38 Transactions of the 



their first crop of leaves. They are seldom transplanted, but 

 sometimes fom- or six plants are put close together, so as to form 

 a fine bush. After growing seven or ten years, they are cut down, 

 in order that the numerous young shoots which then spring out 

 may afford a more abundant supply of leaves. In some districts 

 the bushes grow unrestrained ; in others, they are regularly pruned 

 to keep them low. 



A plantation of tea-plants is said to look like a garden of goose- 

 berry bushes. 



The season for gathering the leaves varies in different districts, 

 but the principal leaf-harvest ends in May or June. They are 

 generally gathered at three successive seasons. The youngest 

 and earliest leaves are the most tender and delicate, and give 

 the highest flavoured teas ; the second and third gathering are 

 more bitter and woody, and yield less soluble matter to water. 



Black tea and green tea are obtained from the same shrub, the 

 difference between the two varieties lying solely in the mode of 

 their preparation. In the green teas the leaves only are taken, 

 being nipped off above the foot-stalk or petiole, while in black teas 

 the petiole of the leaf is always collected. Thus black tea contains 

 much of the woody fibre, while green tea is exclusively the fleshy 

 part of the leaf itself, which is one good reason why green tea 

 should be dearer than black. 



Such are the pains taken to ensure the excellence of the finest 

 sorts, that for two or three weeks before the harvest commences, 

 the collectors, who are trained to this business from a very early 

 age, are prohibited from eating fish or other kinds of food reckoned 

 unclean, lest by their breath they should contaminate the leaves. 

 They are also made to take a bath two or three times a day, and 

 not even allowed to gather the leaves with the naked fingers, but 

 always with gloves. 



There are several accounts of the manner in which black and 

 green teas are prepared, the most reliable being that of Mr 

 Fortune, from whom we learn, says Professor Johnson in the 

 ' Chemistry of Common Life,' — 



First, That in the process of drying, the leaves are roasted 

 and scorched in such a way as to bring about many chemical 

 changes within the substance of the leaves themselves. The 

 result of these changes is to produce the varied flavours, odours, 

 and tastes, by which different varieties are more or less distin- 

 guished. 



Second, That the leaves are converted respectively into green 

 and black teas, thus causing the different colours of these two 

 varieties. 



