delicate prod- uct of the young leaf-bud up to that of the large, old, and fully expanded leaf. These numerous appellations which distinguish the commercial qualities of tea being almost entirely of Chinese origin. Tea and China are almost synonymous terms. It is indisputably the " Land of tea." Its cultivation forms the chief industry of that country, and has been the largest contributor to the revenue of the government for centu- ries, its export being the principal feature of all her foreign dealings. The welfare of the inhabitants of her fairest provinces depend on its production. It has been in universal use among them from time immemorial, forming not only the regular beverage of the people, but also administering to the luxury of the epicure. They drink it 70 CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. at all times and under all circumstances from early morn- ing until late at night, in sickness or in health, working or playing, traveling or resting, all business being trans- acted there between two cups of tea. In brief, it is the natural beverage of the country constituting what wine is to the French, beer to the German and ale to the Eng- lish, and but without which no Chinese family could live or thrive. Considering all this, the claim under the circumstances that any other country is the " home of tea," as is attempted at the present time by some English writers, is about as futile and absurd as the endeavor to substitute Americus for Columbus, or Bacon for Shakespeare. And not only is China the original home of tea, but in addi- tion, China Tea is the only true tea, surpassing that of all other countries in every property and quality constituting and distinguishing tea, and possessing certain distinctive characteristics peculiar to and contained in no other variety grown or known. Yet while grown to a greater or less extent all over that vast empire, its cultivation for com- mercial purposes appears to be chiefly confined to the eastern provinces of Che-kiang, Kiang-see, Gan-hwuy and Fo-kien, some little also being produced for export in the western province of Sze-chuan. are produced principally in the provinces of Che-kiang, Gan-hwuy and Kiang-see, and are known to trade- as Sunglos, Moyunes, Hychows, Fychows, Tienkes, Ta'ysh- ings, Pingsueys, Cantons, and Country green teas, district terms and grading in the order named. These varieties being again subdivided into Gunpowders, Imperials, Hysons, Young Hysons, Hyson-Pekoes, and Hyson-Skin — appellations denoting age, size, style, or form of make. CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. 71 Sunglo — Famous in China at one time as the district where Green teas were first produced, and which were for centuries the finest grown in that country. Latterly, however, it has greatly declined as a tea-producing dis- trict, the quality also degenerating at the same time, much of that now sold as " true Sunglo " being only so in name. They are what is known to trade as " Hill " or high-district tea, natural green in color, exceedingly well made and prepared, yielding a rich, straw-colored liquor, clear and sparkling in the cup, fragrant and aromatic in flavor. The infused leaf is small, symmetrical and uni- form to a high degree, in fact almost perfect in shape, an invariable indication of youthfulness, fineness and tender- ness. Mo- Yuen — Known to trade as " Moyune," now pro- duces the bulk of the best Green teas received from China. Grown principally on the plains or lowlands adjacent to Sunglo from which fact they are sometimes termed " Garden teas " in contradistinction to the upland or " hill teas," and to which they are inferior in make, liquor, and flavor. They are of three kinds — " Nankin," " Pakeong," and" Oochaine " — so named from the " piens" or localities in which they are raised. Nankin Moyune — Is the most valuable, intrinsically and commercially, being superior to the others in make, color, draw and drink. The dried leaf is firmly rolled or curled according to " make," rich, natural green in color, and extremely uniform in general appearance. The infusion of the finer grades is light golden in tint, brisk, and pungent in body, and possessing a flavor peculiar to itself, technically termed " toasty." It is deceptive in drink owing to its light color in the cup, the body being full and heavy, the infused leaf is small, but regular and well-shaped and of a light-green hue. 72 CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. Pakeong — Differs from Nankin in many respects, though grown in the same district. The dry leaf is larger and more open, being what is termed 4< loosely made," duller in color and not as highly fired. The finer grades, however, yield a rich, ripe liquor, comparatively light in color and delicate in flavor, but lacking in that " toastiness " for which the former are so much admired. Oochaine — Is a small leaf tea, generally darker in color, heavier in body and more pungent in flavor, but owing to its small size and imperfect preparation not as well appreciated as it deserves. Hy-chows — Though raised in the adjoining district to Moyune are nevertheless much inferior to them in both leaf and liquor. The dry leaf, while firmly made and regular in form, silvery-green in color and considered attractive in appearance, is still very deceptive and lack- ing in cup qualities. The infusion, although darker in color and fairly pungent, is light in body and devoid of fragrance, the infused leaf being dark, coarse and irregular. Fy-chows — Are bold and rough in general appear- ance, dull in color, dark and heavy in liquor, and some- what astringent in flavor, and on the whole an undesir- able sort. Tien-kes — While large and coarse in make are pleasing in the hand, being chiefly sold on style, as they will not stand the cup test in comparison with Moyunes. The liquor is dark and thick, astringent and frequently " smoky " in flavor, due to the high firing in the effort to make them roll or curl tighter. Tai-pingS — Like Tien-kes, look well in the hand, being fairly well-made and stylish-looking, but of a leaden-blue hue, the result of the " facing " or coloring- matter used in their preparation in order to enhance their CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. 73 appearance. The infusion is dark and muddy in the cup, flat and frequently "earthy" in taste, the infused leaf being large, coarse, dark and irregular. Pingsueys — Termed by the Chinese Mien-pan-cha or " Bastard tea," possess no intrinsic value really as a tea, many experts contending that they are not even allied to the tea plant, but prepared from the leaves of some shrub remotely resembling it. The dry leaf is very stylish and firmly made, but of a leaden-blue color and " greasy " in appearance, gypsum and Prussian blue being extensively used in their manipulation. The liquor is dark and heavy, bitterly astringent and "brassy" or metallic in flavor, while the infused leaf is large, coarse and irregular in shape, dark-brown in color, and recognizable from its dissimilarity to the true tea-leaf. Canton — Called by the Chinese Tchaw-cha or " Lie- tea," is another spurious variety, manufactured in that city from " spent " or exhausted tea leaves, that is, from leaves once used and from which the vital properties have been extracted. They are made by first grinding and mixing them with a gluey compound to make them adhere, and then rolled into the form of Imperials and Gunpowders, as they cannot be curled or twisted, after which they are artificially colored or faced with a prepa- ration of Prussian blue, kaolin and tumeric. They are smoothly rolled and leaden-blue in color, having a peculiar greasy external appearance in the hand, due to the mineral matter used in their preparation. They do not possess a single physiological property of tea, yielding only a greenish viscid substance, dark and muddy in color, the so-called leaves disintegrating and settling in a pasty consistency at the bottom of the cup, the liquor being devoid of every semblance of tea. 74 CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. Country Greens — Are uncultivated teas gathered in outlying districts, rough and uncouth in appearance, bitter and astringent in liquor, wild or " grassy " in flavor. The leaves when infurled are exceedingly large, rough and uncouth in the cups, having every appearance of a wild or uncultivated tea-leaf. o* Gunpowder — Termed by the Chinese Choo-cha or " Pearl tea," so named from its small, round and "shotty " form. It is generally prepared from the smallest and youngest leaves of the tea plant, its quality correspond- ing to the picking and district of growth. The product of first crop is sometimes known as " Pinhead," from its extremely small, globular and granulated appearance. That prepared from the second crop is larger and not as hard rolled, while the third and fourth pickings are respectively still larger and more irregular in form, but, while darker and heavier in liquor, they are not near as delicate or fragrant in flavor. Imperial — Derives its trade name from being the make or style of tea used in the Imperial household and the wealthier Chinese. That exported is prepared from the larger and older leaves of the respective pickings and rolled in the same manner as the former, from which fact it is sometimes called " Big Gunpowder" and " Pea-leaf." But while larger and bolder in make it possesses much the same drawing and drinking qualities, excepting that it is heavier and darker in liquor and not as delicate or aromatic in flavor. The true Imperial tea, known in China as " Flower tea," not because it is prepared from the flower or blossom of the tea-plant, as is erroneously supposed, but from its being considered the " perfection of tea." This variety CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. 75 is never exported owing to its limited production and being also very lightly fired in curing, it is very susceptible to moisture, the damp of a sea voyage tending to greatly impair its delicate properties. Young Hyson — Is a corruption of the Chinese term, Yu-he-tsien or " Early spring," from being picked early in the season. In make the leaves of the finer grades are extremely small, firmly, if not artistically twisted, and almost wiry in texture, being prepared from the youngest and tenderest leaves just expanding. The leaves of the later pickings are correspondingly larger and looser in make and appearance, and relatively inferior in drawing and drinking qualities to the earlier pickings. Hyson — Known to the Chinese as He-tsien, " Flour- ishing spring," from being gathered in the full spring- time is a large, loosely-curled leaf, prepared from the older leaves of the respective pickings which can- not from their size and lack of succulence be either rolled or curled. They bear the same relation to Young Hysons that Imperials do to Gunpowder, and preserving the same characteristics in a relatively minor degree. Hyson-Pekoe — Called by the Chinese "Loung-tsien " literally " Tea-of-the-wells-of-the-Dragon," a term used to describe an exceedingly rare, peculiar and expensive variety of green tea, which, owing to its extreme tender- ness and delicacy and very light firing is never exported. It has a small, evenly-curled leaf, rich, natural green in color, with whitish, downy or silvery ends. The infusion is of a pale or light-golden yellow tinge, clear and spark- ling as champagne in the cups and possessing what the connoisseur would term a simply exquisite aroma or " bouquet." 76 CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. Hyson-Skin — Termed by the Chinese Twankay or " Refuse tea," is composed of the largest and oldest leaves, screenings or " fannings " of the foregoing varie- ties, that cannot, owing to their coarse or broken condi- tion, be rolled or curled. It is large, loose and flat in appearance, varying in color, liquor and flavor according to the grade from which it is separated in screening. Many of them, however, draw and drink exceedingly well, making very useful teas for blending purposes. comprise Oolongs, Congous, Souchongs and Scented teas, and are principally produced in the south-eastern provinces of Fo-kien and Kiang-nan. Ooloixg: The term Oolong is derived from the Chinese word Ou-loung, signifying " Green dragon," and is applied to a variety of tea having a small greenish-yellow leaf permeating through it. They are divided into six dif- ferent kinds — Amoys, Foochows, Formosas, Ankois, Saryune, Padrae and Pekoe-Oolong teas, possessing as many distinct flavors and characters caused by the varia- tions in soil, climate and mode of preparation. Amoy Oolongs — Are divided into Kokews, Mohea and Ningyong from the localities where grown, and differ much in size, style and character. Kokew — Is a large, dark, coarse-leaf tea, rough and unsightly in the hand, but pungent and " grippy " in the cup. The poorer grades possess a wild or " herby " flavor — a quality, strange to say, appreciated by some few tea-drinkers, but strongly objected to by the majority of consumers. CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. 77 Mohea — Is a large, light and somewhat "chaffy" leaf tea, light-colored and light-bodied in the cup, but withal smooth and pleasant in flavor. But, although lacking in strength, it is a serviceable tea for blending pur- poses, particularly in combination with a heavy Congou or Assam, in the proportion of one of the latter to four parts Mohea, being too thin when used alone. Ning-yongs — Are light in weight, greenish-yellow in color and stylish-looking in the hand, though not well made or twisted. They are also very pleasing in the cup, possessing a sort of " hickory-nut " flavor for which they are much admired, but are thin in body and lacking in " snap." It is contended by some experts that if this variety were converted into a green tea it would rank with a light drawing Moyune in drinking qualities. Amoy at one time was the greatest Tea mart in the world, exporting as much as 500,000 half-chests per annum, but which has now fallen to less than 50,000, due in part to careless cultivation and indifferent curing. The lower grades are stemmy, dusty and frequently adul- terated with spurious or exhausted leaves. Many of the finer grades, however, still turn out splendidly in the cup, rivalling the lower grades of Foochow and For- mosa, being frequently faced and sold for the latter when these grades are scarce or high. It does not require an expert, however, to detect the substitution, as they are totally devoid of the fragrant and " nosey " flavor that so distinguish the latter. Foo-chow Oolongs — Are produced in the province of Fo-kien, and are, without exception, the truest and finest variety of the genus tea grown in any country, China not excepted. They are usually put up in " chops," quantities bearing the brand or chop-mark of the grower or packer, which are again divided. " Lines," termed in 78 CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. trade, "Firsts," "Seconds," "Thirds," "Fourths," and sometimes " Fifths," denoting the various pickings and grading in the order named. The dried leaf of the " Firsts " or finer grades is black and almost " silky " in texture, exceedingly well twisted and crispy, but not brittle, yielding rather than breaking when pressed in the hand. While the infusion is dark- golden in color, rich, round and full bodied, very mellow and fragrant ia flavor, the infused leaf medium in size, very regular in form and of a rich brown color. The " Seconds " are somewhat larger in leaf, looser in make, not being quite as finely or evenly twisted but possessing excellent " cup qualities," being the favorite with consumers who prefer full body, to delicate flavor. The " Thirds " are still looser in make, bolder in style and darker in liquor, heavier in body, and though not near as high or fragrant in flavor are, nevertheless useful and serviceable, particularly when they are composed of what is known as " high district teas." The "Fourths and Fifths," when there are any, are correspondingly inferior in quality, the dried leaf of the latter being especially large, coarse and rough in appearance, brittle and chaffy in the hand, and frequently dusty or stemmy, dark in draw but thin in body, lacking in flavor, deteriorating rapidly after infusion, and devoid of the high character that so distinguishes the former grades of this variety. The principal "chops" now known to trade comprise the " Tong-mow," " Tong-lee," " Tong-shing," " Chun-fah," " Chun-fat," " Sun-kee," " Cheong-kee," " Com-wo " and " Com-wo-kut chops." Formosa Oolongs — Also known to trade as " Tam- suis," from being shipped from that port, are unique in leaf, and flavor differing widely in character, possessing a rich, natural bouquet entirely unknown to any other variety. CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. 79 The dried leaf is dark greenish-yellow in color, evenly and artistically curled, crisp and " crapy " in texture, small, shapely, uniform, and green when infused, gener- ally " tipped " with a brownish edge, the result of fer- mentation. The liquor is bright, clear, and golden in the cup, body round and mellow, ripe and rich and aromatic in flavor. A really choice Formosa tea when drawn will fill a room with a delightful aroma peculiar to itself, difficult to describe, but variously pronounced as "jessamine," "cowslip" or "primrose" odor, but still totally unlike that of any other plant or flower in the vegetable kingdom, having a " Formosa flavor " pure and simple, attributed to the soil, and absorbed by the plants during growth, and to preserve which it has to be con- tinually cultivated in new places. Unlike other varieties the later pickings of Formosa teas are heavier and stronger than the earlier gatherings ; though sweet and fragrant, are light-bodied and evanescent. The medium and lower grades are dark-brown in color, somewhat rough in style, not being as well cured or curled as the finer sorts. The infusion is also darker in draw, fuller in body, but not near as fragrant or aromatic in flavor, the finer grades improving as it cools, the former deteriorating under the same circumstances and revealing a slightly " herby " taste. Formosa Oolongs are cultivated by native farmers who have small gardens, some of whom do not raise over one hundred pounds at a picking, but have from three to five pickings in a season. Unlike other varieties, the first picking of Formosa is the poorest, the second crop being better and the last or autumn crop is best of all. This inversion is due to climatic causes, the island being visited with heavy rains during August, after which the warm weather of September causes the plant to grow CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. luxuriantly, filling the leaf with sap, added to which the moisture of the atmosphere causes the leaves to ferment quickly during the process of curing, allowing the manufacturers to cure the leaf without exposing it to the sun. The great strength of the leaf enables the manu- facturer to fire the leaves longer ; the longer they are fired the longer they will keep, the third crop, or " Autumn teas," that have been well-fired improving with time after exposure to the air, the action of the atmosphere bringing out the fragrance of the tea, the toasty flavor at the same time disappearing. Ankoi-Oolongs — Are a doubtful species of the genus tea, said to be prepared from the leaves of a shrub closely resembling yet widely distinct in structure and charac- ter from those of the true plant, found growing in a wild state on the range of mountains known as the Anke hills, separating the district of Amoy from Foo-chow. The leaf, in a dried state, is rough, coarse and reddish- brown in color, poorly curled and ragged in general appearance. In the infusion it is dark-brown, large and irregular in form, notably dissimilar from that of a gen- uine tea-leaf in all respects, while the liquor is dark-red, oily or " earthy," and bitterly astringent to the taste, qual- ities contracted from the presence of oxides in the soil in which they grow. Intrinsically, this variety possesses no value really as tea, bearing the same relation to Oolongs that Pingsueys do to Green teas, and although known to the Chinese as " Bastard tea," it is extensively used by them in the reduction of Amoys, to which it imparts a wild, rank or weedy flavor readily detected in the cup. Padrae-Oolong — Is a scarce sort prepared in the Bohea district from a species that is unsuited for conversion into plain Oolong. The leaf is long, black, CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. 8 1 flattish, but finely made, after the manner of a Souchong, and closely approximating to the latter in color, liquor and flavor. They are chiefly exported to the Russian market, where they are much esteemed for their unique but superb drinking qualities. Pekoe-Oolongs — Are what is known to trade as a " Made tea," that is, prepared from leaves which, from their nature or quality, cannot be converted into an Oolong or Green tea, or from leaves spoiled by imperfect fermentation, smoke or fire in curing, flavored or scented with Pekoe in order to disguise or conceal their defects. The dried leaf is generally long, flat and very black, being over-fired, while the liquor is dark-wine color, sharp, pungent, but burnt to the taste, and approaching to that of Tienke green in flavor. Saryune — Is a bold, dark-leaved variety, rather loosely made and curled. The liquor is heavy, dark, rich and pungent, brisk, but somewhat burnt in flavor, the result of too high firing. The infused leaf is medium in size, regular in form, dark -brown in color, with darker edges, approximating to that of a Congou leaf in color and style. CONGOU, SOUCHONG AND SCENTED TEAS, known to trade in this country as " English Breakfast teas," from having at one time formed the staple shipment to that country, are produced in the province of Kiang- see, and are a distinct variety, differing in color, liquor and flavor from the Oolong sorts. They are cultivated chiefly on the .# commanding as high as fifteen dollars per pound in the home market. Brick Tea — Is composed of the old leaves, stems, siftings and sweepings of the Chinese tea hongs, ground fine, moistened and compressed into shapes somewhat larger than regular building bricks. It has nothing to recommend it as a tea, being sold chiefly to the Mongols, CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. 95 Tartars and other tribes of Central Asia, among whom it also serves as a currency. Tablet Tea — Is a " new make " of tea recently intro- duced in China, appearing for the first time in the trade returns last year. It is prepared by machinery from the best quality of tea-dust, formed by pressure alone into small cakes in the form of tablets perfectly hard and solid, resembling chocolate in make and appearance. It is not, like " brick tea," moistened by steam before being compressed, and the flavor is not in any way impaired by the process of manufacture. One of the chief advantages claimed for this form of tea is that, being subjected to heavy hydraulic pressure, all the cells are broken and the properties of the tea are more easily and com- pletely extracted by the boiling water, thus effecting a considerable saving in the quantity required for a given amount of the beverage. Its principal market is Russia, which took from China last year over 500,000 pounds in the form of tablets. Medicine Tea— Is prepared from the coarse leaves and stems of the ordinary tea plant, ground and mixed with medicinal herbs, packed in bundles and used for medicinal purposes among Asiatic tribes. Log-tea — Is also prepared from the ordinary teas of commerce. It is a very inferior grade, prepared from the stalks, packed in the shape of logs, weighing from 8 to 10 pounds, and wrapped in the leaves of the bambusa, and packed in this manner from motives of economy and freight. The total production of tea in China is unknown, and can at best be only roughly estimated, and while we have no certain means of ascertaining the quantity consumed in that country itself, fair conclusion may be drawn from the data at hand. Taking the population at 400 millions 9 6 CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. and considering that the use of tea is universal among its inhabitants, an average of five pounds per capita would not be an overestimate, making a total of two billion pounds alone for home consumption. Again averaging the product at 100 pounds of cured tea per acre and the total area under tea cultivation at 20 million acres, if, therefore, we admit the home consumption of tea in China to be two billion pounds, we cannot but be sur- prised at the relatively small quantity which is exported from that country. According to the latest statistics, we find that the total exports to all countries from China does not exceed 200 million pounds, which is less than one-tenth of the total production of that country. Tea is grown for commercial purposes all over the Japanese islands, from Kiusiu in the south to Niphon in the north, but both in quantity and quality of their product the central provinces of Hondo are the finest, particularly that produced in the districts on the coast provinces of the interior sea. The tea soil of Japan is described as slate atmospherically dissolved with gypsum and phosphoric acid, produced by manuring. The system of cultivation and methods of preparation do not differ ma- terially from those of the Chinese, the first picking, which is the best, occurring about the beginning of May, the second a month later, the third is often, however, omitted altogether, in order not to injure the plants. In Japan the raw leaves are generally sold to the exporters, by whom they are prepared and converted into the several descrip- tions known to commerce. When a sufficient quantity has been accumulated they are carried to the hong or " drying house " and first placed in large bamboo baskets, in which they are subjected to a CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. steam bath for about a minute, after which process they are spread out in the open air to cool and dry thoroughly, previous to being fired and curled. Only about five pounds of the leaves are put in the pans at a time for manipulation, the process being identical with that of China, with the exception that they are finally dried in bamboo baskets suspended over the furnaces by cords from the ceiling for about fifteen minutes. During this time they are gently agitated by the hands of the operators in order to diffuse the heat and more thoroughly dry them. They are then removed by a dextrous motion with fan-like scoops and tossed in the air to free them from dust and stems, and afterwards picked over by women and children before packing in the lead-lined chests for export. In color, flavor and character, Japan teas are totally distinct from any and all other varieties, the finer grades being exceedingly delicate, rich and peculiar to themselves. They yield a light-colored liquor, very fragrant in flavor, but apt to deceive the casual drinker, as after continued use they are found to possess greater strength and pun- gency than most China teas, their effect on the nervous system being very soon perceptible. They are classed commercially as Yama-shiro, Uji, Kioto, Yedo, Eisyie, Suringar, Hatchoji, Nagahama, Nagasaki, Tosia and Bancha, grading in value in the order named, and con- verted into Pan-fired, Sun-dried, Basket-fired, Nibs and Siftings, with occasionally small lots of Pekoe, Congou, Oolong, Imperial, Gunpowder and Young Hyson makes. Pan-fired — The finer grades have a long, well-curled, natural green leaf, presenting an unbroken appearance, sinking immediately to the bottom of the cup on infusion, uncurling rapidly and showing more or less perfect leaves