Thea.] THE HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINS. . 109 
economical purposes. In like manner some species of Camellia, as C. drupifera, in 
Cochin-china, and. C. oleifera, extensively cultivated in China, yield, especially the 
latter, a valuable esculent oil. Camellia Japonica is chiefly known as one of the most 
ornamental of plants; but C. Sasangua is said by Thunberg to have leaves with a 
very agreeable odour, which are sometimes mixed with tea to improve its flavour. 
So also. the Nepal Camellia, C. kissi, is conspicuous for the oiliness of its seed, and for 
- the leaves acquiring on being dried the peculiar fragrance of tea. ( Wallich. As. Res. xiii. 
p. 429.) The seeds of Cochlospermum Gossypium are surrounded with cotton of a soft 
silky nature, and the tree yields the gum called kuteera, which in the north-western 
provinces of India is substituted for tragacanth: a decoction of the roots of C. insigne 
is supposed in Brazil to have the power of healing internal abscesses. (Lindl. Nat. 
Orders, p. 44.) , . 
But of all those which belong to this family, the Tea-Panr is alone of any commer- 
cial importance, but this in so pre-eminent a degree as to render it a most desirable 
acquisition to other countries. An inquiry into its history and habits therefore becomes 
interesting, that we may ascertain whether it be so local and peculiar in its nature, as to 
render futile any attempt to introduce it elsewhere. To do this satisfactorily, it will be 
necessary to enter into some detail, respecting the varieties or species which afford the 
different teas of commerce, the extent of their distribution, the climate, soil and 
culture, which they prefer, as well as the plants with which they are associated, either 
in a wild or cultivated state. i 
_) The tea-plant has been supposed to be indigenous in the mountains which separate 
China from the Burmese. territories ; but we are informed by Dr. Abel that he found 
a small shrub, of what is commonly considered the green variety, apparently in its 
natural habitat, and near no plantation, at See-chou, in the province of Kiang-see 
about N. lat. 26°, where the hills were covered with pines. Thunberg states that 
tea grows every where in Japan, both naturally (sponte) and cultivated, on the margins 
of fields. One species, so named, is described by Loureiro, as found both cultivated 
and in a wild state, in the northern provinces of Cochin-china; and the same author 
describes 7. oleosa as common about Canton, both wild and cultivated. . To the kind- 
ness of Mr. Reeves, I am indebted for the information that there is a species of Thea, 
growing wild in the neighbourhood of Macao, which is much larger in the leaf than 
either the black or. green tea plants. af f-gi- sail 7 
_ But it has been made a question, whether the varieties of tea known in commerce 
are due to difference in species, or only to differences in soil, climate, culture, and 
mode of preparation. The latter appears to be the opinion of Kempfer, Thunberg, 
and Siebold, as they admit of but one species of Zhea, and is that now generally 
entertained; Thunberg notices two varieties of Thea bohea, but says they can hardly be 
distinguished into species.  Siebold states that the variety viridis of T. chinensis, D.C.., 
is a shrub every where cultivated in Japan; but the variety bohea he had only seen in 
gardens, introduced from China. From this fact one would be inclined to conclude 
that 
