92 NAT. ORDER. THEACE^. 



we cannot suppose tliat nature ever made them totally difTerent. 

 The same observation will be equally applicable to the various 

 flavors and colors of this exotic. We maj' therefore infer that the 

 Chinese method of curing their fine Teas is not quite so sijnple as 

 that practiced by the Japanese. 



Tea was first introduced into Europe by the Dutch East 

 India Compan.y, and into England about the year 1666, when it 

 sold for sixty English shillings per pound, and for many years its 

 great price limited its use only to the most opulent. Its use was 

 introduced into this country at the time of its settlement by our 

 forefathers, and has now become a common beverage of both the 

 rich and poor ; and its effects have been variously represented ; — 

 but as to enter fully upon this subject would fnr exceed the limits 

 of this work, we shall refer the reader for a more full account to 

 Dr. Lettsom's elaborate history of the Tea tree ; and conclude 

 this article with a transcript of its medicinal powers, as given by 

 Dr. Cullen, whose opinion in this place cannot fail to be well re- 

 ceived. 



" With respect to its qualities as a medicine, that is, its power 

 of changing the state of the human body, we might suppose it as- 

 certained by the experience of its daily use ; but from the univer- 

 sality of this use in very different conditions of the plant, and in 

 every possible condition of the persons emjiloying it, the conclu- 

 sions drawn from its effects must be very precarious and ambigu- 

 ous, and we must attempt by other means to ascertain its qualities 

 with more certainty. 



" To this purpose, it appears from Dr. Smith's experiments, 

 that an infusion of green Tea has the effect of destroying the sen- 

 sibility of the nerves, and the irritability of the muscles ; and from 

 the experiments of Dr. Lettsom, It appears that green Tea gives 

 out. In distillation, an odorous water, which Is powerfully narcotic. 

 That the recent plant contains such an odorous narcotic power, is 

 not to be doubted ; for we find that the Chinese take great jialns 



