NAT. ORDER. THEACEjE. 91 



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are then taken up, and the leaves j^ickecl off. The leaves are not 

 collected from the cultivated plant till it is three years old; and 

 after growing seven or ten years it is cut down, in order that the 

 numerous young shoots may afford a greater supjjly of leaves. 



The leaves should be dried as soon as possible after they are 

 collected ; and for this purpose Koempfer relates, that jniblic build- 

 ings are erected, containing from five to ten, and even twenty 

 small furnaces, about three feet high, each having at the toji a 

 large iron pan. There is also a long table covered with mats, on 

 which the leaves are laid, and rolled by workmen who sit round it. 

 The iron pan being heated to a certain degree by a fire made in 

 the furnace beneath, a few pounds of the leaves ai-e put upon the 

 pan, and continually turned and shifted by the hands, till they be- 

 come too hot to be endured ; they are then thrown upon the mats 

 to be rolled, which is done between the palms of the hands, after 

 which they are cooled as speedily as possible. 



It is desirable that all the moisture of the leaves should be 

 completely dissipated, and their twisted form preserved, for which 

 purpose the above process is repeated several times with the same 

 leaves, but less heat is employed than at first. The Tea thus 

 manufactured is afterwards sorted, according to its kinds or good- 

 ness. Some young, tender leaves are never rolled, and are im- 

 mersed in hot water before they are dried. 



From this account of the Japanese method of curing their 

 Teas, it appears that a prompt and complete exsiccation is the 

 chief art employed. We suspect, however, that the Chinese are 

 more indebted to art than to nature for the various kinds of Tea 

 with which they supply this country. Many of their Teas are so 

 widely different in taste, odor, color, and form, that instead of ap- 

 pearing to be the leaves of the same species of plant, they are so 

 much disguised as scarcely to manifest any resemblance to each 

 other. It is true that some species and varieties of the Tea, as 

 appears by Loureiro, are naturally more odorous than others; yet 



