98 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



serious washing of the soil and the consequent leacliing out of fertil- 

 izing elements. 



There are now practically 100 acres in the tea gardens at Summer- 

 ville, the various gardens being considerably scattered in order to 

 obtain definite facts in regard to the effects of different soils, methods 

 of cultivation, etc. Much attention has been given to testing teas 

 from different regions, the object being to determine the varieties 

 which give the most satisfactory results. Since the larger portion of 

 the gardens has come into full bearing much detailed information 

 has been given to work wliich would determine the best possible 

 methods of reducing the cost of production. Careful attention has 

 been paid to all the details connected with the picking of the tea, 

 pruning, fertilization, cultivation, etc. By such methods it has been 

 practical)le to essentially reduce the cost of the different operations 

 during the past two years, and of course this will add to the profits of 

 the industry. In addition to careful details which have been followed 

 in the field, much attention has l>een given to the improvement of 

 factory methods with a view to the production of a better article. 

 New machinery has from time to time been added, with the result that 

 the increased yield has been handled quite satisfactorily. By means 

 of apparatus, devised for the most part by Dr. Shepard himself, green 

 teas of good qualit}^ are now being made. It has been found practi- 

 cable also during the past year to materially improve the finish of the 

 tea through knowledge gained in connection with the handling of the 

 product. With a view to obtaining some infoi-nuition that would be 

 of value in connection with the handling of tea, some special studies 

 on fermentation were made during the year. This work was carried 

 on by Dr. Rodney II. True, and some interesting results were obtained. 

 It is too early yet to make any definite announcements in regai'd to 

 what has been accomplished in this direction, but the results were of 

 such a nature as to give promise of much encouragement for the future. 



From the outlook at the present time the yield of dried tea from the 

 Summerville gardens will amount to about 9,000 ijounds for the year. 

 This is about double the yield of the preceding year, and shows that 

 the gardens are rapidly coming into bearing, and that with no set- 

 backs the yield will steadily increase for another year or two. Owing 

 to the encouraging outlook at Summerville, a tea plantation has been 

 started by private individuals near Charleston, on lands formerly 

 used for the growing of rice. The experiments at Summerville have 

 shown conclusively that the tea plant would, in all likelihood, succeed 

 on such soil, especially as water for irrigation purposes is readily 

 available. The great advantages to be found here lie in the fact that 

 no expense is involved in the matter of removing heavy timber. At 

 Summerville, when the earlier gardens were put out, the expense of 

 clearing the grounds was from $300 to $400 per acre, making the cost 

 for all preparation exceedingly heavy. About 250 acres have been 

 put out on the Charleston plantation, and more will be planted as 

 rapidly as the plants are avaiUxble. 



One rather serious drawback to the extension of the tea gardens is 

 the difficulty of obtaining, without very heavy expense, proper tea 

 seed. Tea seed at the present time costs from 140 to $50 a bushel, 

 and it must nearl}- all be imported. Some of the best and strongest 

 tea plants have been grown from tea seed produced in this country, 

 but of course the production of such seed is limited, owing to the fact 

 that seed-bearing plants are scarce. 



