XLIV REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. 



As further evidence that tea can be profitably grown in the United 

 States, capitalists are already making preparations to beg-in the work 

 in certain parts of the South on a more or less extensive scale. A 

 company with a capital of $50,000 is being organized, and will endeavor 

 to secure a location having soil and climatic conditions adapted to the 

 growth of tea, and where labor, such as Dr, Shepard utilizes, can be 

 secured. 



From what has already been accomplished, it has been shown that a 

 good grade of tea can be grown and put on the market in bulk at a 

 cost not exceeding 15 cents per pound. Under average conditions an 

 acre will yield 400 pounds of marketable tea, and this, at 15 cents per 

 pound, would uiake the expense of growing it $60 per acre. The tea 

 should sell in bulk for at least 30 cents per pound, and the profit on 

 this basis would be 100 per cent. Besides the cost of marketing, 

 however, there are other expenses to be considered, namely, the salary 

 of a superintendent and the interest of the money invested in the 

 plant, which would, of course, cut down the profits. 



From the foregoing, it seems that the commercial possibilities of tea 

 production in this country can no longer be questioned, but there are 

 still many points to be settled, especially as regards the improvement 

 of the product. During the past year experiments have been under- 

 taken for the purpose of determining the efi'ect of irrigation on tea 

 and of shading the plants from the direct rays of the sun. Work has 

 also been inaugurated with a view of reducing the cost of the prepara- 

 tion of tea, especially the green tea. The experiments in irrigating 

 and shading, which will be continued, have given promising results, 

 the shaded plants giving nearly double the yield of the unshaded, and 

 a much finer grade of leaf. 



In the future special attention will be given to the manufacture of 

 pure green tea. This subject is now claiming the attention of both 

 inventors and planters in the British colonies, as they begin to realize 

 the hopelessness of bringing American tea drinkers to use the black 

 tea instead of the green. The manufacture of green tea in the United 

 States can be made successful only by the invention of machinery 

 which shall take the place of expensive hand labor and prevent the 

 waste which accompanies the latter. These questions are all being 

 investigated by the Department and, in addition, it is giving special 

 attention to a study of the conditions in various parts of the South 

 with reference to determining the localities where tea can be grown to 

 best advantage. Experiments have been inaugurated by some of the 

 experiment stations and plants distributed with a view of putting the 

 work on a substantial basis. Much need is felt for young men capa- 

 ble of taking up this important problem, and it would be well for the 

 agricultural colleges of the South to bear this matter in mind. 



