^-^4 POLYANDRIA. 



tern, has considered the closest adhesion of tlie -'.n- 

 therae only as a union of five distinct antlierae, I con- 

 ceive, that, without departing from his own principles, 

 the Tea Tree may be kept here with stricter propriety 

 than in the first Order. 



This plant is a native of China and Japan, and in 

 those countries only cultivated for use. In China it 

 is cultivated in the open fields, in eveiy latitude be- 

 tween Canton and Pekin ; but the best tea is said to 

 grow in a mild and temperate climate in the country 

 about Nankin. It delights in sloping banks of hills 

 facing the south, especially in tlie neighbourhood of 

 rivers and rivulets. 



In Japan the tea which is most esteemed grows in 

 the neighbourhood of a small town called Udsi, situ- 

 ated near the sea. Here is a celebrated mountain of 

 the same name, the whole of which is occupied in the 

 culture of the tea for the Emperor's use. This moun- 

 tain is entirely surrounded with a wide ditch to keep 

 out both men and beasts. The plantations are made 

 in regular rows, and when the leaves are gathered, 

 the men employed lor that purpose wear gloves, and 

 are obliged to bathe two or three times a day, lest the 

 delicate flavour of the leaf should be injured in ga- 

 tliering. 



In other parts of this country the tea is usually 

 sown in the month of February, in the borders of 

 fields which are cultivated with other produce ^ not in 

 a continued hedge, but at moderate intervals, both 

 that its shade may not be injurious to the general 



