" The Cup that cheers hut not inehr latest 505 



the praises of the new beverage, and while the one employed 

 this excellent and beneficial gift of nature to fill the treasury 

 by the imposition of a tax, the others chanted the praise of 

 the plant in their hymns and songs, and thus, probably with- 

 out intending it, contributed to increase the revenue of the 

 Government. 



'' Tea," writes one of the older Chinese authors, '' soothes 

 the spirit, softens the heart, dispels languor, restores from 

 fatigue, stimulates the intellect, and arouses from indolence ; 

 it makes the body lighter and more brisk, and quickens the 

 faculty of observation." 



Tlie tea plant first attracted the attention of Chinese 

 naturalists in Wu-yi, or, as the English term it, the Bohea * 

 district, which enjoys to this day a great reputation for the 

 exquisite quality which grows on its hills. 



At present the cultivation of tlie tea plant extends north- 

 ward as far as Tang-tschao, in the province of Shantung, 

 southward as far as Canton and Kuang-si, and westward as 

 far as the province of Yun-nan. As, moreover, the tea plant 

 likewise abounds in Japan, the Corea, and the Loo-Choo 

 Islands, as also in Chusan, Tonquin, and Cochin China, we 

 may assume that it flourishes over about 28° of latitude and 



during his residence in China, had learned its invakiable properties. The Japanese, 

 however, do not drink their tea as an infusion, but grind the leaves into powder, 

 pour hot water upon them, and stir them with a bamboo-stick tiU they are thoroughly 

 mingled together, when they swallow the decoction and the powder together, as is 

 done with coffee in some parts of Asia. 



* The term " Bohea " is in fact only a corruption of the Chinese Wu-yi, which 

 again is derived from Wu-i-kien, a well-known Chinese divinity. 



