— 214 — 



me') of 1836: „There (near I-bang) is a tree called the tea-king, singular, 

 ,,as being much bigger than any other tree at the hills. It was planted 

 ,,by K'ung-Ming; even to the présent day the aborigines worship it." In 

 a subséquent chapter we will see that Bourne's plant, as well as those 

 samples collected by Henry at I-bang, niight be reckoned among the 

 Indochinese tea types. 



A true Chinese type, however, is represented in Henry's herbarium 

 numbers 9722 and 10377^ found in awild stateona high mountain 

 to the South of Meng-tze (between the Red River and the French frontier), 

 „above suspicion, coming from virgin forest". 2) Henrv is very emphatic 

 in this contention, and says he never found wild tea in Hu-peh, nor in 

 Sze-chuen. As the matter is of especial importance with respect to the 

 origin, hitherto unknown, of the China tea plant, 1 hâve thought it necessary 

 to authenticate it by asking Dr. Henry himself, and this highly deserving 

 expert of the Chinese flora wrote me the following, dd. Dec. ll**^, 1915. 



„My 10377 A was collected by myself on a huge mountain peak, 

 „which we calIed the Feng Chen Lin great peak, because there was a 

 „tiny village at its base, where the chief of the «native state" lived, called 

 „Feng Chên Lin village. This «native state" was the Litno state, and the 

 „country was south of the Red River (due south of Mengtze), extremely 

 „mountainous, with only a few aborigines hère and there in the valleys. 

 „The great peak and ail the ranges connected wilh it were densely 

 „C0VERED WITH VIRGIN FOREST, containing immense trees, 20 feet or 

 „more in girth often. 



„No. 9722 was collected by my native collector, south of the Red 

 „River from Manmei [?] in virgin forest at 7000 feet, in the country to 

 „the West of the last district."— 



„The virgin forest is far distant and in a totally différent région from 

 ,,1-bang where tea is cultivated." 



I think this very positive testimony cannot leave any doubt, especially 

 since it appears from it that Henry has found the plant himself. On 

 examination we may consider it as a gemiine wild tea plant of a large- 

 leaved Chinese type. In the fifth chapter we will once more deal with it. 



Concerning Tong-king and the lower course of the Red River, 

 Lefèvre-Pontalis says that a coarse tea is manufactured on the hills 

 round about the delta. „L'arbuste qui le produit est quelquefois cultivé. 

 „PIus souvent, comme sur le mont Bavi [westward to Ha-noi] il pousse 

 „à letat sauvage, au milieu des broussailles." Again we hâve to face 

 the possibility that this wild state is of a récent date, and the only firm fact 

 is the présence of the tea plant. Indeed, Guigon 3) too makes référence to tea 

 cultivation west of Ha-noi, viz. in Son-tay and Hong-Hoa ; further, with the 

 Muongs (a mountain tribe), and at Ninh-Binh and Dock Minh. At Lock-Nam, 

 according to this author, tea is grown on an area of nearly 1000 hectares. 



') Prof. De Groot informs me that this is a Chinese work of niany volumes. 



2) A. Henry 1897, p. 100. 



3) C.-A. GuiGON 1901, p. 201 etc. 



