287 



United Statks Steamship Colorado, 



Yokohama, Japan, May 17, 1872. 



Sir: * * * . * 



The tea district of this province (Suruga) is about twenty miles nearly west from 

 Shimidze. A tea merchant from Shidzaoka, (a city about ten miles from the bay,) who 

 receives his tea from many plantations in the neighborhood, was our guide, and took 

 great pains to give us all the infoi-mation iu his power. The tea of this province, 

 which is said to be among the best of any iu Japau, amounts yearly to twenty thou- 

 sand piculs, nearly one-sixth of the whole production. The seeds are ]ilanted in De- 

 cember and grow during the first year two or three inches. On the third year, a light 

 crop may be picked, which goes on increasing until the ninth or tenth year, when it is 

 largest and has the best of iiavor. The full life of the tree is from twenty to thirty 

 years, and when it has reached this age it is cut dowu to the stump. Shoots spring 

 up again, and in three or four years are ready for picking. This second life of the tree 

 is much better than the first, both iu flavor and size of production ; but after it has ruu 

 out they are obliged to dig it up and replant the seeds. 



Nearly all the small farmers owning but little laud raise grain enough for home use, 

 and among the wheat, buckwheat, rice, «fcc., plant the tea-trees. The regular growers, 

 however, have their plantations separate, and almost entirely on lull-sides, which are 

 sometimes so steep that it would seem almost impossible to ascend. They are four or 

 five acres iu extent, the trees plauted quite regularly, and four or five feet apart. The 

 soil, which may be quite ordinary, is manured with fish, or bean-cake, but only sparingly. 



When the tree is in its prime it looks like a very angular apple-tree reduced iu 

 height to four or five feet. Of all the branches of more than a year's growth but very 

 few ruu iu the same straight line more than a few inches, but turn in every possible 

 direction in sharp angles. The probable cause of this angularity is the continued 

 picking and twisting it has iu its smaller and more tender branches as they pick its 

 leaf. The leaf in its full size is about one inch and a half iu length, with a very fine 

 serrated edge, quite firm, and has a slightly waxy appearance. Its veins are very few 

 and but slightly visible, except when looking toward a strong light. Until they are 

 nearly the full size they are a very light green, turning as they become old a dark 

 green, and quite stiff. 



The picking-party, composed of women and older children, start to the field early in 

 the morning, carrying several square bamboo baskets holding about two bushels^ and 

 smaller round ones to sling to the waist of each picker. They work systematically, up 

 one row and down the next, one or two at each bush, picking with great rapidity the 

 light-green leaves and as little of the stem as possible. As soon as the small basket is 

 filled it is emptied into the larger ones, which are carried to the farm-house as fast as 

 they are ready. There are two pickings during the year — the first about the 1st of 

 May, and the last by the 1st of August. Sometimes there are intermediate ones when 

 the demand is great, but it produces very inferior tea, as recourse must be had to the 

 dark, stift" leaves. The first picking is always the best, and the earlier it is the better, 

 for then the leaves are younger. The average crop of the regular pickings from one 

 tree is 1.*? pounds per year. 



At the farm-house the men remain to prepare the leaves. They first put about a 

 bushel at a time into a shallow bamboo basket, over boiling water, and cover u^), to 

 steam. They remain here from 45 to 70 seconds, become very soft and pliable, and 

 only require to have the superfluous water evaporated from them to be ready for the 

 next process. 



The next operation is to fire them. The firing-pans are made of a frame of wood 

 about 54 by 36 by 4^ inches, with a very thick paper bottom. This tray is placed on a 

 fire-place built of mud and lime, in which is a charcoal fire, having a temperature at the 

 paper bottom of about 140°. On the top of the fire-place or oven is a gratiug of flat 

 iron to keep the bottom of the tray from coming through. The green leaves are put in 

 the tray to the depth of about two inches, and kept moving by the hands to prevent 

 them from sticking together. As they begin to dry and change color to a dirty brown, 

 the man takes his hands full and rolls them to assist iu the curling. This is continued 

 from 60 to 90 minutes, when the leaf is of a brown-black color, and rather dry. They • 

 'are then taken out, allowed to cool, and all the imperfectly rolled ones and bare stems 

 picked out. They are again put back into the firing-pans to finish drying and get an 

 additional curl. It is now nearly black, and is ready to be packed in paper bags to be 

 sent to the native tea-merchant. One man must prepare 10 catties, or 13^ pounds, per 

 day to earn his wages ; in doing this he expends 40 catties, or 50-odd pounds, of the 

 green leaf, 75 per cent, being lost iu firing. 



After leaving the tea district we went to the city of Shidzaoka to visit the establish- 

 ment of the merchant who had been our guide. There, after slightly warming the tea, 

 as received from the country, in the same kind of pans, it is jiut through bamboo 

 sieves, for the purpose of assorting the grades ; the finer kinds only are marketable to 

 foreigners, and the coarser leaves are put into inferior tea for native use. After sifting 



