39 



Siebold places tlie Sinensis under the MonadxlpMa polyandria^ and 

 to tlie natural family of tlie CameUiacew. The tea shrub in Japan is 

 an evergreen, from four to six feet high, with a straight stem and numer- 

 ous irregular branches. Growing wild, the shrub will reach a height of 

 fifteen to twenty feet. The stem is of a bright gray color, the branches 

 chestnut, and the wood hard, with a |)eculiar odor. On the young' 

 branches are the short, soft, green, small leaves, arranged in intervals, 

 of an elliptical shape, with teeth on the borders, resembling closely the 

 leaves of the wild rose. The color is a bright green, of diflerent shades, 

 deepening as the season advances. Between the leaves sprout the 

 blossoms, which are at first of a rose color, but in the course of their 

 development assume lighter shades, and finally, when full blown, are 

 of the color of the ordinary tea rose. "When these flowers fade away 

 they leave a small fruit, which contains the seeds. Owing to the great 

 quantity of oil contained in these seeds their preservation is difticnlt. 

 All the new iilants at Mr. Schnell's plantation are raised from seeds, 

 which are planted in rows from four to six inches deep, in a manner 

 similar to that in which beans are usually planted ; but it is i)robable 

 that out of the seeds planted in each hill, not more than one or two will 

 sprout, owing to the decay produced by the excessive quantity of oil 

 they contain. The proper time for planting is stated to be in Novem- 

 ber or December, when the sprout will ap])ear in about thirty days. By 

 the ensuing May the plant reaches a height of about fourteen inches, 

 when the perfect and tender leaves are stripped off' and placed under 

 immediate manipulation. They are first init in a large copi)er pan and 

 roasted, then placed in baskets and shaken and swung in the wind 

 until they are dried of the moisture that has been exuded by the heat, 

 then roasted again, then rolled in the palms of the hand to separate the 

 leaves and prevent their crumbling into powder ; then dried again in 

 the baskets by shaking and swinging, and then put in jars, when they 

 are ready for market. The black teas are roasted three times, the green 

 teas but once or twice. Every year the trees or shrubs are trimmed 

 down to a height of about three feet ; after having passed that height, 

 and when properly taken care of, they will produce good crops for upward 

 of thirty years. It is necessary that the plant should have the morning- 

 sun and be on the south side of a hill, or the leaves will become yellow 

 and the tea be inferior. Mr. Schnell has about one hundred and twenty 

 acres of good agricultural land ready for planting, and about four hun- 

 di^ed acres of rough land, wdiich he proposes to clear as soon as it ciiiU 

 be brought into requisition. The only question as to the success of tea 

 culture in California is, whether labor can be obtained at sufficiently 

 low rates to render the busmess profitable. 



THE MENHADEN FISHEEIES OF LONG ISLAND. 



Menhaden is the name of a peculiar species of fish that come in vast 

 shoals in the spring of the year into the bays at the east end of Long- 

 Island for the purpose of spawning. At that stage, however, they are 

 generally in poor condition, and yield but little oil. The fish is not for 

 eathig, and the business of catching is to render the menhaden into oil 

 and manure. From estimates furnished by the principal fishermen en- 

 gaged in the menhaden fishery, the number taken during the past season 

 is put down at 07,500,000. In addition the shore seines and pounds took 

 5,500,000, of which more than one-half were sold to farmers to be applied 

 to the laud for manure, while the remainder were taken to factories to 



